Allow me to suggest to my fellow Catholic sacred artists a “canon” of ten fundamental propositions. These ideas and proposals are my personal musings. They assist me in organizing my thoughts and […]
Deacon Paul O. Iacono
I am an ordained Roman Catholic deacon from the Diocese of Providence, Rhode Island, USA. In 2009, my wife and I founded the Fra Angelico Institute for Sacred Art. In 2010 we received the blessing, and permission to proceed with implementation from his Excellency the Most Reverend Thomas J. Tobin D.D., Bishop of the Diocese of Providence, RI, USA.
All faiths are welcome to my site and, hopefully, will discover some article or piece of sacred art that will catechize, challenge, comfort, and assist in their creativity, artistic curiosity, and faith in the Roman Catholic Church.
The current mission of the Fra Angelico Institute for Sacred Art is threefold:
* To catechize and evangelize the truth of the dogma, doctrines, and traditions of the Western Rites of the Catholic Church and to express how this applies to the Western and Eastern Rites' sacred art;
* To promote the prayerful creation of sacred art in the traditions of both the Western and Eastern Rites; and
*To support the union of the Christian artist's prayer life to their creative process.
Even though the Institute is directed toward the catechization and edification of Catholics, all faiths are welcome and free to comment on anything they read in my blog.
Please see the "About the Founders" page on the website for more information; you may subscribe to our blog at fraangelicoinstitute.com. Thanks and welcome!
St. Joseph’s Art Workshop – A Resource for Sacred Artists and Students
If you are interested in actually creating a sacred image in the tradition of the Roman Catholic (Latin Rite) Church then please click on the Tab in the Menu Bar above Fra Angelico’s […]
Zeppole, St. Joseph, and Sacred Art
Yesterday, March 19th, Catholics happily celebrated the Feast of St. Joseph. Today’s post is slightly different from those previous in that it will discuss an Italian pastry in relation to a […]
St. Michael and the Archangels
On this day, September 29th, the Western Rite of the Catholic Church celebrates the Feast Day of Saints Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael (the Eastern Rite celebrates it on either November 8th or […]
Paul in Arabia and Damascus
Galatians 1:15-18 relates St. Paul saying: “But when God, who had set me apart from the time when I was in my mother’s womb, called me through His grace and chose to reveal […]
Jesus Our Savior – An Image that is a Work in Progress
I have the happy service of presenting a new workshop to interested adults from Massachusetts and Rhode Island beginning on Saturday February 14th, 2015. In an attempt to give everyone individual attention […]
The Gospel of John 1:35-42 – An Invitation to Follow Jesus
In our Gospel today we hear John the Baptist proclaim “Behold the Lamb of God.” We see in our mind’s eye, Andrew and another disciple, probably St. John, listening to the Baptist […]
Link to the Film Within the Post: The Sacred Artist’s Cultivation of Silence
A few readers have emailed me to say that they are having a problem linking to the film mentioned in yesterday’s post. Since many subscribers receive these postings through their email address the […]
The Sacred Artist’s Cultivation of Silence
I recently received a post from the always challenging and informative blog entitled Catholicism Pure and Simple. It features a short film by the Benedictine monk Abbot Christopher Jamison, O.S.B. In this […]
The Way of Beauty On-Line Course and Reimbursement Scholarship Opportunities
The mission of the Fra Angelico Institute for the Sacred Arts is to teach the truth, goodness, and beauty of God through the prayerful creation of sacred art. We are happy to […]
Albert Lapierre – Sacred Artist and Iconographer
This past July I had the pleasure of restoring an icon that was written by the fine artist, Albert Lapierre, from Attleboro, Massachusetts. It is a beautifully done and was commissioned by […]
Discipleship, Wisdom’s Light, and the Art of Charles Bosseron Chambers
The Gospel of Luke 8:16-18 emphasizes that God desires us to respond to His generosity by using our gifts in union with His wisdom and grace. The Lord desires to give us […]
David Clayton Has Another Great Idea for Catholic Evangelization
The following essay was written by David Clayton a lecturer in sacred art, author of the very fine book on the implementation of the New Evangelization of the Catholic Church entitled The […]
Lesley Green – A Rhode Island Sacred Artist
One of the great blessings the Lord has granted me is the privilege of meeting so many wonderful people who are interested in studying and creating sacred art. An example of this […]
The Little Oratory – A Beginner’s Guide to Praying in the Home – A New Book by Clayton and Lawler
Friend and fellow sacred artist David Clayton, in association with Leila Marie Lawler, has written a wonderful book entitled The Little Oratory: A Beginner’s Guide to Praying in the Home. Sophia Institute […]
The Black Mass at Harvard – Is It A Hate Crime?
