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
Details: This painted enamel pendant was probably commissioned as a baptism gift. An inscription on the back of the silver frame gives a birth date (September 9, 1768), and the date of the child's "name day," or baptism (September 28), also the date of the feasts...
Details: This large Ethiopian Gospel Book was made in the first half of the sixteenth century and is written in Ge'ez, the traditional liturgical language of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. Containing eleven full-page miniatures, six canon tables, and five elaborately ornamented harags, or headpieces, this manuscript represents the...
Details: This is one of twenty-six known manuscripts by the hand of Luke the Cypriot (active 1583-1625), an accomplished Greek calligrapher who worked after the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople (1453). He copied it in 1594 at his episcopal see of Buzau (in Wallachia, now Romania) and soon took it to...
Details: The Deposition is a marble sculpture by the Italian High Renaissance master Michelangelo. It depicts four figures: the dead body of Jesus Christ, newly taken down from the Cross, Nicodemus (or possibly Joseph of Arimathea), Mary Magdalene, and the Virgin Mary. The sculpture is housed in the Museo dell&...
Details: The Chapel of the Holy Cross is a Roman Catholic chapel built into the buttes of Sedona, Arizona, and is run by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Phoenix, as a part of St. John Vianney Parish in Sedona. Richard Hein was chosen as project architect, and the design was...
Details: Justice and peace, according to Catholic Social Teaching, are closely intertwined[1][2]. The pursuit of justice is essential for achieving peace, and love for all people demands that we promote peace in a world surrounded by violence and conflict[1]. All human beings possess an equal and inalienable...
Details: This painted enamel plaque, based on a print by Albrecht Dürer, shows the Resurrection of Christ, two days after his death on the Cross. Christ stands triumphantly, right arm outstretched, on the displaced lid of the sarcophagus from which he has just emerged. The two soldiers in the foreground...
Details: Faith is the first of the three theological virtues, the other two being hope and charity (or love)[1][2][3][4][5]. It is a supernatural virtue by which we firmly believe in our hearts all the truths God has revealed[3]. Faith is an infused virtue, meaning...
Details: King David playing the harp is a common representation in medieval art[2]. This iconography is often used to symbolize joy and redemption[5], as well as to express prayer and love to God[5]. It also reflects David's role as the composer/performer of the Psalms[...
In this post, we will be focusing specifically on the issue of nudity in Christian art, why I do not include nudity on this website, and what Pope Saint John Paul II said about this topic.
This panel was painted for a multipaneled altarpiece believed to be from Romania. Each of the panels correspond with another image on the panel, drawing thematic parallels between the Old and New Testaments. This painting depicts Christ appearing to the disciples during the transfiguration.
Details: St. Joseph is the patron saint of the Universal Church, families, fathers, expectant mothers, travelers, immigrants, house sellers and buyers, craftsmen, engineers and working people[1][2]. He is also associated with various feast days and is regarded as the patron saint of workers[3]. Additionally, St. Joseph is...
Details: Pope Benedict XVI, born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger (1927-2022), was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until his resignation on 28 February 2013[1]. He was elected to the papacy in 2005[2] and is remembered outside the Catholic...
Details: King David playing the harp is a common representation in medieval art[2]. This iconography is often used to symbolize joy and redemption[5], as well as to express prayer and love to God[5]. It also reflects David's role as the composer/performer of the Psalms[...
Details: King David playing the harp is a common representation in medieval art[2]. This iconography is often used to symbolize joy and redemption[5], as well as to express prayer and love to God[5]. It also reflects David's role as the composer/performer of the Psalms[...
Details: The Archangel Gabriel is a popular figure in Russian Orthodox iconography[1][2][3][4][5]. He is usually depicted wearing white or blue garments and holding a spear in his right hand[2]. In some icons, he may also be holding a mirror in his left hand[2]...
Details: The central scene of this painted, gilded wooden triptych shows Christ's Agony in the Garden of Gethsemane on the eve of his Crucifixion, based on a print by the German Master A. G. Christ prays to God the Father while the apostles Peter, John the Evangelist, and...
Details: The Betremariam Monastery is located on the Zege Peninsula near Bahir Dar, Ethiopia[1][3]. It was founded in the 14th century by a saint called Betre Mariam[2], and its circular church was built in the 16th century[2]. The monastery is one of more than 20 monastic...
Details: This manuscript leaf comes from a Book of Hours illuminated by the French court painter Jean Bourdichon. It depicts the Presentation of Christ in the Temple of Jerusalem, an event celebrated in the liturgical calendar as Candlemas. Forty days after Jesus's birth, the Virgin Mary kneels before...
Details: God expelled Adam from the Garden of Eden to prevent him from accessing the Tree of Life and living forever in sin[1][2]. God also wanted to teach Adam and Eve that His holiness could not be violated[2]. By expelling Adam, God demonstrated His love and care...
Details: The province of Goa in western India was under Portuguese control from 1512–1961, forming a nexus in trading routes that circumnavigated the earth. Goan craftsman were renowned for their supple modeling of ivory (likely exported from Mozambique) into Christian icons, which feed the appetite for luxury products in...
Details: The Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral of the Holy Family in Exile is located at Duke Street (off Oxford Street), Mayfair, London, England[1]. It is part of the Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of the Holy Family of London, a diocese of the Ukrainian Catholic Church with parishes throughout England, Scotland and...
Details: Saint Francis kneels before the crucified Christ at his right hand and receives the stigmata. Behind Francis is his brotherhood. The front brother holds a crucifix with both hands. People rise from the dead on the left of the print and enter the gates of heaven on the right....
Details: Devotion to the Virgin is an important element of Puerto Rican Catholicism. The Madonna is venerated in many guises, each with its own iconography. According to Spanish legend, the apostle James, patron saint of Spain, saw a vision of the Virgin Mary one night while he was praying on...
