(RNS) — As Christians across the world dig out their Nativity sets for Advent, countless figurines of Mary, mother of Jesus, will be on display. Whether part of a classic wood carved set, the kid-friendly Fisher-Price model or a plastic outdoor collection, most of these Marian depictions involve a slim woman with a blue robe, downcast gaze and unmistakably white skin.But in her new illustrated book, “The Modern Saints,” artist and editor Gracie Morbitzer offers eight images of Mary among her collection of 52 saints that challenge this docile, white-washed image.
There’s Mary as The New Eve, a pregnant mother with glistening Black skin, a snakeskin in her pocket and flowers adorning her afro. Mary in the icon “Madonna and Child” has a nose piercing, ripped jeans and tattoo of her immaculate heart as she nestles a swaddled Jesus. Mary as Our Lady of Guadalupe is depicted with a short skirt, flower crown and converse-clad feet crushing a serpentine border wall.
These striking and occasionally provocative renderings of Mary are emblematic of Morbitzer’s “Modern Saints,” a project intended to show that the saints, while holy, were also deeply human.
Gracie Morbitzer. (Courtesy photo)
What began as a side project and gained traction through Morbitzer’s viral Modern Saints Instagram account is now taking on new meaning in book form. For the book, Morbitzer is pairing 52 of her modern icons — out of the 150 she’s created so far — each with an artist statement, a summary of the saint’s life, a devotional reflection and a prayer. The reflections are written by 50 authors Morbitzer calls the “saints of tomorrow,” including Jesuit priest James Martin, “Gay & Catholic” author Eve Tushnet, public theologian Christena Cleveland and author D.L. Mayfield.
Religion News Service spoke with Morbitzer about her forthcoming book, which includes 20 never-before-seen portraits and is scheduled to be published by Convergent Books on Dec. 5. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
What do you mean when you call the saints some of the original social justice warriors?
I think that for a lot of the saints, we know them for their writings on the faith. But they really did so much in their communities. A lot of them created the first social services in their area, making hospitals and orphanages. If they were born into nobility or wealth, they gave away their possessions to be with the suffering memb …
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There’s Mary as The New Eve, a pregnant mother with glistening Black skin, a snakeskin in her pocket and flowers adorning her afro. Mary in the icon “Madonna and Child” has a nose piercing, ripped jeans and tattoo of her immaculate heart as she nestles a swaddled Jesus. Mary as Our Lady of Guadalupe is depicted with a short skirt, flower crown and converse-clad feet crushing a serpentine border wall.
These striking and occasionally provocative renderings of Mary are emblematic of Morbitzer’s “Modern Saints,” a project intended to show that the saints, while holy, were also deeply human.
Gracie Morbitzer. (Courtesy photo)
What began as a side project and gained traction through Morbitzer’s viral Modern Saints Instagram account is now taking on new meaning in book form. For the book, Morbitzer is pairing 52 of her modern icons — out of the 150 she’s created so far — each with an artist statement, a summary of the saint’s life, a devotional reflection and a prayer. The reflections are written by 50 authors Morbitzer calls the “saints of tomorrow,” including Jesuit priest James Martin, “Gay & Catholic” author Eve Tushnet, public theologian Christena Cleveland and author D.L. Mayfield.
Religion News Service spoke with Morbitzer about her forthcoming book, which includes 20 never-before-seen portraits and is scheduled to be published by Convergent Books on Dec. 5. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
What do you mean when you call the saints some of the original social justice warriors?
I think that for a lot of the saints, we know them for their writings on the faith. But they really did so much in their communities. A lot of them created the first social services in their area, making hospitals and orphanages. If they were born into nobility or wealth, they gave away their possessions to be with the suffering memb …nnDiscussion:nn” ai_name=”RocketNews AI: ” start_sentence=”Can I tell you more about this article?” text_input_placeholder=”Type ‘Yes'”]