Cory Lakatos
Celebrating SBI’s Tenth Anniversary
Celebrating SBI’s Tenth Anniversary
Cory Lakatos
Video and Photos: A Civil Dialogue on Sex and ...
Cory Lakatos
The Sabbath of the Earth
Cory Lakatos
Student Stories: True Desire for Holiness
Cory Lakatos
Welcome, Students!

Welcome, Students!

Welcome to Hope College and the Saint Benedict Institute! We are excited to begin a new academic year with new and returning students.

Founded by Catholic scholars at Hope College, the Saint Benedict Institute seeks to promote and nurture intellectual work done from the heart of the Catholic Church, to foster an ecumenical community of Catholic Christians and friends committed to the renewal of culture, and to aid in the formation of intellectually and spiritually mature Christians by making available the riches of the Catholic tradition to Hope College and the wider community.

To achieve this mission, SBI provides daily Mass and regular Confession and Eucharistic Adoration on campus, spiritual direction, Bible study and other student groups, lectures and seminars, immersion trips, and more. As a ministry of nearby St. Francis de Sales Catholic Church, we have a covenant partnership with Hope College Campus Ministries and work closely with the Hope Catholics student organization and a group of FOCUS missionaries.

You can browse this website for more information, but here’s a quick summary of what you need to know going into the semester:

Who’s Who on Campus

Schedule of Services

Sunday Mass

5:00 p.m. - Winants Auditorium, Graves Hall

Daily Mass   

Tuesday - 11:05 a.m and 9:00 p.m.

Wednesday - 12:05 p.m. and 9:00 p.m.

Thursday - 11:05 a.m.  

Friday - 12:05 p.m. 

Saturday - 12:05 p.m.

All daily Masses are in St. Anne Oratory (basement of Graves Hall) 

Confessions

Saturday - 1-2pm or by appointment in Lubbers 223

nicholas.monco@saintbenedictinstitute.org

Adoration

Tuesday - 12 p.m. - 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. - 9 p.m. in St. Anne Oratory, Graves Hall

Spiritual Direction: Heart Speaks to Heart

Carly Baldwin outside the Franciscan Sister's motherhouse, where the commissioning Mass for the spiritual direction program was held

Earlier this summer, Carly Baldwin, SBI’s campus minister, earned her certification in spiritual direction from Franciscan University of Steubenville. Carly completed this program over the course of three summers to improve her skills and provide even higher-quality spiritual direction to students at Hope College. Read what she has to say about her experience:

Carly with her husband and daughter at the commissioning Mass

The motto at the School of Spiritual Direction at Franciscan University is cor ad cor loquitur, a Latin phrase that means “heart speaks to heart.” Through the ministry of spiritual direction, I have seen hearts opening to God, perhaps for the first time in a long while. These hearts are opening to the love and mercy that the Lord longs to pour out on each of us, especially in prayer, our time spent with him. I have seen hearts open more deeply to others; family relationships begin to heal and friendships grow deeper and more real. My heart, too, has been opened. Having the privilege of hearing directees share their fears, struggles, and hurts has opened me more to see the loving presence of God, who knows us and is with us in our deepest and darkest places.

Carly receiving her certification from the Vice President of Franciscan University, Fr. Jonathan St. Andre, TOR

My heart has been opened more to receive the heart God has for his children. By listening to others share in spiritual direction, I have seen more and more how the Lord listens to me, how he sees me as his beloved child, and how he wants me to receive his forgiveness and grace. I hope this has allowed me to be more compassionate and merciful to those I sit with in spiritual direction.

I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity to attend these two-week intensives at Franciscan University’s School of Spiritual Direction for the past three summers. Over the course of this time, I have attended classes, read various books, met with directees, gone through the spiritual exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola, and taken a directee through the exercises. The method taught in the School of Spiritual Direction is called the contemplative evocative method. We are taught to listen well to the person sitting in front of us, to listen to the Holy Spirit, and to ask questions that evoke something deeper for our directees. This method, and all that I have learned, has been transformative in my own relationship with the Lord. I pray that it will be transformative for others as I am called forward in the ministry of spiritual direction.

Carly with her class after the commissioning Mass

Year-in-Review: 2023-2024

From the ordination of a Hope College alumnus to the first-ever Eucharistic procession on Hope’s campus, the 2023-2024 academic year was another great one for the Saint Benedict Institute and the Hope Catholic community! Here are some highlights:

1. hope catholic ordained to the priesthood

2014 Hope graduate Corey Bilodeau was ordained for the Diocese of Lansing on June 10, 2023. SBI co-founders Jared Ortiz and Jack Mulder had the privilege of attending the ordination Mass. May God bless Fr. Corey in his priesthood!

2. Icon Blessing in the Saint Anne Oratory

Also in June 2023, Fr. Nick Monco blessed the icons in the Saint Anne Oratory at the Carol C. Schaap Chapel. We now have a complete set of eight holy images in this sacred space. Thank you to all our supporters who made these icons possible!

3. Welcoming focus missionaries

This year, we began a partnership with the Fellowship of Catholic University Students (FOCUS) to bring four young missionaries to the campus of Hope College. These recent college graduates minister to students through Bible studies and other initiatives.

4. Ecology, evolution, and faith

On September 7, 2023, the SBI welcomed Sr. Damien Marie Savino for a lecture on the theory of evolution in light of the Catholic tradition. This was the first talk in our series on the harmony between faith and science.

5. african american saints in the making

On October 16, 2023, Most Rev. Joseph Perry, a recently retired auxiliary bishop of Chicago, joined us to discuss the path to sainthood for six African American Catholics. He also lectured on the rich and complicated history of Black Catholics.

6. the big bang, the beginning, and creation

On November 16, 2023, Stephen Barr joined us to discuss what Christian revelation, philosophy, and contemporary science have to say about how and when the universe came into existence. This was the second lecture in our faith and science series.

7. Transforming matter art exhibition

Open from January – May 2024, this exhibition was curated by five Catholic students working under the supervision of SBI’s executive director Jared Ortiz. The exhibition featured 25 artworks that reflect different aspects of Catholic theology and practice.

8. another year of ice masses

In January 2024, several Hope students constructed an ice altar and other liturgical furnishings that were even more elaborate than last year’s. This allowed Fr. Nick to celebrate several well-attended Masses in the snowy Pine Grove.

9. Was jesus an only child?

On April 17, 2024, Jack Mulder, SBI’s assistant director, discussed biblical, traditional, and philosophical ways to think of Jesus’ nuclear family. He addressed topics including Jesus’ siblings and the perpetual virginity of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

10. eucharistic procession on campus

Catholic students organized the first Eucharistic procession to take place on the campus of Hope College. Preceded by 40 hours of Eucharistic adoration and a Mass, the procession on April 24, 2024, drew students, faculty, and other local Catholics.

Video & Photos: Was Jesus an Only Child?

On April 17, 2024, SBI co-founder and assistant director Dr. Jack Mulder gave a lecture titled Was Jesus an Only Child? Dr. Mulder discussed biblical, traditional, and philosophical ways to think of Jesus' nuclear family. Did Jesus have siblings? Was Mary a virgin throughout her life? Why do those questions matter for us? Watch the full talk below and see photos from the event.

Photos by Adam Vander Kooy

Reflections (and Photos) from the Archabbey

Over spring break, we brought a group of Hope College students to Saint Meinrad Archabbey in southern Indiana. There, the students entered into the Benedictine rhythm of prayer and work. Afterward, we asked two students to share their reflections from the archabbey. We also have photos from the immersion trip to share.

