The Rich Catch Statue depicts vividly John 21:1-14:  The Risen Christ fills the nets of his apostles to overflowing with a truly “rich catch” – 153 large fish. That is a lot of fish! The message here is a consoling one:  God wants to “catch”, that is, save every person (I Timothy 2:3-4: “God our Savior wants all people to be saved”). The Rich Catch Statue is of distinctive heirloom quality and will be displayed prominently for many decades to come in your church’s memorial garden, in your backyard prayer garden, or mounted on a plaque or base.

The Rich Catch Statue – Solid Bronze from Germany

The Rich Catch Statue is 17.7 inches high, 9.1 inches wide,  in diameter and 8.3 inches deep. The finely-detailed solid bronze plaque has mounting screws for placement on a stone or other base. This plaque will brave time’s ravages and weather’s worst of heat, cold or damp. Conceived and forged in a workshop and foundry in Germany, the Rich Catch Statue is a powerful symbol of faith.

Why 153 Fish?

Why 153 fish?  Explanations of possible hidden symbolic meanings abound. But if John the Evangelist has intended some symbolism by using the number 153, he has indeed hidden it well. Until now, no explanation has proven satisfactory. The number 153 remains, as St. Augustine of Hippo said, “a great mystery.” Or perhaps not. Perhaps John is showing by an exact count of 153 fish that he was actually present at this event, just as he was present at the flow of blood and water from the side of Jesus at his crucifixion (John 19:33-35). Whatever the case may be, we are all called to be part of the “rich catch”, counted among the 153 fish swimming in the waters of baptism and saved in the Lord’s net. As Tertullian wrote: “But we little fish, who are so named in the image of our ichthys [Greek for “fish”], Jesus Christ, are born in water and only by staying in water are we saved” (De Baptismo I,3).