Youngest Boston Marathon victim immortalized with statue

Trisha Thadani | USA TODAY

BOSTON — When creating a bronze statue of a person, etching out the smile can be a bit problematic.

But when artist Victoria Guerina set out to make the life-size statue of 8-year-old Martin Richard, — unveiled at Bridgewater State University on Saturday — she knew she had to get the smile right.

"It was part of his personality, I had to include it," Guerina said. "There was only one picture that (the Richard family) showed me where he wasn't smiling."

Martin Richard was the youngest victim of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings. The two bombs that went off near the finish line also killed Krystle Campbell, 29, and Lu Lingzi, 23, and injured hundreds others.

Hundreds of people gathered Saturday morning for a ceremony unveiling the sculpture at the university, where Martin's parents — Bill and Denise Richard — met before they graduated in 1993. The ceremony also marked the renaming of its social justice institute after the young boy.

According to a press release, the Martin Richard Institute for Social Justice is "dedicated to the betterment of of others," with many programs dedicated to helping "at-risk and marginalized children."

Boston Mayor Martin Walsh offered remarks about how an image of Martin holding up a sign asking for peace went viral after the bombings. Martin is more than just a symbol of peace, he said.

"His spirit is still moving people; it's inspiring people to be their best," he said. "Martin Richard and his family have changed our city and our state for the better."

Bill Richard also spoke of his son at the ceremony, recounting stories of his kindness and generosity.

"I find some peace in knowing what kind of man he would have become," Richard said.

Over the past two years, Guerina collaborated with two other artists — Linda Chorney and David Wells Roth, a portrait artist from Massachusetts — to create the statue.

"We hope that our contribution will help bring some comfort to the family, and that the statue creates an eternal message that is seen around the world because the message is so simple and powerful," Chorney said.

Chorney, who is a singer from Massachusetts, performed a song that she created in Martin's memory.

"Boston loves you, Boston misses you," Chorney sang. "Boston will remember you, you are the face of Boston Strong."

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