Naperville, Illinois

Communion of Saints Murals

by Lillian Brulc

Communion of Saints Murals

Artist Lillian Brulc was commissioned by St. Elizabeth Seton Parish to create the murals in their worship center. They had selected six walls, the subject "Communion of Saints" and a list of saints they would like to see in the artwork.

"\ found the challenge exciting. Some of the saints I knew well, of others I had known little more than their names and some, which I selected to add, were wonderful new discoveries."

Lillian based the structure of her designs on the form of the architecture: its space apportionment for liturgy, sacrament, and meditation/prayer, and its natural light. Beginning with an overall "ground" color of blue (the color most used to symbolize spirituality), she developed over it a vibrant sense of energy with intersecting white lines giving a dimension of spatial movement. She divided the saints into thematic groups and wove their images into the ground-line design.

The final composition seems to echo the praises in the song of creation in the Book of Daniel:

Angels, heavens, sun and moon, stars of heaven, nights and days,
light and darkness, lightening and clouds, water creatures, birds of the air, beasts, all living people.

Shadow of Night - Back wall on Right

1 Healing Mother Cabrini Archangel Raphael St. Peter St. John St. Peregrine St. John Neumann Fabiola		"To enter into the house of God we must cross a threshold which symbolizes passing from the world wounded by sin to a world of new life of which we are called." (New Catechism) At the liturgy we confess our need for spiritual healing and ask for the prayers of all.
4 New Life St. John the Baptist St. Stephen St. Luke Isaiah Perpetua Felicity Elizabeth Joseph Mary of the Magnificat		This mural faces the baptismal font/pool where new life in faith is born. Except for Perpetua and Felicity, all of these saints are biblical figures, some of the greatest in he history of salvation. Mary, encircled in the movement of the Holy Spirit, sings her praise to God.
5 Shadow of Night Bl. Kateri Tekakwitha St. Isaac Jogues St. Katherine Drexel St. Therese of Lisieux Bl. Miguel Pro St. Teresa Benedicta (Edith Stein) St. Maxmilian Kolbe St. Charles Lwanga Pope St. Gregory the Great St. Augustine St. Monica		". . . vision of the great multitude -- from every nation, race, people and tongue, they stood before the throne and before the Lamb, wearing white robes" (Revelation 7:9) The psalms often sing of the shadow of God's wings protecting us in night and under cloud. Her in the dark of starlight a night mist below the saints gently softens the broken pieces of their lives.
2 Resurrection St. Elizabeth Seton Angel of the Resurrection St. Margaret Mary Alacoque St. Thomas, the Apostle Gabrielle Bossis St. Martha St. John Damascene		"Thus do I send my teaching forth . . . to become known afar off. Thus do I pour forth instruction like prophecy and bestow it on generations to come." (Sirach 24:30-31) The Angel of the Resurrection indicates the empty tomb. The saints are preachers of the Resurrection, the event which is the center of our faith and the liturgy.
3 Cross of Light St. Mary Magdalene Joanna Mary, the Mother of James Deborah St. Paul St. Barnabas Lazarus St. Francis of Assisi St. Clare		This mural faces the center aisle toward the altar, where we give thanks for Christ's death and resurrection. Mary Magdalene approaches the empty tomb, Francis looks up to the Cross which has become pure light. All but Francis and Clare are biblical saints.
6 Shadow of Cloud Blessed Pier Giorgio St. Joan of Arc St. Maria Goretti St. Elizabeth of Hungary St. Martin de Porres Mother Theresa Blessed Alphonsa St. Francis Xavier St. Paul Miki St. Benedict St. Scholastica		"Who are these wearing white robes? . . . These are the ones who have . . . washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb." (Revelation 7:14) The image of cloud runs through the biblical books both as symbol of God's presence and as its opposite. In this mural the saints climb the mountain of God, with a mysteriousness of cloud above them and the broken pieces of their lives left like shadows in the clouds below.

St. Elizabeth Seton Parish
2220 Lisson Road, Naperville, Illinois 60565, 630-416-3325

"We shall strive to become more prayerful, peaceful people."

This page was last updated and edited November 22, 2007