Sacred Art

The Latest

The Sistine Chapel.

The Sistine Chapel was consecrated to Our Lady of the Assumption: 5 things to know

Aug 15, 2024

By Joe Bukuras

The famous chapel derives its name from the man who consecrated it: Pope Sixtus IV, who served as the Roman... Read more

“I’m alway looking to do something that makes people say ‘Wow!’ and stop people in their tracks,” said artist Tim Schmalz in reflecting on his more than 30 years as a sculptor.

Catholic artist Tim Schmalz brings Scripture to life with sculpture

Aug 12, 2024

By Martin Barillas

Schmalz, 52, recently created a massive bronze crucifix that was installed outside St. John the Evangelist Church in downtown Indianapolis. Read more

Sacred art under construction at Centro Aletti.

Rupnik’s former studio: His art is being subjected to ‘cancel culture’

Aug 1, 2024

By Kristina Millare

The art institute founded by disgraced former Jesuit Father Marko Rupnik is saying Rupnik’s art is being subjected to “cancel... Read more

The Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem.

Crusader treasure unveiled: Medieval altar found in Jerusalem’s Holy Sepulcher

Jul 17, 2024

By AC Wimmer

The groundbreaking discovery sheds new light on Crusader history, medieval Christian art, and the enduring significance of one of Christianity’s... Read more

Kathleen Bordo Crombie stands next to an icon of St. Francis of Assisi, dedicated to her late husband, Robyn. The Church of the Divine Child in Dearborn, Michigan, parishioner took up iconography after taking a class at the Sacred Art Institute of St. Edmund’s Retreat Center on Enders Island in Mystic, Connecticut, where she learned iconography is rooted in depicting the image of God.

Michigan iconographer roots work in prayer when depicting the divine

Jun 30, 2024

By Daniel Meloy

Kathleen Crombie, who has been writing icons since the early 2000s, says this ancient art form is a “door to... Read more

Martin Earle, a sacred artist who specializes in works for churches and the liturgy, told CNA that one should not mistake an artistic revival for a simple re-creation of the past.

‘The religion of the Incarnation’: Catholic artists reflect on the necessity of beauty

Mar 17, 2024

By Peter Pinedo

Despite the artistic lack in recent decades, there appears now to be a growing resurgence in the Catholic artistic world. Read more

Workers at the baldacchino in St. Peter’s Basilica.

PHOTOS: Restoration of Bernini’s baldacchino begins in St. Peter’s Basilica

Feb 27, 2024

By Courtney Mares

Workers will scale the scaffolding surrounding the 92-feet-high canopy each day to meticulously clean the dust and grime that has... Read more

A triptych of Pentecost with Mary at the center in the Temple by Mattie Karr at Holy Name Parish in Kansas City, Kansas.

Art as a leap of faith: Kansas artist quits job to paint murals to revitalize parish

Feb 22, 2024

By Kate Quiñones

Mattie Karr took a leap of faith into full-time sacred art beginning with two 15-foot-tall triptychs of the descent of... Read more

Ukrainian refugee and artist Serhii Kolodka in his studio at Holy Eucharist Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral, where he is putting the finishing touches on two large icons destined for Holy Spirit Parish in New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada.

Ukraine iconographer and artist paints history while it’s still unfolding

Jul 22, 2023

By Nicholas Elbers / The B.C. Catholic

Holy Eucharist Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral in New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada, has supported more than 1,000 refugees since the war... Read more

When Pope Pius IX declared the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary on Dec. 8, 1854, he had a golden crown added to the mosaic of Mary, Virgin Immaculate, in the Chapel of the Choir in St. Peter's Basilica.

PHOTOS: Discover 8 beautiful images of the Virgin Mary in St. Peter’s Basilica

May 29, 2023

By Courtney Mares

From Michelangelo’s Pieta to a 12th-century painting, St. Peter’s Basilica contains priceless sacred art depicting the Blessed Virgin Mary. Read more

The renowned Italian artist Gian Lorenzo Bernini’s famous sculpture "Salvator Mundi" (Savior of the World) is on display at Rome's airport.

A sculpture of Jesus at Rome’s airport is taking travelers by surprise

Apr 20, 2023

By Peter Pinedo

The next time you are flying through Rome’s Leonardo da Vinci-Fiumicino Airport you can see Jesus at Terminal 1. Read more

The exhibition on "Spain and the Hispanic World" features an opulent vision of the Flight into Egypt by an unknown 18th-century Peruvian artist. The work is from the Hispanic Society of America.

Catholicism makes a comeback in London

Mar 4, 2023

By Lucien de Guise

It’s not often that you see Catholic culture featured at the city’s major museums. Read more

Benedict XVI’s coffin exits St. Peter’s Basilica beneath an image of Christ’s resurrection on the morning of his funeral Jan. 5, 2022

The story behind the image hanging at Benedict XVI’s funeral 

Jan 5, 2023

By Hannah Brockhaus

The image, which hung in front of the central entrance to St. Peter’s Basilica, appears to be a copy of... Read more

"The Carrying of the Cross" by the artist Titian is one of the paintings featured in the new book "Jesus in Art and Literature."

