Through the centuries, many of the saints from around the world have drawn inspiration from Mary and Christ’s example, in turn transforming them into examples for our imitation. Hebrews 12:1 tells us that we are ‘surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses’; we turn to these witnesses for courage, strength, wisdom, council, and understanding. Beginning with the Solemnity of Pentecost in 2021, we now have eight Saints who will surround us in the Gathering Space. These chosen Venerables, Blesseds and Saints came from all around the world, they died young and old, they were lay and religious, they were men and women, but all of them ultimately drew from the wellspring of Christ’s self-emptying and poured out their lives in service to humankind.
These images were created by our own parishioner, Erin Wee, and several were modeled after people from our parish of various races.Below each image is a brief explanation of the depicted saint. Our hope in doing this project is to grant to us a vision of the Universal Church, that encompasses every race, tongue and people. A special THANK YOU to Benjamin Heidgerken, for his visionary leadership and scholarly work on this project.
Click here for more information about The Cloud of Witnesses or to purchase prints. The Cloud of Witnesses is an art collection done by Many Parts Incorporated. Many Parts is dedicated to lifting up the faith experiences of racial and ethnic minority communities. They believe that the bonds of the Body of Christ can be strengthened through faith-filled storytelling and listening. Through the sale of art prints they are able to build resources to amplify voices and listen to more stories.
We have made a short video on each of these Holy Men and Women to help you get to know them. You can click on each name for the video, or watch through the full playlist here. All you holy men and women, pray for us!