Our Story
Since the beginning of creation, God has called His people into union with Him. At every moment in history, He sends forth His Holy Spirit to go before the people and prepare a path for this union. The Angelico Project, a work of the Holy Spirit, is such a path – here and now, in the Greater Cincinnati region.
We live in a time when many are opposed to the traditional presentation of the Gospel and the truths of the Faith, and yet the Good, the True and the Beautiful in the arts transcend all barriers – touching hearts, opening minds and transforming the soul.
Many have begun calling the work of The Angelico Project a “new renaissance”! Join us in this exciting endeavor as we hold up a bright beacon of Beauty to a world starving for faith, hope and love!
The founders of The Angelico Project – Sharon Conrad, Paul Dell’Aira, Jay and Loraine Muldoon, Nancy-Carolyn Smith, Dan and Maureen Teller and Sofie Vietas – spent countless hours of work around dining room tables and at coffee shops, in meetings with the Archdiocese of Cincinnati and with leaders in business, media and the arts, and including a trip to the Sheen Center, a newly-created Catholic arts and cultural center in NYC.
Some of the founders were deeply and independently involved in the arts. All were passionately committed to their Catholic faith. The Lord brought them together to create this vibrant initiative for evangelization!
Jay Muldoon, a Catholic playwright, director and educator, along with his wife, Loraine Muldoon, envisioned a regional program for the education of the person through the arts. They were inspired by the transformative impact an actor and audience can experience through theater.
Nancy-Carolyn Smith, a professional sculptor and arts educator, had a long-cherished vision of starting an Arts Guild for the nurturing and networking of Catholic artists, motivated by the inspiration and support she had received from the Chicago-based Catholic Arts Guild.
Maureen Teller had a lifelong love of the arts and a professional career in dance, first on stage and then in teaching dance and arts of all kinds to children. In 2017, when Maureen learned of the Sheen Center through Sacred Heart Radio, she invited others to begin discussing the potential of bringing a similar vision to the Greater Cincinnati region. A core team began to meet and brought new depth and richness to the ideas.
Through the work of the Holy Spirit, an organization unlike any other in the United States has been called into existence. Angelico’s three pillars: Artistic Presentations; the Angelico Catholic Arts Guild; and the Education of the Person – strive to evangelize the culture through their unique approaches, bringing vibrant experiences of the arts, thought and culture to all they serve.
In 2019, Angelico received seed money from the Archdiocesan Catholic Ministries Appeal. This, combined with the generosity of donors and friends of the project, helped to launch The Angelico Project. We have discovered an ever-widening number of people – locally as well as nationally – who have held and prayed for this vision for years. Clearly, the Holy Spirit has been active in this work calling forth concrete efforts to evangelize souls and culture through the arts and culture.
The Angelico Project presented a dynamic inaugural season of events and programs, stirring excitement and enthusiasm among attendees and supporters. Building on this great success, we are now working to create more opportunities to build Catholic community, touch hearts, and transform culture … through the promotion of the Good, the True and the Beautiful through the arts, thought and culture!
“Angelico has reaffirmed for me that we were made for infinitely more than the world has to offer. That we were made to be united to Truth, Goodness, and Beauty Himself. I’m incredibly grateful for the ways their mission has provided nourishment for my soul, and the light that they shine in the darkness of our culture!”
Kelsey Koverman (Youth Ministry Leader)
“Art is capable of making visible our need to go beyond what we see, and it reveals our thirst for infinite beauty, for God.”
Pope Benedict XVI
"To do Christ's work we must remain in Christ."
Fra Angelico
The Angelico Project is named in honor of Blessed Fra Angelcio, Dominican Friar, early Renaissance artist, 1395-1455 His feast day is February 18th. His beautiful frescos decorated the monks’ cells of the Dominican friary in San Marco, Florence, Italy, each a meditation designed to inspire meditation. Angelico is the patron saint of artists.
Fra Angelico, pray for us.