January 20, 2012
Bishop to bless new Marian mural at Holy Spirit
A newly painted mural shows the Blessed Mother sheltering 10 saints with particular connections to the Church in Indiana. (Message photo courtesy Gwyneth Holston) Click for a larger version.
By PAUL R. LEINGANG (Message editor)
Bishop Charles C. Thompson will bless a new mural at Holy Spirit Church in Evansville, during Mass on Saturday, Jan. 21 at 4 p.m.
The painting was commissioned by a family, Eugene and Jackie Fehrenbacher, members of the parish, according to Father Claude Burns, parish pastor.
“Ironically the painting began on the one-year anniversary of the husband’s death,” said Fa-ther Burns.
The artist was Angela Elpers, a good friend of the pastor who also has family at Holy Spirit. Father Burns said Elpers studied with the artists who painted for the National Shrine of our Lady of Guadalupe in Wisconsin.
Elpers had help from Gwyneth Holston, an artist from Colorado who has completed numerous private and public commissions for the last 10 years, according to her website.
“Angela and I drew inspiration from several sources,” Holston writes. “The overall composition was determined by a vintage print of Dominican saints grouped under Mary’s mantle. The pastor, Father Burns, requested that we insert 10 saints that were special to the parish: St. Bernadette, St. Faustina, St. Therese the Little Flower, St. Theodore, St. Clare, St. Benedict, St. Charles Borromeo, Blessed Juan Diego, St. Thomas Aquinas, and St. Padre Pio. We decided to adopt the color scheme from the Cuzco school of Peruvian art as well as incorporate gold patterns from medieval illuminated manuscripts. “
Father Burns wanted to include St. Benedict because of his ties to St. Meinrad and also being the namesake of the cathedral; St. Mother Theodore Guerin as the first canonized saint of Indiana, and St. Charles Borromeo, patron saint of Bishop Thompson.
In the painting, St. Charles Borromeo is kneeling toward Mary with his eyes on the monstrance that St. Claire is holding, to indicate the centrality of the Eucharist in Bishop Thompson’s life, Father Burns said. In the trim of St. Charles’ shoulder cape is an inscription from Ephesians 2:20, “Christ the Cornerstone.”
The prayer at the bottom of the painting is “Veni Per Mariam” — “Come through Mary.”
Father Burns said those words complete a prayer that begins at the base of the altar at Holy Spirit, “Veni Sancte Spiritus” — “Come Holy Spirit.” “So the whole prayer ties together, ‘Come Holy Spirit, Come Through Mary.’”
The painting was completed in four days — remarkable, according to Holston, who said, “the incredible pace at which we painted this mural could not have happened were it not for many helpful people. Thanks are due to Linda and Leonard Elpers, Don at Holy Spirit Church, Troy the Spackler, and Becky the Sander, and Brad the Vacuumer.”