Berkshire: Rugby legend praises Gallery of Good Examples

Rugby legend Brian O’Driscoll has sent “sincere appreciation and best wishes” after being chosen as one of the surprising line -up of figures for an ecumenical Gallery of Good Examples specially painted for the parish hall in St Joseph’s Catholic Church in Central Bracknell in Berkshire.

The artist suggests that other denominations might consider the basic idea as it has been created in the spirit of Oscar Romero.

The figures were nominated by the 26 candidates for Confirmation – all of whom appear along the bottom of the Gallery supporting them. Parish Social Justice Co-ordinator Hugh Gibbons (pictured) arranged and painted them on a 2400mm x 300mm wooden panel.

Mary Berry is shown holding one of her Fairtrade recipes alongside Gordon Ramsey in marathon kit. Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King, and civil rights leader Rosa Parks carry banners as in a rally. Singer and anti-bullying campaigner Demi Lavato and anti-slavery symbol St Josephine Bakhita also appear. His two cats support parish priest Fr Danny McEvoy, while Fr Adrian Walker holds a dove.

Other figures include St Joseph wearing a safety helmet and carrying a spokeshave. St Margaret Clitherow has a keyring with ballbearings brought from St Josef’s parish in Schweinfurt, Germany, as part of the Thanksgiving Field project at Winkfield. Archbishop Oscar Romero of El Salvador, famous “voice of the voiceless”, carries a CAFOD postcard saying “Aspire Not To Have More But To Be More”. An old wooden ruler is a reminder that he originally trained as a carpenter.

The Gallery is a companion to the one last year that Hugh painted for St Margaret Clitherow Primary School. Their big figures were specified by each Year, and their choice drew plaudits from the Vatican, Buckingham Palace, the United Nations and the Royal Society. In tribute to the spirit of Romero as champion of social justice, Hugh painted both echoing the simple but colourful style of artists in El Salvador – from where several small items came for the Galleries.

Hugh said: “the value of these Galleries is their potential to educate, inspire, intrigue and amuse – and for many years ahead. I’d commend parishes and schools to consider one. They’re different from different from religious art bought in for churches because they’re home-grown, specific to your place and time, and give a sort of snapshot of the parish that can be revisited. You just need to identify a bit of fallow space and someone with a brush and a bit of imagination. Young people are obviously great at suggesting an interesting mix of figures."

See more details at: www.spiritofromero.org/galleries