As part of the ongoing national Eucharistic Revival, the Diocese of Cleveland sponsored an art contest for students in grades 2-12.
One hundred fifty-five entries were received from more than 20 schools and parishes throughout the eight-county diocese. The contest was open to students in all Catholic schools, parish catechetical programs and homeschool communities in the diocese. Accepted visual art media included paintings, drawings, photography and digital art. Submission deadline was Jan. 12.
Winners were announced and recognized after the noon Mass on March 6 in the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist. Students were asked to create art that reflected the theme “Eucharist: Bread of Life” and they were asked to meditate on the Bread of Life Discourse in the Gospel of St. John. A group of judges met to review the entries and select the winners based on their engagement with the theme and the artistic quality of their work.
(See photo gallery above.)
Four honorable mentions and one winner in each grade level were selected. Each winner received a holy card with the Eucharistic Revival prayer. Their art was printed and displayed in the cathedral on March 6.
After Mass, Greg Coogan, diocesan secretary for catechetical formation, announced the winners’ names.
Bishop Edward Malesic congratulated each student and posed for a photo with the individual winners. He also spent some time talking about the cathedral with the students since it was the first time most of them were visiting the mother church of the diocese.
Those selected for honorable mention were Emma Smee, grade 4, St. Sebastian School, Akron; Gray Davis, grade 7, St. Hilary School, Fairlawn and Ellena Juric, All Saints School of St. John Vianney, Wickliffe; and Lucas Blau-Fuldauer, grade 8, St. Benedict School, Garfield Heights.
First-place winners were Tessa Smith, grade 2, SS. Peter and Paul School, Doylestown; Jo’Lee Willis, grade 3, St. Benedict School, Garfield Heights; Graham Rhea, grade 4, St. Sebastian School, Akron; Evelynn Roberts, grade 5, St. Columbkille School, Parma; Samantha Kosik, grade 6, All Saints School of St. John Vianney, Wickliffe; Natalie Warmus, grade 7, St. Hilary School, Fairlawn; Amanda Bokisa, grade 8, Holy Family School, Stow; Ava Garcia, grade 9, St. Rita Parish, Solon; Halina Vitkouskaya, grade 10, St. Rita Parish, Solon; and Stefani Leopold, grade 12, St. Helen Parish, Newbury. (There was no 11th grade winner.)
The winners, family members and some teachers attended Mass before the awards were presented. At Mass, the bishop mentioned the art contest.
“We come to the cathedral daily to praise and honor Jesus who is here. He lives here,” he said, adding art is an important way to help spread the Lord’s message because it helps us understand the Eucharist. This was a special day because the student winners of the diocesan Eucharistic Revival Art Contest were being honored. “I’ve seen their work and it is beautiful,” he said.
In the first reading for the day, Bishop Malesic said Moses established some rules for the people. He compared them to guardrails that would keep people on the path to heaven. Students who entered the art contest also had rules to follow, he said.
“I suppose you tried several times to create the piece of art you submitted for judging according to the rules,” he said, noting practice, failure and trying again are required in order to be successful at something.
“Christianity is like that, too. It takes daily practice,” he said. “We ask the Lord to help us to do better and we try again to become better living and loving Christians. God wants only the best for us and we receive it in the Eucharist.”
After the awards were presented, the bishop invited the students to follow him into the sanctuary where he talked about why the cathedral has that title. He pointed to the cathedra, the bishop’s large chair, to which his coat of arms is affixed. He also spent some time explaining his coat of arms and pointed out other features of the cathedral church, including Resurrection Chapel, the final resting place for bishops of the diocese.
There was a reception in the cathedral narthex and the public was invited to view the award-winning art.
Click here to learn more about the Eucharistic Revival. Watch an archived recording of the Mass here.