New Boston Library Honors Founder of Christian Science

A $50-million museum and library inspired by the ideas of Mary Baker Eddy is to open Saturday in Boston, home of the Church of Christ, Scientist, which she established. Eddy (1821-1910), a religious leader, author and teacher who founded the church in 1879 and the Christian Science Monitor in 1908, espoused the philosophy that all healing comes through the power of God.

The Mary Baker Eddy Library for the Betterment of Humanity will include the Mapparium, a 30-foot-diameter, stained-glass globe built in 1935, which visitors enter on a footbridge. The globe, formerly in the Christian Science Monitor newspaper building, has been retrofitted with more than 200 LED fixtures and an audio tour.

The eight-minute audio focuses on “the power of ideas to change the world,” a tenet of Eddy’s philosophy, said Stephen Danzansky, chief executive of the private, nonprofit organization that runs the library.

Other areas of the library overlook the Christian Science Monitor newsroom, have exhibits on newspaper production and focus on “people’s quest for meaning in life,” officials said.

The library will also make available, for the first time, thousands of documents, artifacts and photos from Eddy’s life. These had been stored in vaults in the First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston.

Admission is $5 adults, $3 children 6 to 12, free for under age 6. Most sections are open daily; hours will vary. (888) 222-3721, www.marybakereddylibrary.org.