Pope Francis Receives Final Volume of the Saint John’s Bible

Friday in Rome, a delegation from Saint John’s Abbey and University attended an audience with Pope Francis in which they presented him with the seventh of seven volumes of a limited, fine art edition of the Saint John’s Bible.

The group included Abbot John Klassen, OSB, University President Michael Hemesath and Donald Jackson, artist director for the Bible project. They were welcomed to the Vatican by Cardinal Donald Wuerl of Washington DC on behalf of the Papal Foundation.

Previously, similar delegations shared other volumes of the project as it was being completed in audiences with Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI.

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Katharine E. Harmon, Ph.D., edits the blog, Pray Tell: Worship, Wit & Wisdom.

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4 responses to “Pope Francis Receives Final Volume of the Saint John’s Bible”

  1. Timothy McCormick

    Awesome! What a treasure of the Church. Thank you to Donald Jackson and his team for all the work they did.

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  2. Paul Inwood

    So good to see this fulfilment of an incredible vision. Congratulations to Abbot John and all concerned!

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  3. Paul F. Ford

    Bene facere, Benedictines!

    Reply
  4. Chris McDonnell

    We have, in our small parish church here in England, the seven volumes, all now available, of the St. John’s Bible, the original MSS being in St John’s College , Minnesota in the US . It is placed in a wooden cabinet in front of the Font as you come into church, with a display lectern available for reading the text. It is a most beautiful piece of craftsmanship. The artwork is simply stunning.
    Saint Benedict taught that all tools, however humble, should be handled with the care given to the sacred vessels of the altar. For centuries, this ethic has been embodied in Benedictine life and work.

    By commissioning The Saint John’s Bible, the Abbey and University brought 1,500 years of Benedictine religious and creative experience together with their conviction that manuscripts are uniquely privileged media for expressing humankind’s deepest memories and aspirations.

    As Senior Scribe to Her Majesty the Queen’s Crown Office at the House of Lords, Donald Jackson had reached the pinnacle of his profession. But for years he had an unrealized dream: to write the Bible by hand.
    Saint John’s Abbey and University dared to imagine with Jackson an illuminated Bible for the 21st Century, a Bible handwritten in English. In his scriptorium in Wales, Donald Jackson assembled a team of scribes and artists who shared this vision. In bringing it to life, they have used only materials associated with enduring manuscripts: carefully prepared calfskins, hand-cut goose quills, century-old inks, and precious metals.

    The full story of the production of the St John’s Bible is told in the book “Illuminating the Word” by Christopher Calderhead. Well worth reading.

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