Ana Wong’s Reflection

“What is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him?” (Psalm 8). At Saint Meinrad Archabbey over spring break, I encountered the loving, tender, and attentive care of God. Immersed in the quiet and simple life of Benedictine monks, we spent a few hours in silence and prayer each day. We joined the monks for Liturgy of the Hours and prayed the psalms, day and night. Away from the busyness of my senior year at Hope, I was able to quiet my soul and encounter new things in my heart that needed to be brought to the Lord in prayer. Looking ahead in life, everything seems uncertain. It all seems so big, and I feel so small in comparison. On this retreat, I was vulnerable with the Lord and so was he with me. As I shared my heart with him, he shared his heart with me. He made me see just how precious I am in his sight. At the archabbey, I faced the reality of my lowly estate through solitude and silence. Yet, I am not discouraged. Rather, I find solace knowing I am in the constant care of the Most High King.

Zach (left) and Ana (right) working in the archabbey gardens

Zach Pape’s Reflection

Prayer, reading, and a little gardening were almost all that occupied me during my week at Saint Meinrad. Far from producing restlessness, the rhythms of prayer and work I entered into there generated a calm in which I was left alone with God. The space and time to confront myself before God, while terrifying, was a truly beautiful grace. Following the initial days of conviction and abandonment, healing gradually became evident. Through hours of chanting Psalms, heart-rending prayer, and rest before the Blessed Sacrament, my soul found ever-deeper peace. Not unlike the gardens we weeded on the trip, my heart was being painfully cleared of deeply-rooted insecurity, anxiety, and sin to become the far more beautiful and calm creation God intended. God works in silence, and such work is difficult to articulate, but the monastery was a place where such work was joyfully received. Upon returning, those close to me commented repeatedly on the evident increase in peace and joy they saw in me following just one week. Such change is the result not only of God's work but more specifically the ways he filled me with himself at Saint Meinrad, washed out brokenness, and taught me to surrender to his love whether in or out of the monastery.

Religious Vocations: What's That All About?

Friday, March 22, 7 p.m., Graves Hall

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to pursue a religious vocation? Could God be calling you? How would you know? Join us for two simultaneous talks, one for women and one for men, in which you’ll hear Catholic religious share their personal stories of discerning and entering their vocations. There will be time for Q&A after the talks.

Fr. Eugene Batungbacal is a priest of the Diocese of Grand Rapids. He was ordained in 2010. He currently serves as the Assistant Director of Youth and Young Adult Ministry for the Hispanic Ministry of the diocese. He is in residence at St. Alphonsus Parish in Grand Rapids.

Sr. Josetta Rose entered the Sisters of St. Francis of Perpetual Adoration in 2020 after serving as a FOCUS (Fellowship of Catholic University Students) missionary at Ball State University. She is originally from Minnesota. After professing her first vows in August 2023, she joined the community’s vocation team and is pursuing an MA in catechetics and evangelization online at the Franciscan University of Steubenville. She likes rollerblading, art, being outside, and sharing Jesus with people. 

Sr. Fiat joined the Sisters of St. Francis of Perpetual Adoration in 2016 after graduating college. Before entering the convent, she served as a NET (National Evangelization Teams) missionary ,where she discovered her love of evangelization. As a sister, she has taught middle school and now serves on the vocations team for her community. In this role, she is honored to help women discover their vocations, preach the gospel to many, and watch those she serves fall more deeply in love with Jesus! She is passionate about facilitating encounters with Jesus' kindness for others!

Was Jesus an Only Child?

A Biblical and Philosophical Exploration

April 17, 7 p.m., Winants Auditorium, Graves Hall

In this talk, Dr. Jack Mulder will discuss biblical, traditional, and philosophical ways to think of Jesus' nuclear family. Did Jesus have siblings? Was Mary a virgin throughout her life? Why do those questions matter for us? Join us to learn about and discuss these questions.

This event is co-sponsored by the Hope College departments of Religion and Philosophy and the Center for Ministry Studies.

Dr. Jack Mulder is the assistant director and co-founder of the Saint Benedict Institute. He is a native of Grand Rapids and a Hope College alumnus. Dr. Mulder studied philosophy and religion at Hope College before pursuing an MA and PhD in philosophy at Purdue University, where he wrote his dissertation on Kierkegaard. He was received into the Catholic Church while at graduate school. Dr. Mulder is the author of several books, including Kierkegaard and the Catholic Tradition, What Does it Mean to Be Catholic? (Eerdmans, 2015), and Civil Dialogue on Abortion (Routledge, 2018). Currently, he is a professor of philosophy and the chair of the Philosophy Department at Hope College. Dr. Mulder is happily married to Melissa, an Associate Professor of Spanish Instruction at Hope, and he is the father of two children, Lucas and Maria.

Meet the FOCUS Missionaries

Beginning in the 2023-2024 academic year, the Saint Benedict Institute is partnering with the Fellowship of Catholic University Students (FOCUS) to bring a group of young missionaries to the campus of Hope College. These recent college graduates minister to students through Bible studies and other initiatives. We asked the four missionaries to answer two simple questions at the beginning of the fall 2023 semester, and we present their answers below. You can read their full bios on our staff page.

Lauren DiIulio

How did you discern becoming a FOCUS missionary?

I was originally set on doing the Echo Program at the University of Notre Dame, where I would have pursued a M.A. in Theology for no cost. It sounded like the best option on paper, so I applied for FOCUS as a backup plan. However, as my period of discernment proceeded, I felt more and more drawn to FOCUS. I knew that I desired greater intimacy with the Lord over anything else, and I felt in my heart that what FOCUS had to offer would lead me in deeper spiritual formation and closer to sainthood. I wanted to choose the path that would help me become the kind of person and disciple that would best prepare me to love and serve God well in my vocation after FOCUS. Nothing brings me more fulfillment and joy than sharing my passion for Jesus and the Catholic faith with others, so I can't wait to do that at Hope!

What are you looking forward to about serving at Hope College?

I am so excited to live in Holland and explore all the city has to offer with the students I encounter. The Lord was very attentive to my desires in my placement, as tulips are my favorite flower, and I love nature and the beach! Above all, I can't wait to meet new people and be a part of the Hope College community. I can already tell the Lord is doing amazing things within the Catholic campus ministry, so it is an honor to be invited as an extension of the great things already happening here!

Ben Lahart

How did you discern becoming a FOCUS missionary?

I became a FOCUS missionary because while I was in college, the missionaries had such a huge impact on both my spiritual and “normal” life and I felt that if I could do the same for someone else I should. I also saw it as an excellent chance to grow closer to the Lord individually as well.

What are you looking forward to about serving at Hope College?

I’m looking forward to just meeting students, getting to know them and where they’re at in life, and then begin walking with them and sharing life with them!

Gabby Hancock

How did you discern becoming a FOCUS missionary?

I had a deep thirst to become more formed in the faith and to share it with others. I am very convicted that the battle lies amidst college campuses, and I wanted to be a part of it and teach young women about their worth and dignity in Christ. I know that this role is preparing me to be a better nurse and maybe one day a better wife and mother.  

What are you looking forward to about serving at Hope College?

I am looking forward to witnessing the Christian community in general and to just learn! I am very excited to meet the students and become a part of the beauty of this robust community. I am also excited to just be able to hang out and explore the area—hopefully pick some fruit and go hiking in some nature!

Nathan Lindholm

How did you discern becoming a FOCUS missionary?

I discerned becoming a FOCUS missionary by asking the Lord what he wanted for my life. He had been calling me to go on a mission with him in some capacity, but I wasn't sure what. My idea of fulfilling this would have been on my own terms, part-time, in addition to a cushy tech job. Really what the Lord wanted from me was to surrender my life to him and go on mission full time. I felt an indescribable peace when I surrendered to the Lord rather than try to grasp control of my future. Jesus is faithful and I can attest that he is never outdone in generosity.

What are you looking forward to about serving at Hope College?

I'm excited about a lot of things at Hope this year. The most exciting thing so far has been how much of an adventure it is here. This is Hope College's first year with a FOCUS team, so it has been fun to figure out where we fit into the mix and how God wants to move on campus this year.