Seeing with the eye of faith: encountering Jesus through great works of art

Dec 29, 2022

By Zelda Caldwell

Pierre-Marie Dumont talks to CNA about his new book, “Jesus in Art and Literature.” Read more

A detail from Francisco de Zurbarán’s painting “The Immaculate Conception” (1628–1630)

Explore the Immaculate Conception through art in video series on faith and beauty

Dec 8, 2022

By CNA Staff

Benedictine College is kicking off a new video series today on art and faith with a video celebrating today’s solemnity... Read more

“The Mother of the Great Steppe" by Dosbol Kasymov.

Pope Francis blesses icon depicting Mary and Jesus as native Kazakhs

Sep 15, 2022

By Jonah McKeown

Pope Francis on Thursday blessed an icon depicting Mary and the Child Jesus as native Kazakhs, entrusting the Church in... Read more

Kazakh artist Dosbol Kasymov works on the icon “Mother of the Great Steppe” in advance of Pope Francis’ Sept. 13-15 trip to Kazakhstan.

Artist paints Kazakh Mary and Child for only Marian shrine in Kazakhstan

Sep 6, 2022

By Hannah Brockhaus

A Kazakh artist is creating possibly the first-ever painting of Mary and the Child Jesus as native Kazakhs; it will... Read more

Pope Francis meets with Diakonia of Beauty, a group dedicated to celebrating sacred art, on Feb. 17, 2022.

Pope Francis: 'The world needs beauty more than ever'

Feb 17, 2022

By Courtney Mares

The pope met with a French Catholic group dedicated to supporting artists and celebrating sacred art, architecture, poetry, and music. Read more

Matthias Grünewald’s Isenheim Crucifixion (1512-16)

How Catholics can be inspired by art during Holy Week

Apr 9, 2020

By Perry West

As churches and museums remain closed, Catholic artists have encouraged people to be inspired this Holy Week by finding beauty... Read more

How do we fund sacred art in the Church? This priest has an idea

Dec 24, 2017

By Perry West

The John Paul II Foundation for the Sacred Arts is rethinking how the Catholic Church should fund well-crafted art. But... Read more

Latest news

The pillars of the South Portico of the White House are decorated in rainbow colors as guests attend a White House Pride Month celebration on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, D.C., on June 26, 2024.

Trump could end Defense Department’s promotion of gender ideology, abortion

Kash Patel speaks at the 2022 AmericaFest at the Phoenix Convention Center in Phoenix.

Trump taps Kash Patel to shake up the FBI

The rose window of Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral is seen a few weeks before its reopening to the public scheduled for Dec. 7, 2024, on Oct. 25, 2024, in Paris.

U.S. President-elect Trump to attend Notre Dame Cathedral reopening in Paris

Nayib Bukele, president of El Salvador.

Catholic Church in El Salvador calls on president to maintain ban on gold mining

Close to the Pantheon in the heart of Rome, one of the city’s oldest and most popular ecclesiastical tailor shops — Ditta Annibale Gammarelli — is ready for the Dec. 7, 2024, consistory for the creation of new cardinals.

Rome’s famous tailor prepares for the Catholic Church’s new cardinals

A 17th-century Japanese depiction of St. Francis Xavier from the Kobe City Museum collection.

Remembering St. Francis Xavier’s missionary zeal

Missouri’s bishops said citizens can reach out to the governor’s office to express opposition to the pending execution of Christopher Collings, who was convicted of the 2007 abduction, rape, torture and murder of a 9-year-old girl. Collings is scheduled to be executed on Dec. 3, 2024.

U.S. Supreme Court declines to hear Missouri convicted murderer’s death row case

According to Venerable English College, during the Catholic persecution in England, students would gather around the “Martyrs’ Picture” in the chapel to sing the Te Deum — a Latin hymn of thanksgiving — whenever news reached Rome of the martyrdom of a former student. This custom continues today on Martyrs’ Day, Dec. 1, when the relics of the martyrs, preserved beneath the altar, are venerated by the students.

English seminary in Rome commemorates Martyrs’ Day on St. Ralph Sherwin’s feast

Smoke of war rises over a residential area in Aleppo. On Dec. 1, 2024, the Franciscan complex of the Terra Santa College in Aleppo was hit by a strike. No casualties were reported.

As Aleppo’s Christians face new ordeal, Church leaders call for courage and faith

The Reverend Mother Superior Teresa Agnes Gerlach of the Monastery of the Most Holy Trinity in Arlington, Texas.

Vatican suppresses Carmelite monastery following long-running controversy

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St. Francis Xavier
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