Monday, March 30, 2015

Cover Art: St Brigit and Her Ale by Anna Pierlot



The cover art here is from the February 2013 issue of Catholic Insight, depicting St Brigit pouring ale from a barrel into a pitcher, with a straw cross swinging from her belt. The artist, Anna Pierlot, is a student at Campion College in NSW, Australia.

She says, about her painting,

"This piece depicts St. Brigid, patron of Ireland (along with St. Patrick). She is often shown holding a reed cross, a crozier of the sort used by abbots, along with some source of fire or light. Fire is a central image connected with St. Brigid; nuns at her monastery are said to have kept burning a sacred eternal flame. She is said to have had the power to multiply such things as butter, bacon, and milk; she is shown here brewing beer."

Sunday, March 22, 2015

Remember Marcella




When looking for well researched and illustrated posts on Irish saints, particularly the three primary saints of Ireland, Columba, Patrick, and Brigid, you could do a lot worse than to turn to Marcella, who describes herself thus:

"I am an Irishwoman interested in the lives of our native saints. I am not a professional scholar in this field but attempt to keep up with the work of those who are. I am particularly interested in the many obscure Irish saints whose names fill the pages of our Martyrologies."

Once the force behind Under the Oak, Marcella now maintains Trias Thaumaturga and Omnium Sanctorum Hiberniae. To get a sense of her interest in Brigid, have a look at the posts about her in February 2012: