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Within the grandeur of this historic cathedral, a throng of present-day migrants—mostly Latino, Asian, and Black—rest on a sloping hill carrying their modest belongings. An individual in a tee-shirt tenderly carries a child, as a young person in athletic shoes sits solemnly up front. Overhead in the towering clouds, the divine symbol is positioned on a bright shrine surrounded by shimmering gold hanging bands suggesting the divine essence.

This humane and magnificent scene constitutes a segment of one of the most important recent public artworks in today’s riven America.

“The message I aim to convey through this piece,” affirms the painter, “is our shared experience and unity. Employing this grand stage for such a declaration stands as a remarkable opportunity.”

St. Patrick’s, known as “America’s parish church,” serves about 2.5 million New York Archdiocese Catholics. It’s one of the two most important cathedrals in the country and attracts the most attention with millions of annual guests. This artwork represents the largest permanent piece ordered by the church in over a century.

An Inspiration of Solidarity

In the artist’s competition-winning vision, the painting fulfills an enduring desire to honor the famed vision featuring holy figures including Mary, Joseph, John the Baptist, the Lamb, and angels at a little rural church in Knock, Ireland, in 1879. The artist expands that commemoration to involve past Irish migrants and New York’s broader multicultural immigration.

The mural’s long west wall, flanking the cathedral’s main doors, showcases a group of five prominent local Catholics on one side and on the other, a quintet of modern-day uniformed first responders. Above each assembly floats a large angelic figure in a setting again of those gleaming stripes evoking God’s presence.

Honoring Varied Achievements

For the five west-wall Catholic notables the archdiocese named Irish-born archbishop John Hughes, Dorothy Day, the onetime nonconformist turned campaigner, and Pierre Toussaint, the former enslaved Haitian who became a New York society hairdresser and major Catholic benefactor. The painter included early saint Kateri Tekakwitha, the premier indigenous holy figure, and selected public servant Al Smith from the interwar period. The frontline personnel were similarly the painter’s inclusion.

The artwork’s approach is clearly realistic—a deliberate selection. “Because this is an American painting, not a European one,” the artist explains. “Abroad, lengthy traditions of church art exist, their methods have evolved. However, here we must.”

An Endeavor of Dedication

The huge undertaking required around thirty individuals, 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 at a large workspace in an industrial area, then nine months for the arduous painting—moving up and down structures for evaluation.

“Given my familial background in design,” he replies. “So I understood how to plan for the space.”

Concerning the stepping-down archbishop, he stated at the piece’s introduction: “Some have asked me, are you trying to make a statement about immigration? Absolutely, indeed. Namely, that immigrants are children of God.”

“All are part of this collective,” the artist repeats. “Despite personal feelings,” he adds. Multiple ideological followers are depicted. Plus various beliefs. “However, common human experience unites all,” he insists. “It includes those beyond one’s circle.”