Here are Profiles from some of our Founding Member Artists and Contributors
Abbot Barnabas Senecal, O.S.B. (1937-2021) -- www.kansasmonks.org/
Abbot Barnabas Senecal, O.S.B., was the Abbot Emeritus at St. Benedict's Abbey in Atchison, Kansas. He was affectionately known as the “Singing Abbot” for his rich baritone voice, which was lifted often in song at Abbey liturgies and at the many Confirmation Masses he celebrated at the request of Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann throughout the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas.
With a warm personality to match his voice, Abbot Barnabas carried Benedictine hospitality wherever he journeyed. On these journeys Abbot Barnabas took photographs. He provided a photo and text for Celebration, an ecumenical worship magazine published in Kansas City, for eight monthly publications each year. Abbot Barnabas was assisted by Judith Valente, a writer and narrator for PBS and NPR in Chicago, and by CRAA member Elizabeth Zeller, an artist in Independence, Missouri, in preparing a gallery exhibit of forty of his photographic enlargements with poetry. PBS taped an interview and a journey through the exhibit, shown on the September 10 edition of its Religion and Ethics Newsweekly. This exhibit opened in August 2010 in the St. Benedict's Abbey Art Gallery a second exhibit in 2012. Here is an article in response to Abbot Barnabas' PBS interview.
The CRAA is very grateful for the time and spiritual guidance Abbot Barnabas so generously gave to us. May his work live on.
With a warm personality to match his voice, Abbot Barnabas carried Benedictine hospitality wherever he journeyed. On these journeys Abbot Barnabas took photographs. He provided a photo and text for Celebration, an ecumenical worship magazine published in Kansas City, for eight monthly publications each year. Abbot Barnabas was assisted by Judith Valente, a writer and narrator for PBS and NPR in Chicago, and by CRAA member Elizabeth Zeller, an artist in Independence, Missouri, in preparing a gallery exhibit of forty of his photographic enlargements with poetry. PBS taped an interview and a journey through the exhibit, shown on the September 10 edition of its Religion and Ethics Newsweekly. This exhibit opened in August 2010 in the St. Benedict's Abbey Art Gallery a second exhibit in 2012. Here is an article in response to Abbot Barnabas' PBS interview.
The CRAA is very grateful for the time and spiritual guidance Abbot Barnabas so generously gave to us. May his work live on.
Little Brother Christophe, Community of the Lamb -- https://communityofthelamb.org/
Fr. Christoph is a Little Brother of the Community of the Lamb in Kansas City. He is the Spiritual Advisor of the CRAA and is currently painting frescoes and icons for the monastery for the Community of the Lamb in Kansas City, KS, and at the Community's Mother House in France.
Fr. Daniel McCarthy, OSB, SLD -- http://architectureforliturgy.org
Fr Daniel is a monk of St Benedict’s Abbey, Atchison, Kansas. In 2008 he earned a Doctorate in Sacred Liturgy (SLD) studying church architecture at the Pontifical Institute of Liturgy at Sant’Anselmo, Rome. His doctoral thesis traces the historical development of the presidential chair (the chair the priest sits in for Mass). While pursuing these studies, Fr Daniel studied with Prof em. Crispino Valenziano.
Fr Daniel is an instructor at the Pontifical Institute of Liturgy, at Sant’Anselmo, Rome where he also participates in the Master’s degree program on Architecture and Arts for Liturgy. He is a guest professor at the Catholic University Leuven, in Belgium, where he serves on the editorial board of Questions Liturgiques / Studies in Liturgy. He is co-founder and instructor of liturgy and the Latin language at the Liturgy Institute London, at Ealing Abbey. Fr Daniel has published with Fr James Leachman a volume on ritual, art and architecture called Come Into the Light. Fr Daniel is currently amplifying his doctoral research and preparing it for publication in English. He is also preparing the presentations given in these two liturgy weeks Architecture for Liturgy 1 and 2 for publication.
