Artist pays homage to immigrants, every day New Yorkers in monumental St. Patrick's mural
MIDTOWN, New York City (WABC) -- At St. Patrick's Cathedral in Midtown, when you look up, you can see angels.
They're part of a new mural that honors saints, every day New Yorkers and everyone in between.
If the purpose of religious art is to draw man closer to God, there is a new mural at St. Patrick's Cathedral that reads like a love letter to New York.
"It seems to be striking a nerve with the city. And I'm actually very proud of that, bc above anything else, I wanted to do something for the city," mural artist Adam Cvijanovic said.
There are the heavenly hosts. You can see the angels all the way from the front of the Cathedral.
Below them, instead of telling a Biblical story, the artist pays homage to first responders and the rolling waves of immigrants who helped build this cathedral and city.
"Belonging. I want them to see themselves belonging," Cvijanovic said.
The painting also honors early Catholic heroes like Pierre Toussant, a former slave who is considered a founder of Catholic Charities, and is the only lay person buried in the Cathedral's crypt.
The mural stretches 25 feet tall and spans 3 walls. It's the first permanent artwork commissioned by the Cathedral in its 146-year history.
It took artist Adam Cvijanovic 2 years to paint all 75 faces.
"I was so honored to be a part of this," Cvijanovic said.
Michael McCarthy is the model for one of the Irish immigrants.
"There's so much messaging in this mural: the religious, the people who made America. What Adam's done here is, he's appealed to our better Angels," McCarthy said.
Adam's wife is not only the face of Mary, but she also helped cast all the models for this monumental work.
"The historical immigrants coming from Ireland off the boat, then across, are the current-day immigrants on the other side. And everybody's kind of moving forward in the church together," Casting Director Julia Carbonetta said.
Adam wanted to surprise Cardinal Timothy Dolan so he includes the cardinal's mother as one of early immigrants.
"When he blessed the paintings, he was walking around with the sensor and when he got to that panel, he said, 'Hi Mom," Cvijanovic said.
Even the Lamb of God was based on a real model. The animal was raised to be butchered, but after it was chosen for the mural, it's now someone's pet in New Jersey.
"The dairy farmer said, 'What am I going to do? I can't sell the lamb of God," Cvijanovic said.
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