Grace from a million little pieces
A glistening gem sits among the concrete gray buildings of the city. How it came to be is a story of grace.
It was in 2006 when a young parish priest realized the coffers did not provide for a beautification budget. Discovering piles of old, mismatched tiles from previous constructions, 26-year-old Father Eugene David was struck by an idea. Inviting parishioners to donate their old tiles as well, he sorted these out by color and began the creation of large-scale mosaic artworks.
The first was inspired by a floor mosaic at the Church of the Multiplication in Tabgha along the shores of the Sea of Galilee. Jesus blessed five loaves and two fishes here, miraculously multiplied to feed the hungry thousands who came to listen to him. The 5th-century mosaic is a simple one but commemorates an extraordinary event mentioned in all four gospels.
Father Eugene recreated this mosaic in the choir loft, at the foot of the stained-glass images of the Holy Family, as an offering of humility and faith.
The beauty of mosaic art attracts people to the church, creating a sense of wonder and hope.
Divine Providence allowed the project to multiply through the efforts of the then self-taught mosaicist with help from the community and some workers. The church exterior was adorned with colorful scenes from the Holy Family’s life—the Nativity in Bethlehem, the Flight to Egypt, the Presentation at the Temple and at home in Nazareth. Later added within the church interior was the sleeping St. Joseph. Because of its hugeness, the Nativity in particular, provides the dwarfed viewer an immersive experience.
Asked how the artworks affect parishioners and visitors, Father Hector Canon, current parish priest of Holy Family Parish on Faraday Street, Makati elucidates: “Beauty attracts, it attracts (people) to the church, creating a sense of wonder and hope. Art is a way of expressing the Divine. The church is aware of this, that’s why you can see exquisite art in churches—painting, sculpture, mosaic—depicting the Divine and holiness. It is not only educational but also inspirational. We may not have a deep understanding of the scriptures, doctrine or dogma, but (through art) we get a sense of what our faith is all about.”
The Archdiocese recognized the wonderful gift revealed here. Father Eugene was endorsed to the prestigious Centro Aletti in Rome, where he is completing his studies. He explains, “The center is composed of priests, religious men and women from different countries aiming to live a spirit of communion and ecumenism through theological research and artistic expression.”
Centro Aletti was initiated by then Pope John Paul II in the 1990s to promote the unity of the Western Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches. The Eastern influence is strong in traditional mosaic art, but the Western direction takes on a more fluid form, where subjects are engaged in movement and reflect emotion.
Being at the Centro, Father Eugene works with a team of international artists in projects around the world. They will soon travel to Sao Paolo, Brazil, to complete an ongoing commission—the story of the Holy Bible—covering a vast space of 5,000 square meters at the National Shrine of Our Lady of Aparecida, the largest Marian shrine in the world, second in size to St. Peter’s Basilica.
He occasionally returns to Manila to fulfil commitments at churches and religious institutions. A remarkable one is The Last Supper at the refectory of the Guadalupe Minor Seminary measuring 23 x 9 feet. The textures and shapes of the tesserae (small pieces of stone, glass, or tile) vary. Some pieces mimic the grain of the table’s wood, while rectangular slivers are neatly arranged in graceful rows for the subjects’ hair.
At the seminary entrance, Our Lady of Guadalupe is portrayed with Juan Diego kneeling with a bouquet of roses. Above, written in mosaic, are words of consolation and encouragement for future priests: “Let nothing discourage you, nothing depress you. Are you not under my shadow and protection? Am I not here who am your Mother?”
Professor of Latin Father Gabby Paraan points out delightful details in the scenery, such as the inclusion of native cactus plants of Mexico. Garden tables and benches, also covered in mosaic, lend a sense of participation, as if one is sitting within the artwork.
More participatory was the interactive experience for delegates to the Philippine Conference on New Evangelization in 2017. Father Eugene encouraged collaboration in the making of two artworks: The Sacred Heart of Jesus and The Immaculate Heart of Mary. These are now also at the Seminary of Guadalupe Minor in Makati, along EDSA.
Other mosaics are at the Parish of Santisima Trinidad on Estrada Street in San Andres Bukid, Manila, under the care of Father Jek Arada. On the balcony above the entrance are striking images of God the Father as the burning bush, the Holy Spirit as a dove and Jesus in the Eucharist symbolized by the self-sacrificing pelican feeding its young with its own blood.
Flanking the altar are two vertical compositions of Christ’s Baptism and a rare portrayal of Jesus’ descent into hell.
Each of the 14 stations of the cross spaced evenly throughout the nave closely focuses on a particular scene’s details, making the viewer feel an intimate presence towards the subjects.
The process of mosaic art is a mindful, constant connection with the Divine. While working, artists at the Centro are in continuous prayer, listening to sacred music, or tuning in to the Holy Father’s messages and homilies. The practice is meditative. Probably for this reason, the students here are priests and religious. Lay persons of a Third Order are also accommodated.
Father Eugene espouses that sacred art should be a product of prayer and communion with God and others. The materials and execution must be congruent with Divine creation, resembling more the work of God rather than of man, employing organic materials when possible. The difference between secular art and sacred Christian art is that the former reflects humanity and self-expression, while sacred art makes visual the story of salvation in a dialogue between God and man.
It is Father Eugene’s hope to establish a school for mosaic making in Manila so that the work of evangelization continues through this art form.
Reflecting on the mosaic images, the humble, prayerful process of their creation and their effect on viewers offers a parallelism for life in the world. Each tiny tessera—cut, broken, or shattered—holds purpose in a grand plan: bright, golden and joyful, at times somber with dark shadows. Varied hues and little pieces all vital components, harmoniously merged into a thing of beauty and love, an offering to the Divine from whom all grace comes.