Date Like a Christian

On January 26, 2024, the Saint Benedict Institute hosted an evening of discussion and discernment that we called Date Like a Christian. Hope students, both men and women, gathered for cookies, hot chocolate, and a conversation with Joseph and Crystal Gruber of Our Outpost.

“I appreciated the opportunity to hear about how to build faithful relationships from two people who were clearly in love with each other and their vocation,” said one student. “Everything they said held more value because it seemed to be thoroughly integrated into their own experiences.”

2024 Spring Break Immersion Trip: Saint Meinrad Archabbey

March 8-17, 2024

The life of the monks at Saint Meinrad Archabbey revolves around prayer and work for the love of God and neighbor. Located in the hills of rural southern Indiana, the monastery offers visitors a chance to experience a rhythm of life very different from our own. This immersion trip, sponsored by the Saint Benedict Institute, allows Hope students to enter into the rhythms of monastic life for a week, beginning with vigil prayers at 5:30 a.m. in the abbey church. The prayer is beautiful, the setting is tranquil, and the people are joyful. Please pray for the students who will attend this trip, including several who are going for the second time!

Transformed by Beauty: Student Curators Reflect on Catholic Art

Fr. Nick Monco views Veronica’s Veil, a favorite artwork for several of the student curators

Can beauty bring you closer to God? The answer is a resounding “Yes!” according to William Cooke, William Hurley, Karlie Platz, Molly Leonard, and Gabrielle Nelson, the student curators behind Transforming Matter: Incarnation, Sacraments, and Saints in Catholic Art and Devotion.

This exhibition features 25 artworks that reflect different aspects of Catholic theology and religious practice. All of the artworks in the exhibition belong to the Kruizenga Art Museum’s permanent collection and were chosen for display by the five students under the direction of Dr. Jared Ortiz, executive director of the Saint Benedict Institute. You can see the exhibition through May 18, 2024. The KAM is located at 271 Columbia Avenue, between 10th and 13th streets. Public visiting hours are Tuesdays through Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission to the museum is always free.

We met up with William, William, Karlie, Molly, and Gabrielle at the KAM to talk about Catholic art, the curation process, and why people should come see the exhibition. These interviews have been lightly edited for length and clarity.

Dr. Jared Ortiz in conversation at the exhibition

Why are you interested in Catholic art?

William Cooke: Well, we’re Catholic! We [William and William] are both theology majors. I love Catholic philosophy and theology, and it’s really beautiful seeing it expressed in artistic form.

William Hurley: I think that God created beauty as a reality and I think expressing theology and the truths that he taught us through beauty is a way we can learn about him. I think especially through some of the physical relics it also connects Christians nowadays to Christians previously—through relics of the saints, through the physical reminders of the sacraments—and it shows a lot of the faith of the people through things like “Veronica’s Veil” and a lot of the other things we have here. So I think it’s a beautiful expression of Christian truth through beauty.

Karlie Platz: It’s interesting for me because I’m a biochemistry major, so art is not my natural habitat necessarily. I’m also a religion major, so I’ve spent some time learning about the history and theology of the Church, and art has a big role to play in that. It’s a very tangible representation of that and how the Church has been evolving over time.

Molly Leonard: I’m a math major and a religion major, so art’s not one of my natural inclinations either, but I think it’s one of the really cool ways that God reaches us. Especially in the Catholic tradition we see that God can work through different people’s gifts to show a lot of different skills and beauty. I think we’re able to draw on that and learn a lot from different cultures.

Gabrielle Nelson: I’m an art education major here at Hope, so Dr. Ortiz asked me to be a part of this show because of that and because I’m Catholic. Growing up, I have been immersed in the beauty of Catholic art. My mom’s an iconographer, so I’ve always had this deep appreciation for the beauty that the Catholic Church presents. I was really excited to be invited by Dr. Ortiz to be a part of this show because I think that’s one of the most important parts of our faith—the beauty that we can depict, along with our faith that we all share.

