"WHAT WILL BE THE BEAUTY THAT WILL SAVE THE WORLD?"

Iconography class in Senegal

In January of 2010, Br. Ivan Dalpiaz, OFM, from Trent, Italy, finished the San Damiano Crucifix for our Novitiate Community in Keur Mbaye Fall and informed me that it was ready to be shipped. He had been working on this for two years with another icon maker in Trent, Linda Serafini.

So I invited Br. Ivan to Senegal and said that I wanted to offer:

• an opportunity for people in Senegal to learn more about the world of icons.
• the possibility for those who have the desire, and hopefully the talents,  to experience this form of art. 
• the possibility of finding a religious artistic expression that struggles to take shape in Senegal. 
• an invitation to Br.  Ivan and Linda for a new ministry and -- why not – the opportunity to get to know this land, the people, and we SFPs in Senegal.

I told Br. Ivan: “Do not worry about the cost and the effort. There may be someone who may object that there are different priorities in a country that is among the 25 poorest countries in the world. However, you need to come here to understand that people live ‘not from bread alone’.  Icons may be an answer to the question ‘What will be the beauty that will save the world’?”

Br. Ivan replied: “Personally I really like the idea to begin looking for a religious artistic expression [in Senegal] and your claim that the saying of Jesus “not from bread alone...” is true, not only for those who are doing well, but that it is also essential for those who live in poverty. Salvation for them too can happen through beauty recognized not as something superfluous, but as something essential.”   

Thus  . . . a dream turns into a reality .  . .

THE PROJECT . . . FIRST OF ITS KIND!
To thank Br. Ivan and Linda, and the OFM Province of Trent for their gift of the San Damiano Crucifix, we invited them to Senegal. However, we also utilized their skills to organize an Icon-making class – the very first one here in Senegal.  

We wanted to stimulate interest and invite a religious artistic expression. Since Senegal has a Muslim majority, a Christian artistic tradition is lacking. We also wanted to promote the encounter of religious and lay people who are sensitive to sacred art and who see it as a means and  journey for evangelization through their experience of God-Love-Beauty.  This course is given in two sessions, each one six days in duration  (April 29 – May 4, 2011; July 11-16, 2011) and is held at the Novitiate Community Agape San Damiano in Keur Mbaye Fall, on the outskirts of Dakar.

SESSION I
The Novitiate Community welcomed fourteen participants from April 29 to May 4. In attendance were three Sisters from two different Congregations (the Ursulines and the Daughters of the Sacred Heart of Mary), a lay consecrated woman, two Benedictine monks, three lay people (two men and a young woman), and several SFPs (Sr. Rose, the Novices Thérèse and Domitilde, the Pre-Novice Jacqueline and the aspirant Sylvia). The two instructors were Br. Ivan Dalpiaz, OFM, Icon maker, and Giorgio Conta, sculptor and painter.

The session included practical instruction on Icon making techniques: how to prepare the wood (sand the wooden plank, glue the canvas, apply chalk, etc.) and the elements of drawing: structure, reproducing, tracing, design with ink, and theoretical teaching: basic elements of the history of icon making and the theology of beauty. There were also times for meditation before the San Damiano Icon  along with explanations of the crucifix and how the prayer inspired the vocational experience of St. Francis of Assisi.

The first part of the icon drawing session presented several technical difficulties due mainly to the fact that the wood was not aged sufficiently. This made it difficult to glue the canvas and the chalk. Once this obstacle was overcome, the participants tried to draw and were guided by the patient instructors.   

To the satisfaction of all , we were able to complete the work. We left feeling like something meaningful had been accomplished artistically. We also enjoyed the discovery of an image of God, Love and Beauty within ourselves.  

In the final evaluation, some common elements of appreciation were expressed: the competent and patient instructors, who were able to make themselves understood in spite of the language barrier; the welcoming environment, conducive to work and prayer; the interest elicited by the theoretical and theological background given to us; the relevant contribution of Franciscan spirituality, the atmosphere of fellowship among the participants and ... the great meals! 

Some challenges were related to the drawing technique, but most comments were positive and the participants’ expectations were met. Among them, there is a remarkable the desire to get to know this expression of sacred art in order to “inculturate” it according to the spirit of this country. This began to happen during the course when Br. Ivan drew an icon of Christ Pantocrator (that is, Christ the King of the Universe) and El Hadji, a Muslim artist from the Pink Lake, “colored” this icon by using a sand technique. It was touching to see how focused and intrigued he was as he was finishing up the image of Christ and how, observing it attentively, he associated it to the image of the traditional healers.  

We are getting ready to welcome Linda Serafini, icon maker, and Claudia Paternoster, restorer, who will come to Senegal from July 11th to the 16th to help us complete the work. 

A heartfelt thanks to the Lord of Beauty who inspired and guided this project, to the SFP Leadership who supported it; to the OFM Province of the Trent Region who participated; to Br. Ivan and Giorgio who gave of themselves generously; to Francesco, who worked with our cooks, Monique and Marianne; to the SFP Community in Keur Mbaye Fall; and especially to the tireless Sr. Annunciata and to the participants who accepted our invitation and challenge. 

Sr. Marvi Delrivo, sfp