News reports have been circulating the story that Harvard University’s Memorial Hall will be the site of a Satanic Black Mass on Monday evening May 12, 2014. The Satanic Mass, by its […]
St. Thomas: Skeptic, Cynic, and Repentant Saint
It is the evening hour on the first Easter Sunday. Gathered in the upper room the Apostles were in turmoil. They doubt. They fear. They have lost their sense of trust. They […]
Eugene Burnand and The Greatest Easter Painting Ever Made | Crisis Magazine
Clicking on the attached link found below produces an excellent article by Elise Ehrhard in Crisis Magazine describing the Swiss painter Eugène Burnand’s late 19th century masterpiece The Disciples Peter and John Running to […]
Beautiful Russian Sacred Icons at the New Haven Knights of Columbus Museum
If you are in the vicinity of New Haven, Connecticut within the next two weeks take the opportunity to stop by the Knights of Columbus Museum for their magnificent exhibit entitled “Windows […]
Correction on Medieval Graffiti Post
It has come to my attention that the links for today’s post that was sent by email to my subscribers are not appropriately linking to Matt Champion’s or Robin Stummers’ articles in The […]
Medieval Graffiti in English Churches – The Case of John Lydgate, O.S.B.
A fascinating series of articles came to my attention today by Tatjana Jovanovic, a top contributor of a Linkedin group called Medieval and Renaissance Art, Antiques, Architecture, Archaeology, History and Music. Her article […]
A Recent Art Workshop Leads to Another! – The Fra Angelico Institute
This past month the Fra Angelico Institute for the Sacred Arts was happy to sponsor a two day workshop. The purpose of this workshop was to introduce people to the idea that […]
The Messages of St. Joseph – His Predestination and Preeminence
Readers: The statement below proclaims that the apparitions and messages have been approved by a few Roman Catholic bishops. I provide them here for your edification and prayerful consideration in light of […]
Christ in the Wilderness, a Russian Artist, and a Challenge
In the late 19th century a Russian painter, the noted portraitist, draughtsman, and teacher Ivan Kramskoi painted a haunting image of Jesus alone in the desert. It is a painting which expresses […]
Sin and the Sacred Artist
Our society is quite adept at pointing out the sins and foolishness of others. Cable TV, radio talk shows, and various web sites love to dwell on the ignorant and immoral actions […]
PREPARE! Bruno Mars in Light of Matthew 5: 13-16
If you had the opportunity to watch the Super Bowl half-time show last weekend you saw that there were a number of symbolic messages that were being sent by the producers and […]
Baptism, Discipleship, and the Art of Lorenzo Lotto
In our Gospel last week we stood at the banks of the Jordan River and witnessed Jesus’ baptism by John the Baptist. Today we hear John announce to all that the Spirit of […]
“The Nativity” – Presented by the Jim and Jane Henson Family Puppets – Christmas Eve on CBS
Floridian Sean Keohane, a member of the Fra Angelico Institute for the Sacred Arts, and a participant in the beautiful CBS/Paulist Production of “The Nativity” sent me the following information on an […]
Mary and Joseph’s “Yes” – The Risk of an Open Heart
Our Gospel today (4th Sunday of Advent, Matthew 1: 18-24)) provides us with the story of a young couple, Mary and Joseph, who through their pondering of God’s request for understanding and trust […]
Thanksgiving Day – A Christian Homily
Ken Burns’ extraordinary film series on World War 2 was recently on PBS. In that series, he explored the lives of a variety of Americans – average people – in and out […]
The Apocalypse and Christian Duty – 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time
It has been said that we are living between times – between Advents – in the times between Christ’s first coming – as an infant in the manger, and His second coming […]
God’s Playfulness – Video and Verse
If you have a moment, click on this link, expand the very brief video to full screen, then sit back and enjoy the playfulness of God and the gift of His creative […]
St. Francis of Assisi, Faith, and Grace
