The Peace Mural

The Mural by Professor Joseph Slawinski is 24 feet across the front, 7!6 feet wide and stands 5 feet from the floor.

The left side shows the consequences of a lack of peace.  A horrible aftermath of an atomic bomb mushroom hovers above spectral figures, clad in death white.

The right side instead depicts Professor Slawinski’s fanciful projection of a tranquil world with laughing children and cosmic harmony.  It is a scene of plenty, culture and education with inter-planetary travel and peace among the people of the world.  When peace prevails, the earth is a joyous place.

In the center of the Mural stands a pregnant young woman.  She is a symbol that peace is not yet here, but its possibility is present.  Surrounding her are four figures representing the four races of the world.  Positioned above them is the symbol of the Holy Trinity drawing together the two hemispheres.

Professor Joseph Slawinski has produced a unique type of art work known as “SGRAFFITO”.

Sgraffito is a form of mural decoration that predates even formal architecture itself.  The art was employed to add a modicum of beauty to the Etruscan tombs and the catacombs of ancient Rome using only the two colors of black and white.  Professor Slawinski has pioneered the use of additional color in sgraffito by adding pigment to cement.  His work graces more than 150 churches, theaters, palaces and homes in his native country of Poland.

First, the artist does a full length painting, called a cartoon, in the same proportions as the mural he plans to do.  He then traces the outline of the painting on heavy transparent paper.  After this, the paper is perforated and is laid over the mural area, which has been previously layered with four coats of pigment cement: black, red, yellow, and silver-gray.

A fine charcoal dust is poured over the paper.  It filters through the perforations and leaves an outline for the artist to follow with chisel-like tools until he reaches the desired color.

The process is particularly suited for murals of a religious, historic, or ornamental nature.  “The art is capable of producing an inspiring spiritual feeling,” Professor Slawinski has said.

Thousands of pilgrims coming every year to visit our Shrine are inspired in their search for peace through this masterpiece.

The Mural is made possible by many concerned people who, with their contributions, are providing the necessary funds.