Fr Daniel also serves as an advisor to Vox clara, a working committee of the Vatican Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments. He publishes with Fr Reginald Foster a series on teaching the Latin language. The first volume is Ossa Latinitatis Sola: The Mere Bones of Latin
Fr Daniel is an instructor at the Pontifical Institute of Liturgy, at Sant’Anselmo, Rome where he also participates in the Master’s degree program on Architecture and Arts for Liturgy. He is a guest professor at the Catholic University Leuven, in Belgium, where he serves on the editorial board of Questions Liturgiques / Studies in Liturgy. He is co-founder and instructor of liturgy and the Latin language at the Liturgy Institute London, at Ealing Abbey. Fr Daniel has published with Fr James Leachman a volume on ritual, art and architecture called Come Into the Light. Fr Daniel is currently amplifying his doctoral research and preparing it for publication in English. He is also preparing the presentations given in these two liturgy weeks Architecture for Liturgy 1 and 2 for publication.
Fr Daniel also serves as an advisor to Vox clara, a working committee of the Vatican Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments. He publishes with Fr Reginald Foster a series on teaching the Latin language. The first volume is Ossa Latinitatis Sola: The Mere Bones of Latin
Günther Schormair
Günther Schormair (1924-2021) studied architecture in Munich, Germany. As architect he worked for the Catholic Church, the University and the City in Munich. After the war he restored the heavily damaged Baroque Church St. Elisabeth in Munich and rescued it from demolition.
In his retirement Günther dedicated his life to Christian Art. He designed churches with detailed interiors. Besides painting, Günther created sculptures for parks to spread out the heavenly beauty. He was a member of the “International Academy for Sacred Art” and CRAA in the United States.
In his retirement Günther dedicated his life to Christian Art. He designed churches with detailed interiors. Besides painting, Günther created sculptures for parks to spread out the heavenly beauty. He was a member of the “International Academy for Sacred Art” and CRAA in the United States.
Abbot James Albers, O.S.B. -- www.kansasmonks.org/
Abbot James Albers, O.S.B. is a monk and ninth abbot of St. Benedict’s Abbey, Atchison, Kan. Born in St. Joe (Ost), Kan., west of Wichita, Abbot James grew up north of Aitchison in St. Benedict’s Parish, Bendena, Kan., staffed by monks of the Abbey. He attended Benedictine College graduating in 1994 with a bachelor’s degree in theology and journalism. After working in public relations for just over a year, Abbot James returned to Atchison and entered St. Benedict’s Abbey in the fall of 1995. He professed first vows on December 8, 1996, and Solemn vows on October 2, 1999. After attending seminary at Ateneo Sant’Anselmo, Rome, Italy, he was ordained to the priesthood on July 1, 2000. Abbot James served the community as Prior for ten and a half years until he was elected as abbot by the community on December 28, 2012. He is currently serving as the Spiritual Director of the CRAA.
Tony Silvestri -- www.charlesanthonysilvestri.com
Acclaimed lyricist Charles Anthony Silvestri specializes in providing bespoke poetry for choral composers, especially texts in Latin, both sacred and secular. He enjoys the creative challenges and rewards of the collaborative process, and has provided lyrics for many composers in different stages of their careers and for a wide variety of commissions and occasions. He has collaborated with celebrated composers such as Eric Whitacre, Dan Forrest, Ola Gjeilo, and Andrea Ramsey. His words have been sung by thousands of choirs around the world, on television and radio, and in magnificent spaces such as the Sydney Opera House, Disney Hall, Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, the National Cathedral, Royal Albert Hall, Westminster Abbey, King’s College, St. Peter’s Basilica, and onboard the Space Shuttle in orbit. His popular 2001 text "Sleep" has recently been published as a children's book, with illustrations by the Dutch artist Anne Horjus.
