The newly-renovated chapel of Bishop James Wall of the Gallup diocese
aims to be part of the spiritual formation of local seminarians as they
prepare to pastor churches in the future.
“The idea was to make something peaceful and beautiful, and in God's
honor...it's a house for discernment, and seminarians live there at
time, so it's also intended to be part of their spiritual formation,”
Father Matthew Keller, the Gallup diocese's director of vocations and
mission resources, told CNA April 8.
The chapel, attached to the bishop's residence, is located at a
discernment house which is at times home to both priests and seminarians
of the Gallup diocese. It has been renewed with sacred art from
artisans who work in styles native to New Mexico.
“It's all along with the idea of demonstrating to seminarians how to go
about seeking out the artists, encouraging, collaborating with the
artists, thinking things through very carefully – what is the meaning of
each aspect of the chapel, how to do things beautifully and according
to the guidelines the Church gives us, following that as closely as we
could, while keeping the local customs as well.”
The process has been years in the making, and is nearly completed. The
chapel has received a new altar and retablo, a celebrant's chair,
sanctuary rail, stations of the cross, flooring, and an image of Our
Lady of Guadalupe. A lectern and pews are still in the process of being
prepared.
One of the priorities in commissioning the chapel, Fr. Keller said, was
“to use the art that's unique and local,” working with “New Mexico
artists who are unique, and worthy as well.”
The lengthy process has served to show the seminarians that the renewal
and care of church buildings “doesn't happen overnight,” and
demonstrated “the patience involved, the fund raising, all the different
things that go into it.”
“But also it took a lot of work to do it locally,” said Fr. Keller. “So
many things it would be easier to just open up a catalogue...and you
might find things that are beautiful that way, but it didn't really fit
the model we were going for in this place, which was to serve 'artistic
subsidiarity.'”
The style of art in the chapel, called “santero,” is a folk art based
on Spanish colonial art, explained Roberto Gonzales, who made the
chapel's station's of the cross. Artists in the style make their own
pigments, and it is “meant for prayer; it's meant for people to have
these images in their house and use them more for prayer than as art.”
Gonzales spoke to CNA/EWTN News April 9, noting that he and other
artists in the style “reflect on the saints lives and what they went
through, and what it means to have faith. And for the stations, when I
was doing those, it was like re-living the Passion...it's a long
process, and it's a prayerful process.”
The process of making the stations took a year, as “you pray on each
station, you reflect on what Christ was going through at that time, and
what it meant, and what it means to humanity, and what it means to you
as a person, and how it's affected the world, how it's affected all
mankind, and it's just a beautiful thing.”
The style allows for non-literal depictions of the scenes, as when
Gonzales shows the Pieta as a large Mary holding a far-smaller Christ,
to emphasize, that “he's her baby, a mother's child, and that's what
she's mourning.”
In the station in which Christ is nailed to the cross, the background
is ethereal and disconnected from the earth, to emphasize the spiritual
nature of what's happening, Gonzales said.
Gonzales emphasized that his work is prayerful and it's not so much for
renumeration. Fr. Keller, on the other hand, said that for the Church
it is important to give artisans due compensation for their work.
“The Church is supposed to be the patron of the arts, and not just a
benefactor. Artists aren't expected to work for free, we want to support
them and make that viable way of life.”
He said that the chapel was provided through the donations of parishes
and individuals who “believe in the project” and the importance of
supporting priests, seminarians, and artisans.
Arlene Sena produced the paintings found in the sanctuary, and agreed that prayer is “the key to this tradition.”
Sena produced images of the Holy Family, Saint James, Saint Francis de
Sales, Our Lady of Mount Carmel, two angels, and the Sacred Heart. Each
was chosen for a particular reason, out of importance to the Gallup
diocese and to Bishop Wall.
The woodwork in the sanctuary is modeled on that found in the Gallup
cathedral, and an image of Our Lady of Guadalupe was included because
she is patroness of the diocese.
Sena told CNA/EWTN News that this chapel was “one of the best projects
I've ever worked on,” and said that “once you know who you're preparing
these pieces for, it makes it so much easier to pray for those who will
be serving in that chapel for years to come.”
Gonzales emphasized again that prayer is central to his process of
making art, and that it is for him an important way to promote the
faith.
“I'm not a very good speaker, but I can pass the faith by doing art.”
“And that's what it is for me, just spreading the faith.