The William H. Shannon Chair in Catholic Studies presents...

Awakening the Heart: The Art(s) of Faith

Catholicism has long recognized the spiritual power of the arts. The creativity of the artist is a participation in the work of the Creator, and the artist’s creation not only reveals the Sacred but also awakens the human heart to the Sacred in our midst. The arts have always had a place at Nazareth College, and so it is especially fitting that this Shannon Chair Lecture Series brings to the College and the community contemporary artists whose faith inspires and informs their art in a variety of genres: music, film, painting, photography, and poetry.

A musician who creates and performs jazz; a filmmaker who shows us the suffering of people living in poverty; an artist whose icons tell the stories of people of faith, past and present; and a monk for whom poetry and photography are spiritual practices. Each of these is a practitioner of both art and faith. Each will invite us to explore, experience, and reflect on the art(s) of faith as they share their journeys, their art, and their spiritualities—inviting us to hear and see the world anew.

Please join us in welcoming to the Shannon Chair podium our distinguished artists: Deanna Witkowski, Gerard Straub, Robert Lentz, O.F.M., and Paul Quenon, O.C.S.O.

View more: Lecture, Leadership, Spirituality