William Cooke with an Ethiopian icon of the Last Judgement

What was it like working with your fellow curators, Dr. Ortiz, and the Kruizenga Art Museum team?

William Hurley: It was great. It took a while, but that’s just how this stuff works out. I think it was really great especially because Dr. Ortiz could check all of our stuff and make sure it all flows together. We developed seven different ideas and were able to synthesize it all into this one journey. I think it was really nice, and of course Dr. Ortiz and the other Catholics were really great to work with, and they brought a lot of theological and artistic knowledge to the table.

William Cooke: And the museum staff were really great to work with too. A lot of us were dropping by here and looking at stuff and rearranging and toying around with it for a while. It was really cool seeing it emerge from nothing, everyone throwing out ideas and tweaking it, and it becoming something really coherent that we’re all really proud of.

Karlie Platz: Dr. Ortiz was an excellent organizer. We started way back in the spring just perusing the museum and looking at these things. The thing that struck me the most was that I was so surprised that all this art was here. In the basement of this museum we had these relics and these beautiful crucifixes and monstrances and things. That was exciting and surprising. Then once we actually started working together and figuring out what was going to go where, it was really beautiful that this story emerged, working from the Incarnation to the Resurrection.

Molly Leonard: It was really cool to get to tell a story. Dr. Ortiz did a really good job organizing it and making it so it wasn’t super logistically hard for us to do. We still got to do a lot of the fun stuff of picking out different pieces and trying to draw out what was really cool and beautiful about them artistically and also theologically. In writing about them we got to play to our strengths and also get to work together and make a really cool project out of it.

Gabrielle Nelson: We had a couple meetings to decide what we were picking out. Charles Mason has a ton of pieces here that are Catholic, and some were Catholic art but not made by Catholic artists. We decided to go with a strictly Catholic artists show. We deliberated and we talked about the pieces. The KAM has a website where we could decide on a gallery that we could add each piece to. We wrote down our favorites and prayed about it and then came together. The museum did the rest. Dr. Ortiz had us write about each section and research.

William Hurley with the monstrance, ciborium, processional crucifix, Defenders of the Eucharist, and Veronica’s Veil

What’s your favorite work of art in the exhibition and why?

William Hurley: I’d have to pick the ones that I wrote about. I love the ciborium a lot, and the processional crucifix, and of course the monstrance. Those are the three that are my favorite. They’re so awesome because they’re sacred objects which are used in the liturgy of the Church, the divine worship that’s due towards God. That’s one of the things I love the most as an altar server: to be that close to God when these things are happening. These things are reminders of that. Veronica’s Veil is the other one that was really impressive that I did not write about.

William Cooke: I wrote about the Asian, Ethiopian, and Mexican sections. It’s really hard to choose. If I had to choose one outside of my section, it would probably be Defenders of the Eucharist. I also really love the relics. They’re really beautiful and there’s the added level of sacredness—having actual sacred objects that we get to show. 

Karlie Platz: The section that I wrote the descriptions for was the Incarnation section. Naturally they have a special place in my heart because I spent so much time thinking about them. The one that sticks out to me the most is the etching of Veronica’s Veil. There’s something about when you look at it, it’s so powerful, the face of Christ, it looks like he’s weeping a little bit. It really strikes you to the heart. It’s also from an artistic point of view very interesting. I didn’t realize this at first when I first saw it—I just thought it was this beautiful drawing. It’s actually a single line that starts in his nose and spirals out to make this beautiful image. You wouldn’t even realize it until you look at it. It’s almost like this double symbolism. Of course the symbolism of Veronica’s Veil is that this veil—this matter—is transformed into this holy object. But then for the artist it’s even something as simple as a line can be transformed into this beautiful picture. I thought that one was really powerful.

Molly Leonard: I wrote the saints and relics section so those are my favorite pieces. It’s hard to pick a favorite. I like the St. Anne relic because we have the St. Anne Oratory here. And I didn’t really realize how intricate it was until yesterday when I was looking closer at the relic, because I don’t think I had seen the reliquary up close. There are little angel heads around the relic, which is really cool. And just the fact that we have the reliquary here and the significance that it holds to Hope’s Catholic community is really special.

