Elie Wiesel Sculpture Engraved At Washington National Cathedral

WASHINGTON — A sculpture of Elie Wiesel, a Holocaust survivor and Jewish icon who died in 2016, will be unveiled at the Washington National Cathedral, the American cathedral of the Episcopal Church. Wiesel becomes the first modern Jewish icon engraved at the building, according to The Washington Post.

The sculpture already complete, it will eventually be on display in the front vestibule of the cathedral called the "Human Rights Porch," alongside Mother Teresa, Rosa Parks and other icons, the Post reported.

Wiesel's experiences as a prisoner at German concentration camps in the 1940s were documented in dozens of his books, works that inspired decades of human rights activism. He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1986 for devoting years to inspiring peace, and was also a Nobel Laureate.

National Cathedral leaders cited a rise in antisemitism for including Wiesel on the Christian faith building, the Post reported.

Rev. Randy Hollerith, dean of the Washington National Cathedral, told the Post Wiesel is "an example to the whole country of resilience."

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He's "someone who dedicated his life to the highest aspirations of what it means to be a human,” Hollerith said.

Hollerith said the cathedral left ample open room when it was built to honor "those who we think live into the highest ideals of what we think it means to be a Christian, or a person of great morality and ethics."

The sculpture was completed on April 8, Holocaust Remembrance Day, and will be dedicated this fall as part of a program honoring Wiesel's legacy, according to the Post. The bust will then be seen about 10 feet in the air in an arch doorway.