The New St. Bernardine Creche

It began in 2002 with a simple conversation between Ingrid Znika and David Claudon, Head of St. Bernardine’s Art and Environment, about a children’s book on the life of St. Francis. The idea of a nativity scene in the style of Medieval artist Giotto quickly snowballed.

St. Francis of Assisi is credited with creating the first crèche in 1223. According to the Catholic Encyclopedia:

It was during Christmastide of this year (1223) that the saint conceived the idea of celebrating the Nativity "in a new manner", by reproducing in a church at Greccio the praesepio of Bethlehem, and he has thus come to be regarded as having inaugurated the population devotion of the Crib. Christmas appears indeed to have been the favourite feast of Francis, and he wished to persuade the emperor to make a special law that men should then provide well for the birds and the beasts, as well as for the poor, so that all might have occasion to rejoice in the Lord.

Medieval artist Giotto di Bondone’s first great masterpiece was his 28 scenes of the life of St. Francis in the Upper Basilica di San Francesco at Assisi. The stylized mountains and trees of Ingrid’s canvas backdrop can be seen in Giotto’s backgrounds.

The church façade that frames the Nativity is in the style of the simple Romanesque churches in which both St. Francis and our own St. Bernardine would have preached.

The new parish nativity creche debuted Christmas 2002.

Parishioner designer Ingrid Znika, shown here with her family in Christmas 2002, trained at the Art Institute of Chicago and is a professional artist whose work appears in galleries across the United States. She designed and painted the display. Her husband Peter was enlisted for his carpentry skills. Even their sons got involved since the dining room of their home became both artist’s studio and carpenter’s workshop.

Ingrid dedicates this display to her paternal grandparents, Francisco and Candida Sańchez, whose devotion to Catholicism helped form Ingrid’s church devotion.