WOMEN OF FAITH - FROM THE USA TO ITALY

An American priest we have known for years, was pastor of  a church in the Umbrian town of Terni, Italy.  The town suffered extensive damage from World War II bombing, since it was a center of armament production. Through the decades, much of the town has been restored.  Yet one large church stood alone in need of major renovation, the Church of the Immaculate Conception.  In 2017, Don Giovanni saw potential in the church.

With the help of others, Dom Giovanni felt this church would bear witness to women whose faithfulness  was recorded in the Bible, the Torah, and the Quran. After all, the Church is dedicated to the greatest of women. The women selected for the project  are united in their faith in God, the Holy One, revered and worshiped in the religions of Abraham. 

The purpose of the project is to ignite discussion about what these women of faith reveal regarding the “genius of women.” This phrase comes from St. John Paul II’s 1997 book, The Genius of Women. What role does God desire that women exercise to bring about the kingdom here on earth? For far too long the true gift of women to the life of faith and the life of the Church has been underemphasized. Attention is needed to bring into full consciousness the feminine “genius of women”, WOMEN of FAITH.

The women selected are Eve, Hagar, Sarah, Ruth, and Naomi; the woman in the Song of Songs; the Samaritan woman; Mary, the mother of Jesus; friends Martha and Mary; women disciples at the Last Supper; and of course Mary Magdalene. It was decided to  portray these women in the ancient medium of fresco, which is found in so many old churches in Italy.

Interestingly enough, the fresco artist chosen to portray Women of Faith is from the USA, Mark Balma, of Minneapolis, Minnesota.  He is considered the finest fresco artist in the world today as well as a portraiture artist.

This artist is known for his deep spirituality, a devotion to prayer, a passion for his work, and the strength and energy to stand for hours at a time on scaffolding high above open space.

The preliminary sketches of the 10 panels were complete, and sacks of plaster awaited the start of the project  when  the coronavirus pandemic swept the world in  fear. Mark, who has dual US and Italian citizenship, found it now impossible to get his art to Terni. So how could Mark create frescoes in Minneapolisfor walls almost 5,000 miles away? By using an ancient Greek technique. 

The Greeks didn't want to send skilled artisans far from Athens as travel in ancient times could be long and risky. So they learned to paint frescoes using lime-based paint on muslin sail-cloth which could be rolled up and delivered to a distant site.   

Mark  learned this technique, when studying in Florenceunder the fresco artist Pietro Annigoni. A friend offered Mark the use of an undeveloped atrium in a new building, the MoZaic Building in Minneapolis, to work on the art pieces.

When a panel is complete, it will be removed from its frame and rolled for transport. Panels will be shipped to Terni when the pandemic loosens its grip on the world. Immaculate Conception Church will remain a place of worship as it awaits its adornments of faith.

 Don Giovanni says of the project: “Art and beauty are two forms of communication that humans have always used. I believe these new frescoes have a unique potential to bring a message of love, peace, joy, and fullness to this and future generations. They will give beauty and a sense of completion that this building has never seen and new life to a church . . . in desperate need of repair and love.

In the time of confusion in which we live, when old values seemed to have disappeared, we find ourselves in need of knowing more fully God’s will for our lives. We propose this study of biblical women as an attempt to reveal further the will of God.” In this place of meditation, visitors will find solace and direction as they reflect on the women who nurtured the churches of antiquity.”

The frescoes are more than exquisite art. They are visible prayers that will reach from a church once destroyed by bombs into a world pleading for peace. The women’s stories expressed in Scripture and tradition offer hope and direction for living in the 21st century. Each panel contains a message for God’s people today. In meditating on each biblical story, seekers may gain a deeper understanding of the will of God.

The project invites people of various faiths to visit Immaculate Conception Church in person, virtually, or through printed material, to worship and discover their shared faith in the God of all. The faith that joins these women of Abrahamic faiths is more powerful and uniting than the differences of culture they experience. Don Giovanni expresses that hope: “Our prayer is that the images of Sarah and Hagar with Abraham will allow us to believe that an interreligious dialogue is possible between Hebrews, Christians, and Muslims.