St. John’s Bible Exhibit Planned at Clarke

Clarke University’s Saint John’s Bible exhibit, one of only 299 in the existence, will be on display from Nov. 2 to Nov. 24 in the Quigley Gallery on the Clarke campus.Gallery hours are 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.In addition, on Tuesday, Nov. 5, a special event “The Word of God Alive on a Page: The Making of The Saint John’s Bible,” presented by the Rev. Eric Hollas, will be held in the Quigley Gallery from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. A social gathering will take place from 6:30 to 7 p.m. in the Wahlert Atrium.In this presentation, Hollas will use illuminations from The Saint John’s Bible to “illustrate” the importance of the arts and how artists speak to us in ways others cannot. Hollas is a medievalist with degrees from Princeton and Yale, and speaks to audiences around the world on The Saint John’s Bible.Reservations are needed only for the Nov. 5 event and can be made by phone at (563)588-6553 or at www.clarke.edu/alumni/events. Register by Oct. 29.The Saint John’s Bible is the first completely handwritten and illuminated Bible commissioned by a Benedictine Abbey since the invention of the printing press more than 500 years ago. Master calligrapher Donald Jackson – the official scribe and calligrapher to Queen Elizabeth II – dreamed of producing such a Bible as early as 1970. The project began in 1995 and the final pages were completed by Jackson in 2011. Saint John’s University created the Heritage Edition of The Saint John’s Bible to ignite the spiritual imagination of communities around the world. Under Jackson’s direction, the seven volumes of the Heritage Edition are fully illuminated and true to the scale, beauty and artistic intent of the original manuscript. Thanks to the hand treatments to many of the illuminations, of the 299 limited editions being created no two sets are identical. Clarke University owns Heritage Edition number 20.Clarke University is a Catholic, liberal arts and sciences university dedicated to preparing students who positively impact their workplace, family and community. Academic offerings include more than 40 undergraduate liberal arts and pre-professional programs, a robust adult degree program and six graduate degree programs.  Founded in 1843 by the Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Clarke is located near the Mississippi River in the thriving city of Dubuque, Iowa. It is the only BVM university in the country.For more information, contact the Clarke University Marketing and Communication Office at (563)588-6318.