Search
-
September 27, 2017If you haven’t recently visited VASJ’s Founders Chapel, you should check it out because you might notice two new additions to the Viking Village.
A few years ago, the Marianists, one of VASJ’s religious sponsoring orders, offered their sponsored schools grants in order to aid them in incorporating the Marianist charisms in their schools.
“The grant I applied for asked for funds to help create visuals based on our charisms to raise awareness and witness to our commitment to promoting the Marianist-Ursuline nature of VASJ,” says Mr. Bill Raddell, a longtime religion teacher at VASJ and coordinator of mission effectiveness.
With the grant money, he had two mosaics created that would encompass the school’s charisms. The creator of these mosaics was artist Michelle Biando from St. Jerome Parish.
“I knew her,” says Mr. Raddell. “She created a beautiful mosaic shrine to Our Lady of Perpetual Help, which sits in front of the church rectory.”
The first piece she worked on for VASJ was the Ursuline mosaic. She worked with members of VASJ’s art classes. The students helped create sections of the background while she worked on the primary images.
Biando chose the linden tree, a symbol used by the Ursuline order, to be the focal point of the piece. She surrounded the tree with quotes from the Counsels of St. Angela Merici.
More recently, she completed the Marianist mosaic. Biando based this piece on a famous quote by Blessed William Joseph Chaminade, founder of the Marianists.
Biando featured the following quote at the bottom of the piece with the brook running between the stones:“... I am like a brook that makes no effort to overcome obstacles in its way. All the obstacles can do is hold me up for a while, as a brook is held up; but during that time it grows broader and deeper, and after a while it overflows the obstruction and flows along again. That is how I am going to work.”
The mosaic was delivered to VASJ last spring and the two mosaics were recently hung in the Founders Chapel.
“I think the mosaics are important,” says Raddell. “They help us grow in our Marianist and Ursuline identity, and become visual reminders of who we are as a school.”
Be sure to check out these beautifully crafted mosaics in the Founders Chapel. It will definitely be worth your time.
Khalid Mitcham is a junior at VASJ. In addition to being a member of PR Club, Khalid is also involved in Drama Club, LIFE (Living in Faith Experience), and Science Olympiad. In his free time, he enjoys photography and writing poetry. After graduation, he plans on attending college and majoring in journalism.
