Mary, Undoer of Knots Grotto Honoring Pope Francis Will Be Dedicated Today Outside Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
Project HOME opens Public Art Installation by World Renowned Artist Meg Saligman and Includes Thousands of “Knots” Crowdsourced from Community Members
Thursday, September 3, 2015 (Philadelphia) – Project HOME has commissioned a public art installation inspired by one of Pope Francis’ favorite religious images, Mary, Undoer of Knots. It will be dedicated today at 11 a.m. outside the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul. The inter-faith dedication ceremony will feature prayers from various Philadelphia religious leaders, as well as special music, sharing of stories of struggle, and an experiential engagement with the artwork.
Project HOME asked World-renowned artist Meg Saligman to create the installation as a way of drawing attention to the stories of those in need. It provides a spiritually-based gathering site to foster faith, hope, and collective action. Design elements include a grotto, video projections, and public participation. The project is supported by Project HOME through the generosity of Janet and John Haas, Leigh and John Middleton, and an anonymous benefactor.
According to Sister Mary Scullion, co-founder of Project HOME and co-chair of the Hunger and Homeless Committee of the World Meeting of Families – Philadelphia 2015, “We invited Meg to create this work of art so that people will be moved to acknowledge a higher power and to also acknowledge the power within themselves to act. We need God’s grace to untie the knots, but we also need each other.”
The Grotto includes over 30,000 strips of woven cloth inscribed with descriptions of real life struggles faced by members of the Philadelphia community and beyond. Many of the knots were collected over the past several months at workshops held at homeless shelters, soup kitchens, and prisons, as well as churches, synagogues, and mosques. Thousands more were submitted via the website of the World Meeting of Families Hunger and Homelessness Committee (www.mercyandjustice.org). When visitors enter the Grotto, they will be invited to tie their own knots of struggle, and to untie the knots of others in need.
“Throughout time, and across all cultures, a knot has been used to symbolize tension and struggle,” said Saligman. “The undoing of a knot symbolizes freedom from these burdens – a release of pressure. This has been a labor of love and I have been greatly inspired by the many stories woven into this work of art.”
A video of participant hands tying and untying knots will be projected on the dome of the Basilica. This unprecedented element, with enormous scale and symbolism, will make the Basilica a beacon for the entire city and engage all who witness it in the story of shared struggle and hope. The projection will be live during the week of the World Meeting of Families Congress (Sept. 22-25).
The Undoing the Knots project is part of “Mercy and Justice Campaign,” an initiative of the World Meeting of Families Hunger and Homeless Committee to honor Pope Francis’ visit with concrete efforts to respond to the crisis of poverty in our community. The campaign includes The Francis Fund and an advocacy outreach to Congress to create just public policies.
About World Meeting of Families – Philadelphia 2015: Co-sponsored by the Holy See’s Pontifical Council for the Family and the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, the World Meeting of Families is a triennial global event that seeks to strengthen the sacred bonds of family across the globe and highlight its intrinsic value to the good of society. This international gathering will welcome Pope Francis to the United States for the first time in his Papacy. Being held in the United States for the first time ever, the official theme for the 2015 World Meeting of Families is “Love is Our Mission: The Family Fully Alive.
About WMOF Hunger and Homelessness Committee: The World Meeting of Families Hunger and Homelessness Committee, with leadership from Project HOME, is comprised of civic, religious, and nonprofit leaders from the region, as well as persons who have experienced homelessness and poverty. Its efforts have had broad support from the interfaith community in the Philadelphia region and Camden. For more information, visit www.mercyandjustice.org
About Project HOME: Since 1989, Project HOME has helped more than 8,000 people break the cycle of homelessness and poverty by providing a continuum of care that includes street outreach, supportive housing and comprehensive services that focus on health care, education and employment through both adult and youth education and enrichment programs at the Honickman Learning Center and Comcast Technology Labs and community-based health care services at the Stephen Klein Wellness Center. Project HOME and its partners have pledged to end chronic street homelessness in Philadelphia, housing 2,200 people – 1,000 people who have been long-term street homeless, 200 youth who are homeless and/or aging out of foster care, and 1,000 people who are homeless on the street and addicted but ready for recovery and work. To learn more, visit www.projecthome.org.
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