Cardinal Prospero Grech

Villanova, PA – The photography of Roman Catholic Cardinal Prospero Grech (O.S.A.) of Malta opens November 16 at the Villanova University Art Gallery in a solo exhibit the 89-year-old Cardinal calls 'A Thing of Beauty Is A Joy Forever', (giving credit to John Keats).

A free public opening reception with music and free refreshments will take place Friday, November 20, from 3 to 5 pm in the Art Gallery, which is located in the Connelly Center on the Villanova campus.  The Cardinal will not be in attendance.  Convenient on-campus parking is available.  The exhibit continues to December 11.    

Cardinal Grech says he strives for beauty in imagery that balances color, light and timing, with his favorite subject matter being people and architecture.  One of his most striking examples of the former is a close- up of Pope John Paul II squinting against the sun, a Crucifix held tightly before him.   

Identifying himself as theologian, teacher, writer, researcher, and mentor, Cardinal Grech lists photography as a hobby.  It's one he continues to grow in, says Villanova Art Gallery Director Rev. Richard G. Cannuli (O.S.A.), who notes, “I've been watching his progress over the years.  The time is right for him and Villanova to have his work shown here.” (Cardinal Grech and Villanova, as an Augustinian university, share a common theological heritage in the Order of St. Augustine.)     

   The Cardinal's eye for architecture shows in 'Venice', his bird's eye view of tiers of classically ornamented and age-worn colonnaded facades of buildings facing a Venetian plaza on which rows of chairs and tables lined up with military precision stand devoid of people.     

His sense of humor comes through in his photo of an artist passed out on his painting of wine bottles, which he calls 'Inebriated In His Own Paintings'.  In the black-and-white 'Papal Audience', the only audience to be seen is a sea of wet umbrellas.  

Among Cardinal's most cherished places are St. Peter's Square, the Vatican Gardens, and his homeland of Malta.  In 'Sunset, St. Peters Square', statues silhouetted against the failing light seem to be marching in live procession.  A land of broad cultural and religious diversity, Malta has one of the world's oldest Christian traditions, dating to AD 60 when the ship bearing St. Paul to Rome for trial, foundered there.  

Born in 1925 in Vittoriosa, Cardinal Grech joined the Augustinian Order in 1943 and was ordained a priest in 1950.  It was at about that time that he picked up his first camera, an easy-to-operate, black-and-white, fixed-focus German model.   

“Mostly”, he says, “I used it to photograph books and documents.”  In time, the copier supplanted the camera for such work, freeing him to broaden his photographic horizons.  He remembers: 

“I got a better camera and took it with me wherever I went.  I'd wander the streets, and whatever struck my eye, I got the angle on it I wanted and took a picture of it.  The pictures I took, I took for myself.”  Only on rare occasions has his work been offered for public view.       

His own harshest critic, he studies photography, and shows his work to artist colleagues for their opinions.  His observation: “The best master of good photography is the wastepaper basket”. 

In 2007, he obtained his first digital camera and learned to edit his images on a computer, careful to limit adjustments to lighting and contrast.  “I don't like abstract photography,” he says.  Cardinal Grech was elevated from Bishop to Cardinal in 2012 by Pope Benedict XVI.  He co- founded and is professor emeritus of the Patristic Institute Augustinianum of Rome.  He was invited lecturer on hermeneutics, (the interpretation of biblical texts, wisdom literature and philosophical texts) at the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome, of which he is an alumnus.  As a Cardinal, he continues to work with students.  

He studied philosophy at St. Mark's Priory in Rabat, Malta, and theology at St. Monica's College in Rome.  He graduated Doctor of Theology from Gregorian University in Rome and obtained a Licentiate in Sacred Scripture from the Pontifical Biblical Institute.  

As a photographer, he is self-taught.

The Villanova University Art Gallery is open weekdays from 9 am into most evenings.  For extended and weekend hours, and other information, telephone the Art Gallery at (610) 519-4612.  Selected works from Cardinal Grech's exhibit may be previewed on the gallery’s website at www.artgallery.villanova.edu.  

