Other Art at Shrine

The Crucifixion

Located on the north wall of sanctuary. Placing the Church’s original statue (corpus) back on a more traditional cross constructed by father and son parishioners, Larry and Bob Ripp, the artists from Murals by Jericho repainted the corpus and added a halo to better match the coloring in the Fra Angelico works. The background is not from an original but includes trees and other landscape elements that were typical in Fra Angelico’s works. The cross and the altar are the central focus in our church. Jesus died on the cross to expiate for our sins and to open the gates of heaven for us.

Millennium Saints

Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta, St. Faustina, St. Jose Maria Escriva, and St. (Padre) Pio Pietrelcina are also painted in the style of Fra Angelico by our artists. These paintings of recently canonized saints surround our main altar.

Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta

On the left, Mother Teresa (1910-1997) came to our Diocese in 1996 to visit sisters in her order who live and work here shortly before her death in 1997. Sisters of Charity were present for a Sunday Mass celebration including the unveiling of this painting on the day of her beatification in Rome, October 19, 2003.

• “Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not yet come. We have only today. Let us begin.”
• “The more we receive in our silent prayer, the more we have to share in our active life. Silence gives us a new way of looking at everything. We need this silence in order to touch souls. The important thing is not what we say, but what God says to us and what He says through us.”
• “Do small things with great love. It’s not how much we do, but how much love we put in the doing; and it is not how much we give, but how much love we put in the giving. To God, nothing is small; the moment we have given it to God, it becomes infinite.”
• “You can find Calcutta all over the world, if you have eyes to see. Everywhere, wherever you go, you find people who are unwanted, unloved, uncared for, just rejected by the society – completely forgotten, completely left alone. This is the greatest poverty of the rich countries.”

Sister Faustina

To Blessed Mother Teresa’s right is St. Faustina (d.1938), a Polish nun whose message of Our Lord’s mercy was celebrated with her canonization on April 30, 2000 as the first Saint canonized in the new millennium.

• “At three o’clock implore my mercy, especially for sinners; and if only for a brief moment, immerse yourself in my Passion. This is the hour of great mercy. In this hour I will refuse nothing of the soul that makes a request of Me in virtue of My Passion.”
• “The soul that will go to Confession and receive Holy Communion shall obtain complete forgiveness of sins and punishment.”
• “I demand from you deeds of mercy, which are to arise out of your love for Me. You are to show mercy to your neighbors always and everywhere.”
• ABC’s of Mercy: Ask for His Mercy. God wants us to approach Him in prayer constantly. Be merciful. God wants us to receive His mercy and let it flow through us to others. Completely trust in Jesus. God wants us to know that the graces of His mercy are dependent upon our trust.

Saint Jose Maria Escriva

To the right of the altar is St. Jose Maria Escriva, (1902-1975) Spanish priest and founder of Opus Dei, who was canonized on October 6, 2002 and believed that everyone is called to holiness, including through our daily work.

• “Your daily encounter with Christ takes place right where you work, where your aspirations and your affections are. There we must seek sanctity, in the midst of the most material things of the earth, serving God and all humankind. Heaven and earth seem to merge, my daughters and sons, on the horizon. But where they really meet is in your heart, when you strive for holiness in your everyday lives.”

Padre Pio

To the far right is Beloved Padre Pio, who was canonized Saint Pio Pietrelcina on June 16, 2002. He was a Capuchin monk in Italy who bore the stigmata or wounds of Christ, and who could read hearts. He had five rules for spiritual growth, namely, weekly confession, daily Communion, spiritual reading, meditation, and examination of conscience.

• “I want to be only a poor Friar who prays. . . Pray, hope and don’t worry. Worry is useless. God is merciful and will hear your prayer…Prayer is the best weapon we have; it is the key to God’s heart. You must speak to Jesus not only with your lips but with your heart. In fact on certain occasions you should speak to Him only with your heart. . .”

Marian Saints

Images surrounding the Marian Altar

Blessed Fra Angelico

Blessed Fra Angelico, the patron saint of artists, who was beatified October 3, 1982. His Feast Day is celebrated on February 18th. More on Fra Angelico.

Juan Diego

Next pictured is the Saint of Mexico, whose tilma, or cloak, bore the miraculous image of Mary. He reported this Marian apparition, Our Lady of Guadalupe, in 1531 to Bishop Juan de Zumárraga. The image of the Blessed Mother led millions of indigenous Indians in Mexico to convert to the Catholic faith. He was canonized July 31, 2002 as the first indigenous American saint.

Saint Bernadette of Lourdes

Saint Bernadette of Lourdes (1844-1879), was born in Lourdes, France and was the daughter of a miller and a laundress. When she was 14, she reported seeing 18 apparitions of “a small young lady” over a period of five months. The apparitions became known as Our Lady of Lourdes. Bernadette’s body has not deteriorated since her death, and her shrine in Lourdes attracts millions of Christians each year because of the inexplicable healing properties of the water that comes from the spring at the shrine. Saint Bernadette, to whom the Blessed Mother announced her Immaculate Conception, was canonized on that feast, December 8th, in 1933. St. Bernadette’s feast day is February 11th.

Fatima Children

Jacinta

Francisco

Lucia

Also included (on the right) are the three peasant children of Fatima, Portugal; Jacinta, Francisco, and Lucia, who experienced apparitions and messages from the Blessed Mother. Our Lady of Fátima is the title given to the Blessed Virgin Mary who appeared to the three shepherd children for six consecutive months on the 13th of the month in 1917, starting on May 13. The apparition confided “The Three Secrets of Fatima” to the children, which were a series of prophecies and visions. Jacinta and Francisco, who both died of the flu in the 1920s, were beatified May 13, 2000. Lucia, a nun in the Carmelite Convent in Coimbra Portugal, died on February 13, 2005 at age 97. She met with Pope John Paul II in Fatima in May 1991 regarding the secrets of Fatima.

Church Ceiling

The upper ceiling of the entire church was painted blue with gold stars to represent heaven. The lower sections of the ceiling light blue with wispy clouds to represent the sky about our earth. The columns in the church were painted green to represent the earth and the gold accents in the columns represent the graces always flowing down from heaven.