A volume of the rare Saint John’s Bible – the first handwritten and hand-illuminated Bible commissioned by a Benedictine monastery since the invention of the printing press in the 15th century – is currently on display for archdiocesan employees at St. Thomas Chapel at the Pastoral Center in Bloomfield.
The Saint John’s Bible will be on display for the general public on Jan. 26 during the 10 a.m. Mass at St. Gregory the Great Church in Bristol.
The sacred book will be exhibited at St. Gregory the Great as part of the newly established “Sunday the Word of God,” the 3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, which Pope Francis recently designated for the “celebration, study and dissemination of the Word of God.” To commemorate this special day, Archbishop Blair will be the main celebrant at the Mass, which will be broadcast live by the Office of Radio and Television on WCCT (WB20) and WCTX (MyTV9).
The beautifully illuminated book is Volume Six – Gospels & Acts, part of The Heritage Edition of St. John’s Bible.
It was commissioned by Saint John’s Abbey and University in Collegeville, Minn., which partnered with world-renowned calligrapher Donald Jackson for the project. Jackson, senior scribe to the Queen of England, and his team of scribes and artists created the modern masterpiece, which combines the ancient style of script with contemporary images to illuminate Biblical stories.
The Saint John’s Bible project is comprised of the original handwritten Bible, 12 fine art, handwritten Apostles Edition versions and 299 Heritage Edition reprints. The original Saint John’s Bible is housed at Saint John’s University. The project, which began in 1998, took 15 years to complete.
The St. John’s Bible will also be on view at the synod closing Mass at the Toyota Oakdale Theatre in Wallingford on Pentecost Sunday, May 31.
For those interested in enriching their faith through Bible study, visit the Archdiocese of Hartford’s Catholic Biblical School at catholicedaohct.org.