Sacred art brings disparate people together

By Peter Finney Jr. 
Clarion Herald

The late Dominican Father Val McInnes would have loved the cozy, purposely understated, four-day meeting in New Orleans last week of some of North America’s most avid patrons of sacred art.

Father McInnes, who died in 2011 just two months after Archbishop Philip Hannan, was revered for his knowledge and love of sacred art and also for his ability to raise money for Dominican causes whenever necessary.

With the help of 2,000 volunteers, he and Archbishop Hannan teamed up to envision and then to bring to life the Treasures of the Vatican Pavilion at the 1984 World’s Fair, packed with sacred treasures such as Rafael’s tapestry of the Risen Christ and Caravaggio’s “Descent from the Cross.”

Friends good-naturedly kidded Father McInnes, saying that when his radar alerted him to a potential Catholic donor, he wasn’t afraid to ask for financial help if it meant securing an artwork, underwriting a construction project or advancing one of his sacred causes.

“Father Val doesn’t just meet you; he assesses you,” one friend said with a laugh.

Like all great Catholic fundraisers – Jesuit Father Harry Tompson also comes to mind – Father McInnes knew how and when to push buttons, and he wasn’t bashful in doing so. 

“The Jesuits are accused of chasing ambulances,” Father McInnes once said. “Well, the Dominicans are inside the ambulance.”

The Treasures of the Vatican exhibit in 1984 led directly to the formation the following year of the Louisiana chapter of Patrons of the Arts in the Vatican Museums, whose members collectively donate to help the 15 Vatican museums restore and preserve artifacts such as the Sistine Chapel and other priceless works of art.

The mission of the patrons is considered so vital that two Vatican officials – Msgr. Terence Hogan and Franciscan Sister of the Eucharist Raffaella Petrini – participated in the meetings to thank and encourage members.

Msgr. Hogan, the former rector of the Cathedral of St. Mary in the Archdiocese of Miami, lives in Rome and is the coordinator of the Office for Relations with Patrons of the Arts in the Vatican Museums. Sister Raffaella is the secretary general of Vatican City State – the first woman to oversee the day-to-day operations of the 8,000 employees in the tiny, 105-acre nation.

“The original purpose of the patrons 40 years ago was to restore all the sculpture, the art, the paintings and everything contained within the Vatican museums,” Msgr. Hogan said. “People think of the museums as one place, but there are 13, 14, 15 museums within it. Because of age and temperature and whatever situation we find, these objects have to be restored. The patrons also pay for the scientific technology in order to do these restorations.”

With so many treasures under one roof, the director of the Vatican Museums, Barbara Jatta, creates a list that prioritizes which items should 
be restored. 

“Then we put together what we call a ‘wish book’ yearly and say, ‘These are our needs,’” Msgr. Hogan said. “We have many, many needs, but these are our immediate needs. The patrons – whether it’s a chapter throughout the world or an individual – like to adopt a project and see it through to its restoration.”

The restoration work is done by a team of 100 artisans who have spent years learning their trade. Work is nearing completion on the Bramante Courtyard, funded in part by members of the Louisiana Chapter, said secretary-treasurer Michael Vales.  

“People would recognize it as the four walls inside the museums themselves,” Msgr. Hogan said. “It has the pine cones and it dates back to the early 1500s. Work is also being completed on the room of Constantine, which is one of the last areas Rafael worked on, and on the statue of Apollo. That is really delicate because the sculptures over the years, particularly because of weather and the way they might have been found, break easily. That’s been a five-year restoration.”

A nearly 500-year-old tapestry depicting the Adoration of the Magi, also designed by Rafael and created in Belgium, is being restored in house.

“We have this very small group – several nuns and a couple of laypeople – who try to match the actual threads that were used 500 years ago,” Msgr. Hogan said. “Those restorations usually go from six to eight years.”

One of the perks of being a patron is to have access to the museums at reserved times and also to exhibits that may not be open to the 25,000 daily visitors.

Louisiana chapter members have contributed to the restoration of the Ecce Homo (“Behold the Man”) – a wood bust of Christ with the crown of thorns.

As a newly ordained priest, Msgr. Hogan recalls walking through the Vatican Museums with his parents and being overwhelmed. To see everything would encompass a seven-mile walk.

“There’s this wonderful sister who runs the education office of the Vatican Museums, and she says the best way to see the museums is not to see everything but to stop and focus on a few things,” Msgr. Hogan said. “When you go to the Sistine Chapel, it’s overwhelming. So, take one area, whether it’s the Last Judgment or the creation of the world, and look at that. Study it, talk about it, see how it reflects Michelangelo, how it reflects theology and how it reflects art. That’s the best way to see the Vatican.”

Vales said while the patrons are largely Catholic, there are members of different faiths in their ranks.

“Think of this wonderful collection of art and these Gospel stories, told in many different art forms,” Vales said. “Art brings people together. Art is an ambassador in a time when we have lots of different stripes in the world. Where else in the world do we have this opportunity?”

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