Francisco Pagan, a second-year seminarian studying for the Archdiocese of Chicago, is serving his pastoral internship at Our Lady of the Woods Catholic Church in Orland Park for the spring semester. He recently led a class called “Art and Painting” with two sessions and a total of 31 parishioners participating.
“This was a guided meditation using the Beatitudes passage in the Bible. We expressed the meditation and prayer on a canvas, along with music and images that helped us pray in a different way. Through this class I encouraged others to pray using all of the senses,” Francisco said.
Francisco mentioned his favorite part of the program was “being able to be an instrument of God so that people find the peace that He gives to us.”
“This was my idea since I am an artist and I paint and carve wood,” he said. “During the lockdown last year, I was able to paint a lot and pray at the same time, and I found a lot of peace. I wanted to share it with the people of the parish and they all really liked the experience.”
Please continue to keep Francisco and all of the second-year seminarians in your prayers as they continue to learn from mentor priests and serve at their assigned parish in their home dioceses.
