This site's editor-in-chief is a Catholic husband, father, and author. He loves sharing the Catholic faith through art and graphic design. Check out his prayer books and coloring books on Amazon.com
The Crucifixion. Christ hangs on the cross, with Mary fainting at the left together with John, Mary Magdalene and the holy women, and Pilate and soldiers at the right. The panel is part of a large altarpiece from the former Augustinian canons' monastery at Rottenbuch. Three of the other panels are i
An anonymous 16th-century painting of the legend of Saint Christopher, the giant ferryman who carried the Christ Child across a river and felt the weight of the world on his shoulders.
A color print from 1904 after the English painter William Henry Margetson (1861-1940). The angel Gabriel appears with outstretched hands before the Virgin Mary, who sits clothed in white and draws back in awe.
The Virgin Mary sits enthroned on a raised dais with the Christ Child and extends a hand of blessing over the poor and sick who come to her, painted by the Austrian artist Hermann Eichler (1842-1901).
A triptych with Mary on the central panel and the Christ Child sitting before her on a cushion. The child holds a bird in his left hand, and at right is a small vase of flowers, with a landscape in the background. On the left wing stands Saint John the Evangelist with a chalice in a landscape, and o
Christ on the cross. To the left of the cross Saint John supports Mary, and Mary Magdalene kneels at the foot of the cross. At left stand Saint Cecilia and Saint Barbara, and at right Saint Peter, Saint Francis and Saint Jerome. The panel comes from the convent of Marienwater at Koudewater near 's-H
A night scene of the vision of Saint Francis of Assisi. On the left Saint Francis holds the Christ Child in his arms, and on the right stands the Virgin Mary. Medium: Oil on canvas. Measurements: 103 x 102 cm.
A famous preacher from an aristocratic family in Genoa, Sauli (1534-1591) spearheaded important Catholic reforms, including popular missions and restructuring the church to reach a broader spectrum of worshippers. This sculpture is a model for a large statue commissioned by the Sauli family for a Ge
The distinctively Roman Catholic subject of Mary cradling her son, the crucified Christ, suggests this figure was probably made for one of the aristocratic English families forced to practice their Catholicism in secret during the mid-1700s. Because of the laws banning Catholic worship in England, g
This work has been associated with Johann Pieter Wagner, one of the leading Austrian sculptors of the second half of the 18th century. Because of its small size, it was most likely either a model for a larger altarpiece or an object designed for private devotion. Gold serves as celestial decoration
A devout Catholic, Maurice Denis sought to create what he described as “imperishable icons.” In this small painting, he used flat planes of intense colors to conjure emotion in the viewer. Here, a somber group of women, depicted as amorphous black forms, gather around an orange figure of Christ on t
Apostle figures such as this were made in large numbers in the eastern Netherlands during the early 1500s. This figure of Saint Andrew, identified by his X-shaped cross, was undoubtedly a single figure from an apostle series. It may have been used above a choir stall in a church, or else part of an
This ivory plaque represents a full-length figure of Christ flanked by bust-length portraits of the twelve apostles, six in a vertical column on each side. With his large eyes fixed on the beholder and his mouth slightly open, Christ seems about to speak to the apostles, charging them with the missi
Once used as decorations for a reliquary shrine, each enamel plaque represents a biblical prophet: Isaiah, Obadiah, Elisha, and Hosea. Fine gold dots punctuate dark blue backgrounds. Typical of Hildesheim enamels, this detailing creates the illusion that the prophets sit against star-studded twiligh
The painted scenes on this plate depicting the Passion of Christ include the betrayal of Jesus by his disciple Judas (right); the arrest and condemnation by the Jews (left); the bearing of the cross (top); the Crucifixion (middle); and the resurrection (bottom). At least one of the scenes (the conde
This diptych, or two-panel painting, is hinged at the center so that it could be opened and closed and easily transported. It was clearly designed as an object for private devotion. The owner would have been able to contemplate the Passion of Christ and pray before these scenes. The top two images d
Taken at Holy Spirit Catholic Church in Virginia Beach, Virginia. A crucifix hangs against a round, cross-shaped window of blue stained glass decorated with stars and waves. Below it, the tabernacle with its sanctuary lamp stands on a wooden pedestal beside the altar with its cruets.
Taken at Holy Spirit Catholic Church in Virginia Beach, Virginia. A painted statue of the Virgin Mary in a blue mantle stands on a cloud and crushes the serpent beneath her feet. She wears a crown of purple and blue flowers and is flanked by two gold lanterns holding candles, with sunflowers beside
Taken at the Church of the Ascension in Virginia Beach, Virginia. A bronze statue of Christ with outstretched arms rises above the church's walls at night, and the floodlights throw a dramatic shadow of his arms across the white wall behind him.
Taken at the Church of the Ascension in Virginia Beach, Virginia. A white statue of the Virgin Mary with open hands stands lit at dusk in the church's prayer garden, surrounded by fresh and silk flowers, with benches and a stone path around her.
26 public-domain photographs of Catholic Mass and sacraments in the U.S. military, from DVIDS, free to download.
SOUTH CHINA SEA (April 3, 2022) Lt. Luke Dundon, from Chantilly, Va., leads Catholic Mass in the forecastle aboard the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72). Abraham Lincoln Strike Group is on a scheduled deployment in the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations to enhance interoperab
An engraving by the German master Albrecht Durer (1471-1528), made in 1504-1505, in which the Magi kneel before the Virgin and Child among the ruins of a stable while angels appear above.
A color print from 1905 showing the Holy Family at home in Nazareth: Jesus stands at a simple wooden table while Mary, in a blue veil, and Joseph look on.
