🔗 Share this article

In the magnificence of St. Patrick’s Cathedral, a gathering of modern-day newcomers—mostly Latino, Asian, and Black—gather on an incline with their humble sacks and bags. A man in a T-shirt cradles an infant, as a young person in athletic shoes sits solemnly up front. High up among the billowing clouds, the divine symbol is positioned on a bright shrine amid the clustering gleam of golden pendulous stripes implying a heavenly aura.

This humane and magnificent scene forms part of one of the most important recent public artworks in today’s riven America.

“What I want people to realize from the mural,” affirms the painter, “is that everyone belongs in this collective journey. And to have this enormous platform to say something like that represents an incredible honor.”

St. Patrick’s, known as “America’s parish church,” serves about 2.5 million New York Archdiocese Catholics. It ranks among the top two cathedrals nationally and attracts the most attention with millions of annual guests. This artwork represents the largest permanent piece requested by the institution since its founding.

An Inspiration of Unity

Via the prize-winning idea, the painting fulfills an enduring desire to honor the famed vision featuring holy figures including Mary, Joseph, John the Baptist, the Lamb, and angels at a small Irish countryside chapel in 1879. The artist expands that commemoration to encompass earlier Irish newcomers and New York’s broader multicultural immigration.

The sizable wall on the west side, adjacent to the primary entrance, features a quintet of historic local Catholic notables alongside five present-day frontline workers. Above each assembly floats a large angelic figure within a context of luminous lines evoking God’s presence.

Honoring Diverse Contributions

For the five west-wall Catholic notables the archdiocese named Irish-born archbishop John Hughes, Dorothy Day, the former free spirit turned advocate, and Pierre Toussaint, the once-enslaved individual who rose to prominence as a stylist and donor. The creator incorporated indigenous saint Kateri Tekakwitha, the initial Native American saint, and selected public servant Al Smith from the interwar period. The first responders were the artist’s idea too.

The piece’s technique is distinctly figurative—a deliberate selection. “Since this is a U.S. artwork, as opposed to overseas,” the artist explains. “Europeans have hundreds of years of incredible ecclesiastical art, their methods have evolved. But we do.”

An Endeavor of Love

The mural’s enormous labor involved about 30 people, featuring a skilled artisan for the metallic elements. The drafting phase lasted several months in a huge studio in Brooklyn’s Navy Yard, and then most of a year for the intensive artwork—ascending and descending platforms for assessment.

“Since my parent worked in architecture,” he answers. “Therefore, I grasped spatial planning.”

As for the retiring cardinal, he stated at the piece’s introduction: “People inquire if this comments on migration? Well, sure we are, all right? In short, that migrants are blessed beings.”

“We’re all in this together,” the artist repeats. “Despite personal feelings,” he notes. Diverse political adherents appear in the piece. Plus various beliefs. “However, common human experience unites all,” he affirms. “It’s not reserved just for whom you get along with.”