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Villanova, PA – The photography of Roman Catholic Cardinal Prospero Grech (O.S.A.) of Malta opens November 16 at the Villanova University Art Gallery in a solo exhibit the 89-year-old Cardinal calls 'A Thing of Beauty Is A Joy Forever', (giving credit to John Keats).

A free public opening reception with music and free refreshments will take place Friday, November 20, from 3 to 5 pm in the Art Gallery, which is located in the Connelly Center on the Villanova campus.  The Cardinal will not be in attendance.  Convenient on-campus parking is available.  The exhibit continues to December 11.    

Cardinal Grech says he strives for beauty in imagery that balances color, light and timing, with his favorite subject matter being people and architecture.  One of his most striking examples of the former is a close- up of Pope John Paul II squinting against the sun, a Crucifix held tightly before him.   

Identifying himself as theologian, teacher, writer, researcher, and mentor, Cardinal Grech lists photography as a hobby.  It's one he continues to grow in, says Villanova Art Gallery Director Rev. Richard G. Cannuli (O.S.A.), who notes, “I've been watching his progress over the years.  The time is right for him and Villanova to have his work shown here.” (Cardinal Grech and Villanova, as an Augustinian university, share a common theological heritage in the Order of St. Augustine.)     

   The Cardinal's eye for architecture shows in 'Venice', his bird's eye view of tiers of classically ornamented and age-worn colonnaded facades of buildings facing a Venetian plaza on which rows of chairs and tables lined up with military precision stand devoid of people.     

His sense of humor comes through in his photo of an artist passed out on his painting of wine bottles, which he calls 'Inebriated In His Own Paintings'.  In the black-and-white 'Papal Audience', the only audience to be seen is a sea of wet umbrellas.  

Among Cardinal's most cherished places are St. Peter's Square, the Vatican Gardens, and his homeland of Malta.  In 'Sunset, St. Peters Square', statues silhouetted against the failing light seem to be marching in live procession.  A land of broad cultural and religious diversity, Malta has one of the world's oldest Christian traditions, dating to AD 60 when the ship bearing St. Paul to Rome for trial, foundered there.  

Born in 1925 in Vittoriosa, Cardinal Grech joined the Augustinian Order in 1943 and was ordained a priest in 1950.  It was at about that time that he picked up his first camera, an easy-to-operate, black-and-white, fixed-focus German model.   

“Mostly”, he says, “I used it to photograph books and documents.”  In time, the copier supplanted the camera for such work, freeing him to broaden his photographic horizons.  He remembers: 

“I got a better camera and took it with me wherever I went.  I'd wander the streets, and whatever struck my eye, I got the angle on it I wanted and took a picture of it.  The pictures I took, I took for myself.”  Only on rare occasions has his work been offered for public view.       

His own harshest critic, he studies photography, and shows his work to artist colleagues for their opinions.  His observation: “The best master of good photography is the wastepaper basket”. 

In 2007, he obtained his first digital camera and learned to edit his images on a computer, careful to limit adjustments to lighting and contrast.  “I don't like abstract photography,” he says.  Cardinal Grech was elevated from Bishop to Cardinal in 2012 by Pope Benedict XVI.  He co- founded and is professor emeritus of the Patristic Institute Augustinianum of Rome.  He was invited lecturer on hermeneutics, (the interpretation of biblical texts, wisdom literature and philosophical texts) at the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome, of which he is an alumnus.  As a Cardinal, he continues to work with students.  

He studied philosophy at St. Mark's Priory in Rabat, Malta, and theology at St. Monica's College in Rome.  He graduated Doctor of Theology from Gregorian University in Rome and obtained a Licentiate in Sacred Scripture from the Pontifical Biblical Institute.  

As a photographer, he is self-taught.

The Villanova University Art Gallery is open weekdays from 9 am into most evenings.  For extended and weekend hours, and other information, telephone the Art Gallery at (610) 519-4612.  Selected works from Cardinal Grech's exhibit may be previewed on the gallery’s website at www.artgallery.villanova.edu.  

