By Jessica Easthope
How do you depict one of the greatest mysteries the world has ever known? Do you do it with paint? Cloth? Metal? One gallery is full of art inspired by Christ’s presence in the Eucharist.
“It doesn’t have to be centuries old; it doesn’t have to be Michelangelo or DaVinci. It can be artists today to bring to us that moment of Jesus in the Eucharist,” said Tiffany Locke, curatorial assistant at the Blessed Michael McGivney Pilgrimage Center in New Haven, Connecticut.
The Blessed Michael McGivney Pilgrimage Center is now home to ‘Do This in Memory of Me.’ The exhibit, curated by St. Edmunds Sacred Art Institute on Enders Island, features more than 100 works of eucharistic art.
“It truly shows the diversity of art as well,” said Locke. “It’s really the gamut of how art is inspired by Christ.”
New Haven was the stepping-off point of the Seton Route of the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage. The exhibit allows visitors to go on their own pilgrimage through rooms of art, some literal expressions of faith, and others very abstract.
“It’s an opportunity for them to take in through the talents and the skills of these artists the real message that perhaps Jesus wants to share with them through the art, that he truly is present,” said Peter Sonski, director of community outreach for the Knights of Columbus.
Sonski says the juried art exhibit, which chose 109 pieces from 600 entries, prompts visitors to examine their faith and beliefs.
“Art has a unique way of speaking to people. And many people have come here deeply moved, deeply inspired, deeply challenged in their own beliefs, whether they are fully understanding of what Jesus is truly and really present in the Holy Eucharist, or whether that understanding has been less,” he said.
Of the 109 pieces shown, nearly 100 are on display; the rest are being showcased at the National Eucharistic Congress in Indiana.
You can visit ‘Do This in Memory of Me’ at the Blessed Michael McGivney Pilgrimage Center from now until August 25. The gallery is open Wednesday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Admission is free.
Nearly all of the pieces in the exhibit are for sale; for more information, you can visit https://endersisland.org/national-eucharistic-art-exhibition.