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Within the grandeur of the famous New York church, a gathering of today’s immigrants—largely from Latino, Asian, and Black backgrounds—pause on a hillside slope holding their simple possessions. An individual in a tee-shirt tenderly carries a child, while a kid in sneakers sits glumly in the foreground. Above in the lofty skies, the divine symbol is positioned on a bright shrine amid the clustering gleam of golden pendulous stripes evoking the presence of God.

This humane and magnificent scene forms part of one of the most important recent public artworks in a currently divided United States.

“The message I aim to convey through this piece,” states the creator, “is that everyone belongs in this collective journey. To utilize such a vast canvas for this statement is an extraordinary privilege.”

St. Patrick’s, known as “America’s parish church,” caters to approximately 2.5 million local Catholics. It ranks among the top two cathedrals nationally and sees the highest foot traffic with five million tourists each year. This artwork represents the largest permanent piece ordered by the church in over a century.

A Vision of Unity

Through the awarded artistic concept, the mural realizes a longtime wish to mark the renowned sighting of the Virgin Mary, with Joseph, St. John the Baptist, the Lamb of God and angels in a rural Irish sanctuary during the late 19th century. The painter extends that homage to encompass earlier Irish newcomers and New York’s broader multicultural immigration.

The sizable wall on the west side, flanking the cathedral’s main doors, displays five historical Catholic luminaries paired with five contemporary emergency service members. Over each grouping hovers a monumental angel against a backdrop of shining bands hinting at spirituality.

Honoring Multifaceted Contributions

For the five west-wall Catholic notables the church selected immigrant archbishop John Hughes, Dorothy Day, the ex-bohemian New Yorker turned social activist, and Pierre Toussaint, the once-enslaved individual who rose to prominence as a stylist and donor. The artist added New York state’s 17th-century Saint Kateri Tekakwitha, the premier indigenous holy figure, and picked Al Smith, the popular New York politico of the 1920s and 1930s. The emergency workers were also the creator’s concept.

The artwork’s approach is clearly realistic—a deliberate selection. “Because this is an American painting, as opposed to overseas,” the painter states. “Abroad, lengthy traditions of church art exist, they no longer require such approaches. But we do.”

An Endeavor of Dedication

The massive project engaged approximately three dozen contributors, including an eminent fine-art gilder for the upper-mural stripes of gold leaf, platinum and heated titanium. It took five months to sketch the work in a huge studio in Brooklyn’s Navy Yard, and then most of a year for the intensive artwork—clambering up and down a scaffold to gauge things.

“Given my familial background in design,” he answers. “Therefore, I grasped spatial planning.”

As for the retiring cardinal, he announced during the artwork’s unveiling: “People inquire if this comments on migration? Absolutely, indeed. In short, that migrants are blessed beings.”

“We’re all in this together,” the artist repeats. “Despite personal feelings,” he notes. Multiple ideological followers are depicted. Along with assorted faiths. “However, common human experience unites all,” he maintains. “It extends beyond personal compatibility.”