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Villanova, PA – The photography of Roman Catholic Cardinal Prospero Grech (O.S.A.) of Malta opens November 16 at the Villanova University Art Gallery in a solo exhibit the 89-year-old Cardinal calls 'A Thing of Beauty Is A Joy Forever', (giving credit to John Keats).

A free public opening reception with music and free refreshments will take place Friday, November 20, from 3 to 5 pm in the Art Gallery, which is located in the Connelly Center on the Villanova campus.  The Cardinal will not be in attendance.  Convenient on-campus parking is available.  The exhibit continues to December 11.    

Cardinal Grech says he strives for beauty in imagery that balances color, light and timing, with his favorite subject matter being people and architecture.  One of his most striking examples of the former is a close- up of Pope John Paul II squinting against the sun, a Crucifix held tightly before him.   

Identifying himself as theologian, teacher, writer, researcher, and mentor, Cardinal Grech lists photography as a hobby.  It's one he continues to grow in, says Villanova Art Gallery Director Rev. Richard G. Cannuli (O.S.A.), who notes, “I've been watching his progress over the years.  The time is right for him and Villanova to have his work shown here.” (Cardinal Grech and Villanova, as an Augustinian university, share a common theological heritage in the Order of St. Augustine.)     

   The Cardinal's eye for architecture shows in 'Venice', his bird's eye view of tiers of classically ornamented and age-worn colonnaded facades of buildings facing a Venetian plaza on which rows of chairs and tables lined up with military precision stand devoid of people.     

His sense of humor comes through in his photo of an artist passed out on his painting of wine bottles, which he calls 'Inebriated In His Own Paintings'.  In the black-and-white 'Papal Audience', the only audience to be seen is a sea of wet umbrellas.  

Among Cardinal's most cherished places are St. Peter's Square, the Vatican Gardens, and his homeland of Malta.  In 'Sunset, St. Peters Square', statues silhouetted against the failing light seem to be marching in live procession.  A land of broad cultural and religious diversity, Malta has one of the world's oldest Christian traditions, dating to AD 60 when the ship bearing St. Paul to Rome for trial, foundered there.  

Born in 1925 in Vittoriosa, Cardinal Grech joined the Augustinian Order in 1943 and was ordained a priest in 1950.  It was at about that time that he picked up his first camera, an easy-to-operate, black-and-white, fixed-focus German model.   

“Mostly”, he says, “I used it to photograph books and documents.”  In time, the copier supplanted the camera for such work, freeing him to broaden his photographic horizons.  He remembers: 

“I got a better camera and took it with me wherever I went.  I'd wander the streets, and whatever struck my eye, I got the angle on it I wanted and took a picture of it.  The pictures I took, I took for myself.”  Only on rare occasions has his work been offered for public view.       

His own harshest critic, he studies photography, and shows his work to artist colleagues for their opinions.  His observation: “The best master of good photography is the wastepaper basket”. 

In 2007, he obtained his first digital camera and learned to edit his images on a computer, careful to limit adjustments to lighting and contrast.  “I don't like abstract photography,” he says.  Cardinal Grech was elevated from Bishop to Cardinal in 2012 by Pope Benedict XVI.  He co- founded and is professor emeritus of the Patristic Institute Augustinianum of Rome.  He was invited lecturer on hermeneutics, (the interpretation of biblical texts, wisdom literature and philosophical texts) at the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome, of which he is an alumnus.  As a Cardinal, he continues to work with students.  

He studied philosophy at St. Mark's Priory in Rabat, Malta, and theology at St. Monica's College in Rome.  He graduated Doctor of Theology from Gregorian University in Rome and obtained a Licentiate in Sacred Scripture from the Pontifical Biblical Institute.  

As a photographer, he is self-taught.

The Villanova University Art Gallery is open weekdays from 9 am into most evenings.  For extended and weekend hours, and other information, telephone the Art Gallery at (610) 519-4612.  Selected works from Cardinal Grech's exhibit may be previewed on the gallery’s website at www.artgallery.villanova.edu.  

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