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Within the grandeur of St. Patrick’s Cathedral, a throng of today’s immigrants—mostly Latino, Asian, and Black—gather on an incline with their humble sacks and bags. A man in a T-shirt cradles an infant, while a kid in sneakers sits glumly in the foreground. Overhead in the towering clouds, the Lamb of God stands on a white altar amid the clustering gleam of golden pendulous stripes suggesting the divine essence.

This compassionate and splendid depiction constitutes a segment of a standout new artistic installation in a currently divided United States.

“My hope is that viewers grasp from this artwork,” affirms the painter, “is our shared experience and unity. To utilize such a vast canvas for this statement represents an incredible honor.”

The cathedral, often called the nation’s parish church, ministers to around 2.5 million area worshippers. It ranks among the top two cathedrals nationally and attracts the most attention with millions of annual guests. This mural is the biggest lasting installation ordered by the church in over a century.

A Concept of Togetherness

In the artist’s competition-winning vision, the mural realizes a longtime wish to mark the renowned sighting depicting sacred beings such as Mary, Joseph, John, the Lamb, and heavenly messengers at a small Irish countryside chapel in 1879. The painter extends that homage to encompass earlier Irish newcomers and the metropolitan area’s varied immigrant groups.

The extensive western facade, flanking the cathedral’s main doors, showcases a group of five prominent local Catholics on one side and on the other, a quintet of modern-day uniformed first responders. Above each assembly floats a large angelic figure within a context of luminous lines hinting at spirituality.

Celebrating Diverse Achievements

Concerning the quintet of religious figures the archdiocese named Irish-born archbishop John Hughes, Dorothy Day, the onetime nonconformist turned campaigner, and Pierre Toussaint, the once-enslaved individual who rose to prominence as a stylist and donor. The artist added New York state’s 17th-century Saint Kateri Tekakwitha, the first Native American canonized, and chose political figure Al Smith from the early 20th century. The emergency workers were also the creator’s concept.

The mural’s painting style is straightforwardly representational—a deliberate selection. “Given that this is a domestic piece, not a European one,” the artist explains. “Abroad, lengthy traditions of church art exist, their methods have evolved. Yet locally, it’s essential.”

A Labor of Dedication

The massive project engaged approximately three dozen contributors, involving a specialist for the precious metal applications. Planning required half a year within a spacious atelier in a waterfront district, then nine months for the arduous painting—clambering up and down a scaffold to gauge things.

“Since my parent worked in architecture,” he answers. “Thus, I knew how to organize the area.”

As for the retiring cardinal, he announced during the artwork’s unveiling: “Some have asked me, are you trying to make a statement about immigration? Certainly, without doubt. Namely, that immigrants are children of God.”

“We’re all in this together,” the artist repeats. “Whether we like it or not,” he adds. Multiple ideological followers are depicted. And multiple different religions. “However, common human experience unites all,” he maintains. “It includes those beyond one’s circle.”