Gabrielle Nelson: I just love the Last Supper piece... I go back and forth! All the pieces look different, too, now that they’re hung up. I think probably the St. Nicholas icon, just because he’s my patron, so I have a super close connection to St. Nicholas. Also, since it is an icon, I see my mom every time I go home she’s making icons and painting, so it’s really cool to see a different application of that medium as well as to see the history behind it that I don’t really see with my mom painting brand new ones at home.

Karlie Platz with several images of the crucified Christ

What did you learn while curating the exhibition? How has it affected you academically and spiritually?

William Cooke: Through doing this, I got a better sense of the breadth of the Catholic artistic tradition. Seeing all the different art movements and cultures through which the faith is expressed has been really enlightening. There’s a lot of history you connect with looking at this.

William Hurley: I’m used to a lot of statuary and metalwork, that kind of stuff, and to see, especially the Asian art that I’m not really in contact with living in the West, that was really inspiring. Things like Veronica’s Veil—before this I actually hadn’t heard about the specific way of that drawing. I see that as a little miracle in and of itself. 

Karlie Platz: I’ve always known that the word “catholic” means “universal,” this idea of the Universal Church, but seeing this art from all the different cultures and the different ways even within one culture that different individuals represent their faith, really visibly and tangibly made the reality of the universality of the Church present to me. I think that was my biggest takeaway.

Molly Leonard: It was really cool to reflect on the Catholic faith as a really distinctly incarnational one and the different ways that plays out: the saints and the sacraments, the relics and things like the Last Judgement. It was really cool to see how it is displayed in so many different themes throughout the exhibit, the way we were able to bring that story to life.

Gabrielle Nelson: I think I came in knowing a decent amount about the curation process, but I definitely learned a lot more through working with Charles. I had no idea the KAM had so many Catholic art pieces! It was really cool to see that, even though Hope is obviously not a Catholic school. But then I also feel like my personal faith grew a lot because I was moved to really look into the images that we selected, particularly for the Last Things section, that I had to do the research on the artwork itself. I do that in my art classes, but I don’t always get to experience that with Catholic art. Really diving into the truth of the Catholic faith through that and using all three transcendentals of truth, beauty, and goodness and working from each within the pieces and my own faith growing. Even things that I already knew were reiterated.

Molly Leonard with the reliquaries on display at the exhibition

Why should people come see this exhibition?

William Hurley: I think that it takes you on almost a whole journey of Christ and how he is trying to reach us and the world. It’s an excellent summary, kind of a mini-catechism, and done in a very reachable, beautiful way. It’s not some stuffy theological document that’s hard to read. It’s a thing that’s expressed through emotion and beauty. Specifically, Defenders of the Eucharist was another thing that I really like as well, that shows in a beautiful way people’s love for the real transformation of matter that we have.

William Cooke: God is beauty, and experiencing him through art—this is a way to God. It’s a unique way of experiencing God, and this is our shared heritage, so this is also a way of being close with all the Christians who have come before us.

Molly Leonard: Especially because we’re on a Protestant campus, a lot of people just don’t know a ton about the history of the Catholic Church and the deep faith tradition that we have. We tried to give a pretty cohesive view of what we believe as Catholics. There’s a lot that we’re trying to show. Also, I think we have some really cool art, and we just had the opportunity to show it. Otherwise, it’s just going to sit in the basement.

Karlie Platz: I think about the story of the Catholic tradition that can be learned. Also, there is something divine in all of the matter around us, and I think coming to look at this art and reflect upon that can help awaken our senses to that reality.

Gabrielle Nelson: A lot of people have misconceptions about Catholic art. Just entering this space they’ll see the beauty and how it draws you into something deeper. Even if there are no misconceptions, we’re made to see beautiful things and walking through this gallery can grow you closer to God and show you more of God through beauty.

Gabrielle Nelson with artworks in the Last Things section of the exhibition

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