The following is my homily for the 27th Week in Ordinary time delivered at St. Francis of Assisi Church Wakefield, Rhode Island USA, October 6, 2013. The memorial of St. Francis of […]
The Virtue of Christian Responsibility
This weekend’s Gospel (26th Week in Ordinary Time) about Lazarus, and a rich man by the name of Dives, is filled with very concrete images about the virtue of Christian responsibility. Jesus’ […]
The Gospel of St. Luke 12: 49-53 – The Sword of Christ
The following is a homily that will be delivered by Deacon Paul O. Iacono at St. Francis of Assisi Church, South Kingstown, Rhode Island on the weekend of August 17/18 2013. In […]
Double Halo Around the Sun – Scientific Analysis
My last post featured all the remarkable photos by Joan Weist of a double halo around the sun seen in coastal Rhode Island a few weeks ago. One of those images is […]
Sun Rainbow Photos by Joan Weist
Joan Weist, a good friend of ours here in South Kingstown, Rhode Island was doing some gardening on Saturday afternoon May 18, 2013 and her neighbor brought to her attention an amazing […]
Pentecost 2013
As we celebrate the birth of the Church at Pentecost (confer the Acts of the Apostles, Chapter 2 ff), we should be filled with an urgent need to obtain and, most importantly, […]
Roger of Helmarshausen O.S.B. – Theophilus the Presbyter: Part 3 – The Prologues
Last February, in Parts 1 and 2 of this article, I shared with you some thoughts on an important figure in the history of Western European art: the Benedictine monk, Roger of […]
Aidan Hart’s New Book on Sacred Iconography
The article below is reblogged from the always informative Orthodox Arts Journal. The article is the 9th in a series about sacred iconography that was written by Brother Aidan Hart, a British […]
St. Peter’s Affirmation of His Love for Christ Is A Model for Us
In our Scriptures for the 3rd Sunday of Easter we have the extraordinary contrast of St. Peter’s deeds in the first reading with that of his behavior in our Gospel. In the first […]
Evgeny Baranov’s Miniature Icons and Rashid and Inessa Azbuhanov Icon Carvings
My sincere thanks to Jonathan Pageau at the Orthodox Arts Journal, http://www.orthodoxartsjournal.org/, for permission to repost his wonderful presentation of the sacred icon miniatures of Russian artist Evgeny Baranov and the spectacular icon wood […]
Easter 2013
“The splendor of Christ risen from the dead has shone on the people redeemed by His blood, alleluia.” “Our Redeemer has risen from the tomb; let us sing a hymn of praise […]
Good Friday
“Come, let us worship Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who redeemed us with His Precious Blood.” “If we wish to understand the power of Christ’s blood, we should go back to […]
The Last Supper – Jesus as Servant, Christ as Sacrifice: An Evening Meditation
At the Last Supper, on the night He was betrayed, our Savior entrusted to His Church the memorial of His death and resurrection. This memorial came to us through the Institution of […]
The Meaning of Lent: Repentance and Renewal
The following is a homily that was delivered at St. Francis of Assisi Church and St. Romuald Chapel in Wakefield, Rhode Island USA by Deacon Paul O. Iacono on the weekend of […]
Beauty – “The Great Legacy” of Pope Benedict XVI
I am interrupting my series on Theophilus the Presbyter and the affect he had on the development Medieval art and technology with this post that just came in from the Catholic News […]
Theophilus, the Art of Iconography, and the Contemporary Sacred Artist – Part 2
Please take a moment to read the first part of this multi-part essay that I posted a few days ago. I am requesting that you do this in order for you to […]
Theophilus, Iconography, and the Contemporary Sacred Artist – Part One
Today’s sacred artist within the Western tradition may have been exposed to many different artistic traditions. Artists may have been classically trained in a formal academy such as the Florence Academy of […]
The Penitent Magdalene and the Way to True Conversion of Heart – A RePost Of Fr. Jason Smith’s Essay
As we begin the season of Lent I thought you would enjoy this article by Father Jason Smith. It contains a magnificent sacred image painted by George de La Tour (1593 – 1652). […]
