On Wednesday, I visited St. Nicholas Croatian Catholic Church, the one off of Route 28 in Millvale, Pa. This will likely be the most unusual of entries for my project, The Churches of Pittsburgh. Just look at some of the photos from this shoot and I’m sure you’ll agree. I photographed each of the murals before a crowd of students arrived for a tour. The tour guide, Mary, met me there early and was very gracious to accommodate me. She is a life-long member of the church and will tell you that her mother was the first child to be baptized there. She is a veteran tour guide and takes her role seriously. Mary dimmed the lights because she uses two large spotlights to emphasize talking points during the tour and, she added, “because it’s a more dramatic presentation.” I used a wide-angle lens on a tripod before the tour and a telephoto lens during it to capture some of the detail I overheard as Mary guided the group from one mural to the next. You could see all the murals from the center of the moderately sized sanctuary.

Artist Maxo Vanka was a Croatian immigrant who completed the first set of murals in 1937. The tempera paintings portray iconic scenes of the Croatian Catholic faith with social commentary on war, society and life in general for immigrants at that time.

What blows my mind is the fact that Vanka was an atheist. I can’t imagine clergy commissioning an artist who doesn’t share the faith of the church. Anyhow, that’s my very small thought in this great, big world. The murals have been around a lot longer than I have and still attract tourists and regulars for mass. It just didn’t feel like an atmosphere that inspired me to worship.

Mary, our tour guide, pointed out that Vanka painted Mary, the blessed mother, with “peasant hands.” I am thoroughly confused about why Mary is at the center of most sacred art. Yes, she is the mother of our savior by virgin birth, but my understanding holds Jesus to be at the center of everything. And why pray to Mary when we can go directly to God? The script above the altar reads, “Mary, queen of Croations, pray for us.”