Father Richard Cannuli, OSA, MFA, is an Augustinian Friar and a full professor in studio art at Villanova University. A liturgical artist, certified liturgical design consultant and iconographer, he has designed stained glass windows for many Churches around the world as well as designing and fabricating liturgical vesture for not only Roman Catholics but also other denominations for over forty years. His works have been exhibited in the United States, Italy, Russia, Belorussia, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Greece, China, Japan, Peru, Bolivia, Spain, and Vatican City.
Mary Queen of Peace
Mary Queen of Peace Icon written by Father Richard G. Cannuli
The icon, "Mary Queen of Peace," was written because all Christians and Muslims, especially in the Middle East, venerate Mary (Maryām), the mother of Jesus. She is considered one of the most righteous and greatest women in the Islamic religion. She is the only woman mentioned by name in the Quran, and her names appears more often in the Quran than in the New Testament.
The title, written in Arabic, comes from the Litany of Our Lady of Loretto but the icon depicts Mary as a Middle Eastern woman. Instead of a crown on her head she wears a row of gold disks; a gold halo encircles her head. In her hands are the traditional symbols of peace: a dove with an olive branch in its beak. In the violence and turmoil that today affects all the peoples of the Middle East, Mary’s intercession is asked for peace and stability in that troubled region.
Father Richard G. Cannuli