Local artist Matt Payovich was commissioned by Father David Kime of Mary, Mother of Mercy Parish in Michigan City, IN to create eight portraits of saints. The portraits will be hung adjacent to eight saint relics, which were donated to the church. Lucia-Bim Merle, the church's Pastoral Associate, said: “The relics are the sacred reminders of the men and women who lived their lives in faith.”
Before the portraits are sent to the church for permanent installation, they will be on exhibit at the Box Factory for the Arts, 1101 Broad St., St. Joseph, from April 23rd through May 3rd.
In the process of creating the portraits, Matt enlisted the aid of local people, several from the Box Factory, and many whose features bore a striking resemblance to the actual saints. They volunteered to pose in garments and with artifacts representative of the saints they portrayed. Matt photographed each model and then painted the portraits from the photographs.
Matt said he included a portion of a poem in Spanish by Saint Teresa of Avila in the image he painted of her. Here is the Spanish translation:
Let nothing disturb you,
Let nothing frighten you,
All things pass away:
God never changes.
The following are the models and the saints they portrayed: Paige Schubach (St. Teresa of Avila); Issac Hudson (St. Dominic Savio); Joshua Mason (St. Joseph); Lucy Madison (St. Catherine of Sienna); Chelsey Fonua (St. Helena); Amy Kuchan and daughter Ellison (St. Frances of Rome with her Angel); Tori Geuther (St. Maria Goretti). Pius X was painted based on an historic photo by Ernest Walter Histed.
The portraits will be unveiled in early August in their permanent home at Mary, Mother of Mercy Parish (formerly Queen of All Saints Parish), 606 S. Woodland Ave., Michigan City, IN.
For more information on the portraits and the unveiling at the church, contact Lucia Bim-Merle at lucia@qas.org. For information on Matt Payovich or the Box Factory exhibit, contact judy@boxfactoryarts.org.
