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 challenge, comfort, or assist in their creativity, artistic curiosity, and faith.
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!
On Wednesday evening, May 23rd, ten members of the Fra Angelico Institute for the Sacred Arts here in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence, Rhode Island USA were commissioned and blessed to […]
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Today, January 23rd, is the Feast Day of Saint Vincent of Saragossa. St. Vincent was a deacon and served as a minister and trustworthy pastoral assistant of Bishop Valerius, of Saragossa, Spain. […]
St. Thomas, in his Summa Theologiae, has a wonderful meditation on today’s Solemnity of the Epiphany. He says that “Salvation was to be through Christ and apply to all sorts and conditions […]
To all the friends, followers, and members of the Fra Angelico Institute for the Sacred Arts, We wish you all a very Merry and Holy Christmas Season and a grace filled New […]
A very clear narrative greeted us in yesterday morning’s Gospel by St. Luke. He tells us that both Zechariah and his wife Elizabeth were both righteous before God: walking in all the […]
The following photograph haunts my mind. I found it on the blog (http://soulblindministry.com/2011/12/12/necessity/) of an artist who had a horrific life changing experience and has now turned his life, and possibly his art, […]
Today’s feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, the patroness of all the Americas, recalls the apparition of our Blessed Mother on the hill of Tepeyac in present day Mexico City from December […]
Today is Gaudete Sunday. Gaudete means “Rejoice!” The Church has us visualize this by the rose colored candle in the Advent wreath and the rose colored vestments. Gaudete Sunday appears at the […]
1) Mary’s Personal History Tradition tells us that Mary was the daughter of Saints Joachim and Anne. They were devoted Jews who raised their child to be loyal and pure within the […]
One of the first St. Francis of Assisi parishioners to contact me to become a member of the Fra Angelico Institute for the Sacred Arts is a wonderful lady and artist by […]
Another South Kingstown, Rhode Island artist, a fine gentleman by the name of Peter D. Spaine, contacted me this past summer when he read about the Fra Angelico Institute for the Sacred […]
The Fra Angelico Institute for the Sacred Arts, as a gathering place for sacred artists to create, share, learn, and pray together about their creation of sacred art, has blossomed into a […]
After an article explaining the mission of the Fra Angelico Institute for the Sacred Arts appeared last June in our Diocesan newspaper, the Rhode Island Catholic, I received a call from a […]
One of the Institute’s members, Trudy Manney, has been an important contributor to St. Francis of Assisi Parish here in Wakefield, RI for many years. She is a painter and she also […]
Two weeks ago, at our Autumn Meeting of the Fra Angelico Institute for the Sacred Arts, some of the members displayed examples of their secular and sacred art. The mission of the […]
My wife and I were invited by Catholictv.com to appear on their network on November 4, 2011 to explain the Fra Angelico Institute for the Sacred Arts and its relation to the […]
The following is a homily that I gave during the Inaugural Mass of the Fra Angelico Institute for the Sacred Arts which occurred on Friday October 28, 2011 at St. Francis of […]
David Clayton, artist in residence at Thomas More College of Liberal Arts in New Hampshire, has written a wonderful essay that capsulizes the essential nature of what Pope Benedict 16th is saying […]
All the events of human history have to be backlit by the reality of our faith that God does not abandon His people. An example of this truth is today’s memorial of […]
Today is the feast day of St. Francis of Assisi. He is one of the patrons of the Fra Angelico Institute for the Sacred Arts. St. Francis reminds us how we admire, […]
In this morning’s Gospel St. Luke is clear that Jesus is carefully listening to the argument that breaks out among His disciples as to who is the greatest among them. One translation […]
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What is iconography? The Sacred Iconography Guild is one of the twelve Sacred Arts Guilds that is sponsored by the Fra Angelico Institute. As of this post we have six members of […]
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Fra Angelico painted (fresco) this image between 1447 – 1449. It is found in the Vatican. It is approximately 9 by 7 feet and portrays the deacon, St. Lawrence, distributing the Church’s […]
Today’s Gospel reading cuts right to the heart of the matter – and asks the question: do we have faith in our Lord Jesus Christ? St. Peter certainly came face-to-face with that […]
