Our Lady of Lourdes teacher: Making sacred art brings Jesus into focus for young people

(Above: Our Lady of Lourdes seventh grader Trey Dieudonne displays his paper mosaic of St. Pope John Paul II. All photos courtesy of Our Lady of Lourdes School)

By Beth Donze
CLARION HERALD

In a first-time offering this school year, seventh graders at Our Lady of Lourdes in Slidell are taking a full year of sacred art under the guidance of their teacher, Caroline Papa.

For their first big project, the seventh graders researched the saint of their choice before creating an icon-style mosaic of their saint out of “tiles” of construction paper.

“I wanted students to learn about mosaics while growing in their relationship with the saints,” Papa said. “Construction paper seemed like a low-cost way to learn about this beautiful art form.”

“I felt that letting the students choose their saint would help foster reverence and eagerness while working on the piece,” she added. “While students worked on the images, they were encouraged to ask their saint for prayers of intercession.”

Papa (pictured at left) taught the seventh graders about the role mosaics played in the early church, particularly how the various visual arts were used to educate the faithful at a time in which many people could not read or write. Additionally, students learned how sacred art, through its beauty, is supposed to point viewers to God.

“Ever since I was a little girl I have been drawn to art,” said Papa, who also teaches language arts at Our Lady of Lourdes. “While I was fostering a love for art, I realized that creating and admiring beautiful pieces led me to a deeper admiration for Jesus. I was recognizing that truly beautiful things point me to the most beautiful thing – Christ! This realization led me to continue learning how to appreciate and portray Christian art.”

Papa has worked on various personal commissions, illustrating images that others have received in prayer, as well as on personal pieces inspired by her own prayer life.

“These things led me to the position I am in now as a sacred art teacher,” Papa said. “I feel beyond blessed to watch all the Lord is doing through my students’ creativity!”

Subsequent sacred art projects undertaken by the seventh graders include making wooden “peg people,” while learning about the role of statues in the Catholic Church, and creating stained-glass style candle holders in conjunction with their studies of church architecture.

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A small sampling of the seventh graders’ sacred art projects are pictured below, from top to bottom: Avery Evans (St. Edith Stein); Avery Hanrahan (Mary, Mother of God); Jaime Lee (St. Francis of Assisi); and Olivia Huerstel (St. Philomena).