For thousands of years before Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press, books were printed and illustrated by hand — a painstaking process often completed within the confines of monastery walls.
(Courtesy of Saint Leo University)
The St. John’s Bible, a modern version of that ancient practice commissioned by St. John’s Abbey and University, depicts the first handwritten illuminated Bible of a monumental size commissioned by a Benedictine Monastery in more than 500 years.
The original volumes are housed at the Hill Museum and Manuscript Library on the campus of St. John’s Abbey and University in Collegeville, Minnesota.
But 299 reproductions of the work have been made, and two volumes are on loan this year to Saint Leo University, Holy Name Monastery and Saint Leo Abbey.
The illuminated volumes and other religious artworks were the focus of a discussion led by the Rev. Isaac Camacho, abbot of Saint Leo Abbey, which is a Benedictine community of monks in St. Leo.
The abbot’s talk, “The Art of Spirituality,” covered not only the use of art to inspire spiritual understanding and growth, but also the artful pursuit of the spiritual life.
“Who created me? What is there after life? What is God? How is God?” Camacho said. “God’s beauty does not remain wrapped up in himself.”
Through his creation of the universe, the abbot added, “our God has already demonstrated that natural things are fundamentally good.”
Art is an expression of mankind’s creative nature, he added.
“Every single human being knows that there is something creative inside of us and art is an expression of that,” Camacho said. “We cannot deny that art will lead us to try to understand that there is beauty beyond ourselves.”
He also believes that being artistic is an intrinsic part of being human.
“If you say you are not an artist, you are lying to yourself,” Camacho said.
For some people, the art can be as simple as a stick figure. For others, it can be a poem.
Pursuing that artistic expression, and using it to help express spiritual discovery, helps people feel more connected to their spiritual life, the abbot added.
He encouraged people to feel free to mark up their Bibles with illustrations or other notations, to help make it truly their own.
“Your spiritual journey will be nourished when you discover something beautiful,” Camacho said.
The St. John’s Bible was completed by a team of calligraphers led by Donald Jackson, the calligrapher to Queen Elizabeth II. The calligraphers collaborated with 80 contemporary artists who illuminated the work.
The volumes are made from traditional materials such as calfskin, ancient ink, gold and silver leaf. Calligraphers used quill pens, fashioned from goose, turkey and swan feathers.
The reproductions on display at the university’s library are two of the seven volumes of the Heritage Edition of the St. John’s Bible — a limited edition of full-size facsimile reproductions of the original work.
The public is invited to see the sacred works of art, which are on display in the lobby of the Daniel A. Cannon Memorial Library, on Saint Leo University’s campus at 33701 State Road 52 in St. Leo.
The two volumes that are on display include the first five books of the Old Testament and the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John from the New Testament. Pages of the text are turned on a regular basis to new illuminated passages in the volumes.
Published September 24, 2014
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