Many years ago, BMPC member Nena Bryans introduced me to Sister Helen David Brancato. Walking into the court to meet them, I saw Nena with a diminutive older woman. The closer I drew, the more I saw that this nun was a force to be reckoned with! From her dancing eyes to her exuberant energy, I was captivated and immediately became a fan!
I am delighted that Sister Helen will offer a solo show in the BMPC gallery from January 12 to March 2. Her exhibit celebrates the courage and strength of women from diverse backgrounds and eras who have lived with passion and compassion. Hildegard of Bingen, a mystic and visionary, faced exile for standing firm in her convictions. Others, like Dorothy Day, dedicated their lives to the poor and welcomed the stranger through the founding of the Catholic Worker Movement. In Brancato’s painting Song Over the Waters, Eve symbolizes all creative women who continue to channel their energy through writing, painting, teaching, healing, and service. Frida Kahlo, known for painting her pain, also captured her hopes and dreams. These women embodied fidelity and endurance, and these portraits honor the many ways they shared their talents and gifts with the world.
One work stands out to me. Inclusive Feast shows a familiar scene to believers: the Last Supper. However, sitting at the head of the table is a woman. Gathered around her is an assembly of diverse peoples. Diverse in age, diverse in color. One guest at the table holds her baby. I saw this work in Sister Helen’s workshop and was struck by the work’s beauty and message that all are welcome to gather together at the table. This is contradictory to the Roman Catholic Church’s policy that only Catholics may receive the sacrament of communion. I looked at Sister Helen and asked, “Wow, the priests must not have been too thrilled with this painting.” She shrugged her shoulders, laughed, and burst out with, “Not so much!”
Sister Helen studied portrait painting at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and explored various visual art forms at the Tyler School of Art, Temple University. A painter, printmaker, and illustrator, she has exhibited professionally in the Philadelphia and New York areas and formerly taught visual arts at Villanova University.
Sister Helen collaborated as an illustrator with Henri Nouwen on Walk with Jesus: Stations of the Cross and with Evelyn Mattern on Why Not Become Fire? Encounters with Women Mystics. One of her most significant accomplishments has been leading an open studio for artists aged six to eighty at the Southwest Enrichment Community Art Center in Philadelphia.
A recipient of an Independence Foundation Artist Fellowship, her work is part of the collections at the Museum of Contemporary Religious Art at Saint Louis University and Villanova University. Sister Helen's artist statement reflects her deep commitment to her mission:
"My work is bound up with the human condition. I respond to nature peacefully and to human nature with healthy agitation. It is important for me to interact with the lives of the poor. Through painting, I try to bring the depth of my insight into the pain, the strength, and the dignity of my subjects."
Please join us in the gallery this Sunday, January 12, at 11:15 a.m., where Sister Helen will lead you on a gallery tour and talk.
