This week, the Abbey Church welcomed 24 new hangings which depict the Apostles and Benedictine saints. Fr. Vincent de Paul Crosby, OSB, monk of St. Vincent’s Archabbey in Latrobe, PA, designed each hanging. The community at St. Mary’s approached him in the fall of 2019 to bring color to the Abbey Church. “Color,” said Fr. Vincent, “is a mystical language, speaking in subliminal ways.” When meditating over the geometry of the Abbey Church, Chapter 4 of Revelation describing the communion of saints centered around the throne of the Lord. From this meditation, Fr. Vincent concluded on designing images of 24 saints centered on the altar of the Abbey Church. Fr. Vincent hopes that people who visit the Abbey Church will respond with the question, “Who are you?” Each saint was carefully researched and each hanging carefully designed so that they could reflect the person’s identity. For the Apostles, Fr. Vincent added a shield with traditional iconography associated with each saint. For the Benedictine saints, he drew on some aspect of their life, such as a hermitage for St. Romuald or a basket of bread for St. Frances of Rome, a Benedictine oblate. For visitors to the Church, there will be a booklet to learn more about each one. You can view a draft with the explanations here. Fr. Vincent’s development of the hangings reflects several aspects of the Benedictine charism. His interest in art was supported by the community who sent him to pursue graduate level studies. When he was deciding on a particular art form to study, he looked for the intersection of the needs of the community and his talents. Soon his study with fabrics and experience in the sacristy led to a full-time ministry of designing vestments. In fact, the vestments of Ss. Gregory and Anselm on the hangings are two such designs. The wall hangings of the Abbey Church are meant to be contemplated, prayed with, and inspire visitors and monks alike to get to know the saints. Please make some time to join us for Mass or for private prayer. The Abbey Church is open Monday-Friday at 3:30 before Mass and Vespers at 5:00. On Saturdays, the Church is open at 7:00 before Mass at 8:00. On Sundays, the Church is open by 10:30 before Mass at 11:00.