Arts

The Catholic Picasso

When Pablo Picasso said “The purpose of art is washing the dust of daily life off our souls,” it wasn’t a casual remark. Picasso thought a lot about his own soul, the soul of the Spanish nation, the soul of 20th-century modern art, and he thought about it in very Catholic terms.

Showtime for Our Lady of the Cape

The final countdown is on until Our Lady of the Cape receives its splashy film premiere treatment.

Lost and found in Dante’s Indiana

Randy Boyagoda takes a bold dive into some of society’s most contentious issues in his latest novel, Dante’s Indiana.

Opera Atelier’s first film production evolves past a tragedy and a pandemic

There are no ugly angels. In the entire 10,000-year history of art, from the caves of Lescaux through the Mystical Nativity of Sandro Botticelli to Ms. Fleming’s Grade 3 art class, every single depiction of angels is a depiction of beauty. Opera Atelier co-artistic director Marshall Pynkoski knows why.

Medieval prayer comes alive at AGO exhibit

A small show full of small items on now at the Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto opens up a vast world of medieval mystical experience.

Schmalz builds as others tear down

As the statues fall across the nation, there is little positive sculptor Timothy Schmalz can glean from the anger and destruction.

Disney’s Hunchback ages well

The Hunchback of Notre Dame at 25: ‘The Most R-Rated G You Will Ever See.’ ”

The caring reality: How your parish can serve people with dementia

In the new Novalis book Here With Us: A Parish Guide to Serving People with Dementia, The Catholic Register’s Michael Swan outlines a massive pastoral challenge. There will be well over one million Canadians living with some form of dementia by 2036. They certainly will not be absent from parishes. Are we ready?

Rock legend seeks the transcendent

Legendary Canadian musician Myles Goodwyn has spent 2021 purely in his element: he’s pouring his energy into writing and recording the songs that will make up his next album, Long Pants, which is expected to be released in July or August.

Film explores Benedict’s papacy

VATICAN CITY -- A documentary released on Benedict XVI’s 94th birthday states that his personal secretary, Archbishop Georg Gänswein, tried to dissuade him from abdicating the papacy.

Pandemic halts theatric run, so Opera Atelier turns production into film

Resurrecting The Resurrection has not been easy. Over 80 singers, dancers, musicians, set designers and more have been through quarantine, donned masks, practised at a distance to remount an Opera Atelier production that was stopped dead in its tracks just before Easter 2020.

Book shines spotlight on poverty

The Interfaith Social Assistance Reform Coalition is once again battling poverty in Ontario, this time with facts laid out in black and white and printed in a book.

Even in a pandemic, there is room for Christ

Fr. Harrison Ayre knows COVID lockdowns can wear you down. He’s felt it more in the last few months.