In addition to writing choral lyrics, Silvestri is also an accomplished artist/painter, specializing in replicating Medieval manuscript illumination and recreating the techniques and materials of Gothic and Renaissance panel painters and iconographers. He is a member of the CRAA and the Catholic Fine Arts Council, and has exhibited works internationally. He is a veteran teacher with two decades of experience teaching kindergarten through college. He has earned Bachelor’s, Master’s, and Doctorate degrees in Ancient and Medieval History from Loyola Marymount University and the University of Southern California. Born in 1965 in Las Vegas, Silvestri has lived in Los Angeles and Rome. He currently lives with his children in Lawrence, Kansas, and teaches history at Washburn University.
In addition to writing choral lyrics, Silvestri is also an accomplished artist/painter, specializing in replicating Medieval manuscript illumination and recreating the techniques and materials of Gothic and Renaissance panel painters and iconographers. He is a member of the CRAA and the Catholic Fine Arts Council, and has exhibited works internationally. He is a veteran teacher with two decades of experience teaching kindergarten through college. He has earned Bachelor’s, Master’s, and Doctorate degrees in Ancient and Medieval History from Loyola Marymount University and the University of Southern California. Born in 1965 in Las Vegas, Silvestri has lived in Los Angeles and Rome. He currently lives with his children in Lawrence, Kansas, and teaches history at Washburn University.
Elizabeth Zeller, O.F.S. -- www.elizabethzeller.com
Elizabeth has become internationally known for her works, sculpture and painting and received many awards. In 2010 she founded an "International Academy of Sacred Art" in the USA and represents the European Organization of Sacred Art "Imago", Vienna, Austria, http://www.imago.or.at/. Elizabeth has served the Greater Kansas City Art Association as both President and Vice-President. She is also the founder and current Director of the CRAA Contemporary Religious Artists Association.
Elizabeth has frequent contact with the Conservation Department of the Metropolitan Museum in New York, the Doerner Institut of the Museum for Ancient and Modern Art in Munich, and the Museum in Recklinghausen and Frankfurt, Germany.
She studied art, restoration, gilding and bookbinding in Italy, Germany, Israel and the USA. Elizabeth's extensive studies and travels as well as her interest and curiosity continuously inspire her artwork. With a broad variety of mediums, she can express herself in a fine and expressive way and with a deep understanding of life and nature.
Elizabeth has frequent contact with the Conservation Department of the Metropolitan Museum in New York, the Doerner Institut of the Museum for Ancient and Modern Art in Munich, and the Museum in Recklinghausen and Frankfurt, Germany.
She studied art, restoration, gilding and bookbinding in Italy, Germany, Israel and the USA. Elizabeth's extensive studies and travels as well as her interest and curiosity continuously inspire her artwork. With a broad variety of mediums, she can express herself in a fine and expressive way and with a deep understanding of life and nature.
Calogero Zuppardo -- www.opificiodellearti.com
L'Opificio delle Arti designs, produces and restores stained glasses, glass intarsia and glass objects, promoting cooperation among arts. It was started in 2002 by Calogero Zuppardo, an architect who had already been working as a glass artisan for more than thirty years.
Calogero Zuppardo's love for art grew during his studies at the Istituto d'Arte and at the Faculty of Architecture in Palermo, and was increased in the relationship with masters who belonged to the prosperous Sicilian craftsmanship tradition, and thanks to his friendship with workmates who, like him, were seeking beauty and perfection. Since 1983 he has worked within the art glass tradition in Palermo, recovering old techniques and making new experimentations. In 1994 he founded Il Baglio, an international association of artists, architects and artisans.
Calogero Zuppardo's love for art grew during his studies at the Istituto d'Arte and at the Faculty of Architecture in Palermo, and was increased in the relationship with masters who belonged to the prosperous Sicilian craftsmanship tradition, and thanks to his friendship with workmates who, like him, were seeking beauty and perfection. Since 1983 he has worked within the art glass tradition in Palermo, recovering old techniques and making new experimentations. In 1994 he founded Il Baglio, an international association of artists, architects and artisans.
