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Within the neo-gothic splendor of St. Patrick’s Cathedral, a crowd of today’s immigrants—primarily of Latino, Asian, and Black descent—rest on a sloping hill holding their simple possessions. A man in a T-shirt cradles an infant, and a youth in trainers appears thoughtful at the front. High up among the billowing clouds, the Lamb of God stands on a white altar amid the clustering gleam of golden pendulous stripes evoking the presence of God.

This humane and magnificent scene is a component of what is perhaps the most significant new piece of public art in a currently divided United States.

“My hope is that viewers grasp from this artwork,” declares the artist, “is that everyone belongs in this collective journey. To utilize such a vast canvas for this statement stands as a remarkable opportunity.”

St. Patrick’s, known as “America’s parish church,” serves about 2.5 million New York Archdiocese Catholics. It ranks among the top two cathedrals nationally and sees the highest foot traffic with five million tourists each year. This creation is the most substantial fixed work requested by the institution since its founding.

An Inspiration of Unity

In the artist’s competition-winning vision, the painting fulfills an enduring desire to mark the renowned sighting of the Virgin Mary, with Joseph, St. John the Baptist, the Lamb of God and angels at a small Irish countryside chapel in 1879. The artist expands that commemoration to include Irish immigrants of yore and New York’s broader multicultural immigration.

The extensive western facade, adjacent to the primary entrance, showcases a group of five prominent local Catholics alongside five present-day frontline workers. Over each grouping hovers a monumental angel in a setting again of those gleaming stripes evoking God’s presence.

Celebrating Varied Contributions

Regarding the five Catholic icons 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 artist added New York state’s 17th-century Saint Kateri Tekakwitha, the initial Native American saint, and picked Al Smith, the popular New York politico of the 1920s and 1930s. The first responders were the artist’s idea too.

The mural’s painting style is straightforwardly representational—a deliberate selection. “Because this is an American painting, as opposed to overseas,” the artist explains. “Abroad, lengthy traditions of church art exist, they no longer require such approaches. However, here we must.”

An Effort of Dedication

The huge undertaking required around thirty individuals, involving a specialist for the precious metal applications. Planning required half a year in a huge studio in Brooklyn’s Navy Yard, and then most of a year for the intensive artwork—clambering up and down a scaffold to gauge things.

“Given my familial background in design,” he replies. “Thus, I knew how to organize the area.”

Concerning the stepping-down archbishop, he announced during the artwork’s unveiling: “Some have asked me, are you trying to make a statement about immigration? Certainly, without doubt. In short, that migrants are blessed beings.”

“Everyone shares this experience,” the creator reiterates. “Regardless of preference,” he continues. Diverse political adherents appear in the piece. And multiple different religions. “But shared humanity means shared humanity,” he insists. “It extends beyond personal compatibility.”