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The Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Art Gallery at the College presented Catholic Collecting, Catholic Reflection 1538-1850: Objects As a Measure of Reflection on a Catholic Past and the Construction of Recusant Self-Identity in England and America from Feb. 22 to April 13. The exhibit curator was College visual arts professor, Virginia Raguin.
The exhibition contains more than 60 objects—most from Jesuit institutions across the United States and in England—and included centuries-old and extremely rare stained glass, liturgical vestments, paintings, books, sculpture and other works of art important to Catholic culture and worship. More than half of the pieces have never before been viewed publicly in the United States.
The exhibition focused on the preservation of religious objects by Catholics during the "penal times" under British law. These objects, acquired with great risk, embodied the faithful's bonds with God, church tradition and each other. When suppressed, many Catholics during this period came to identify their faith with the prayer books, paintings and objects of ritual such as Mass vestments and chalices that they were able to obtain or hide. These Catholics became known as recusants—recusing themselves from oaths of loyalty and participation in the state-sanctioned religion. The Society of Jesus played a major role during this period, in terms of missions in both England and the colony of Maryland, created as a sanctuary for Catholics in 1634.
Among the Jesuit institutions that loaned objects for this exhibition are: Stonyhurst College, Lancashire, England; Campion Hall at the University of Oxford, Oxford, England; Georgetown University, Washington, D.C.; Loyola University, Chicago; and Holy Cross. On display were: stained glass, alabaster carving, manuscripts, printed books, liturgical vessels, paintings and vestments, including the prized chasuble given to Westminster Abbey by Henry VII.
A fully illustrated catalogue of 224 pages has been published jointly with the Catholic University of America Press.
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