Who needs celebrity tosh, when you can read about Catholic saints? St Francis of Assisi was a real party boy in his time, and Durham’s own St Cuthbert (buried on the island of Lindisfarne where he spent most of his life as a hermit) used to guard sheep. He even passed laws to protect eider ducks, and is regarded as ‘the world’s first environmentalist’. It’s said that he became a monk after witnessing angels carrying St Aiden (the monastery’s abbot) to Heaven.
You can take an ancient pilgrimage on the Northern Saints Trails. These six routes cover County Durham and Northumberland (including the island of Lindisfarne). England used to be a Roman Catholic country until the Reformation when Henry VIII banned it, so he could divorce. Many monks and nuns were killed.
The Modern Saints is a wonderful and unique book to change the way you think about saints. Gracie believes (and we agree!) that stuffy images and boring text can lead people to be uninspired by Catholic saints and lead people away from their faith. The artist also has a website The Modern Saint, where she uses her creative skills to modernise the lives of ancient saints.
St Anastasia was born to a pagan nobleman and a Christian mother in Sirmium (an area which is now Serbia and under Roman rule at the time). Her mother baptised her and secretly raised her as a Christian. When she was older, she married a loving husband, until he discovered that she was Christian. He immediately changed and would chain her up, beat her and instructed servants to do the same, while he was away as ambassador to Persia. However, his boat sank and he drowned on one journey, setting Anastasia free.
In this book, Gracie paints funky images, shares their stories and also includes information on what she believes they would care about today. You can also use the book and site to discover your most likely ‘kindred spirit’ saint, and then you know which of her affordable prayer cards to buy, with images on the front and prayers on the back, to keep with you when you need them.
- St Agnes, a wealthy beauty from Rome who after deciding she did not want to marry (but devote her life to God) was dragged through the streets and set on fire, then beheaded. Today she would likely care about domestic abuse and assault survivors.
- St Mary was a Celtic nun in Australia who got ex-communicated (only returned just before her death) because her order of nuns reported alleged sexual abuse by a priest, in the last century.
- St Basil was from Turkey and after becoming a priest. He created soup kitchens for helping in famines, weeded out leaders unfit for church positions, and criticised unjust public officials. He looked to reform (not punish) thieves and prostitutes, and built shelters, hospitals and hospices, and even helped to break up human trafficking rings. Today he would be involved in world justice.
- St Dymphna was a beautiful red-head from Ireland, whose father began to lust after her, when his wife died and he wanted to marry again. When she refused, he cut off her head with a sword. She is now patron saint for people with mental health issues.
- St Ignatius of Loyola was a Spaniard, who came from a family with minor nobility. After a materialistic start in life, he read up on the saints while recovering from a soldier’s wound, and used the rest of his life to service. This is the aspect of the Catholic church dedicated to using your unique God-given talents to help others.
- St Francis of Assisi (and his friend St Clare of Assisi) are patron saints of animal welfare. Francis was born to a wealthy family and was a real party boy, until he gave all his possessions away to live a simple life. Animals apparently stopped everything to listen to him preach. He is also patron saint of simple living and ecology. These are the saints to pray to, if you love animals more than humans (and fellow Catholics don’t understand you!)
Gracie’s work to reclaim the saints of our stories is profound, insightful and beautifully disruptive. Sarah Bessey
Gracie Morbitzer is a graduate of Columbus College of Art & Design, whose work is popular with the Catholic church, as it’s bringing back young people to the faith.
Do what really matters to you! Don’t do what you think will sell or what you think as popular. Don’t be afraid to ruffle some feathers – if everyone likes it, it is probably not honest enough to make a difference. Being truly ourselves and working authentically (while sharing our art) is how we make a different in the world. Gracie
