The Catechetical Review - Communicating Christ for a New Evangelization

Inspired through Art: Our Lady of the Angels: Sacred Art as Visual Theology

Authored by Blair Piras in Issue #9.1 of Catechetical Review

When you ascend the hill that leads up onto Franciscan University of Steubenville’s campus and look across the Rosary Circle, a glittering mosaic will likely catch your eye. At first, you may only be able to make out a vague form inside a golden almond shape. As you get closer, you’ll see Our Lady, crowned as Queen of the Angels, standing within a mandorla formed by fiery seraphim. Her rose-colored mantle drapes around a representation of her holy womb. Inside, surrounded by concentric circles dotted with stars, Jesus holds a miniature Portiuncula and blesses the onlooker. The sun, moon, and stars are arranged in a pattern in the background, and upon close investigation, the familiar sights of campus can be recognized in the landscape stretched out below.

Our Lady of the Angels mosaic came to be after many COVID rosaries. During that tumultuous time, students, faculty, and staff often gathered in the Rosary Circle to pray together. It was then that Fr. Dave Pivonka, TOR, recognized the need for a central image of the Blessed Virgin Mary on campus. With the seventy-fifth jubilee approaching, a committee was formed to orchestrate the creation and installation of a mosaic on campus in honor of Our Lady. Our Lady of the Angels was chosen as the subject for the mosaic. This title has deep significance to the university because the Portiuncula Chapel, rebuilt by St. Francis, was dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary under this name. This article will walk you through the piece, unpacking how this image functions as visual theology. We will explore how two influences from our Catholic artistic tradition guided the work. The imagery and composition of the mosaic were inspired by the iconographic theme of “Our Lady of the Sign,” which shows Jesus Incarnate within the womb of the Blessed Virgin, and by St. Francis’ poem “Canticle of Creatures.”

The rest of this online article is available for current subscribers.

Start your subscription today!


This article is from The Catechetical Review (Online Edition ISSN 2379-6324) and may be copied for catechetical purposes only. It may not be reprinted in another published work without the permission of The Catechetical Review by contacting [email protected]

Articles from the Most Recent Issue

Editor's Reflections— On Being Pastoral
By Dr. James Pauley
Conversation abounds among Catholic leaders today around the concept of pastoral accompaniment. During this month of October, the participants in the Synod on Synodality continue to discuss what it means to be a listening, synodal Church. Inside and outside the synodal context, many have argued that the Church needs to take a much more “pastoral”... Read more
Youth & Young Adult Ministry— Silence, Simplicity, and Slowing down
By Bill Dill
“The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few” (Mt 9:37). As youth ministers, there is so much to do. Youth group is on Wednesday, parent meeting on Thursday, parish festival this weekend, the website needs an update, the copier is jammed, the admin needs help with Canva, volunteer formation night next week, and the liability forms for the... Read more
The Spiritual Life— Confident Trust
By Lani Bogart
“Yes, ‘tis sweet to trust in Jesus, / just from sin and self to cease, / just from Jesus simply taking / life and rest, and joy and peace.” [1] These lyrics, sung repeatedly in my youth, planted in my heart seeds of longing to trust Jesus, to hear his voice, to take him at his word, to be confident that he speaks to me. So far, the journey has... Read more

Pages