The Saint John’s Bible introduces full-size reproduction in Naples

02/02/2007

NAPLES, Fla. – Gene Frey, Twin Cities and Naples resident, and board member of the Naples Museum of Art, announced today a gift of the Heritage Edition of The Saint John’s Bible to the Naples Museum of Art through the Frey Family Foundation. Myra Daniels, chair and CEO of the Philharmonic Center of the Arts, received the gift on behalf of the Naples Museum of Art.

"Our family has been involved with The Saint John's Bible since its inception 10 years ago. It is a strikingly beautiful work of art and one of the most remarkable and historic undertakings of our time,” Frey said. “Given our family's interest in the arts and our commitment to the Naples community, we have asked Saint John's to direct a Heritage Edition of The Saint John's Bible to the Naples Museum of Art for its permanent collection so that people from southwest Florida and beyond may see and enjoy the beauty and glory of this handwritten illuminated Bible for generations to come."

Saint John’s University introduced the full-size reproduction of The Saint John’s Bible to the Naples community as the exhibition Illuminating the Word opened at the Naples Museum of Art. The Heritage Edition of The Saint John’s Bible, a beautiful fine-art reproduction, will be presented at numerous exhibition-related events by organizers and supporters of the project. The Naples Museum of Art exhibition is the only showing in Florida of the critically acclaimed exhibition; the Heritage Edition is the only full-size reproduction of The Saint John’s Bible published by Saint John’s Abbey and University.

"This is an important gift – to the museum and to the community," Daniels said. "We are very pleased we will be able to share the exquisite Saint John's Bible with future generations."

Friends of the project, including members of the Naples community, plan to present the full-size reproduction of the Heritage Edition to leaders and institutions worldwide.  Thus far, benefactors have made it possible for Pope Benedict XVI, a museum in Canada and a university in Ohio to receive sets of the Heritage Edition.

“The intent of these gifts is to share this Bible worldwide and to place it in the hands of key individuals, and artistic and cultural institutions that will care for it and make it accessible to a broad population well after the exhibition is over and the Bible returns to Saint John’s University where it will be on permanent display,” said Carol Marrin, director of The Saint John’s Bible. The Heritage Edition will be available in the same seven volumes as the original and will include a special eighth volume of commentary.  The edition is limited to 360 numbered sets and is authenticated by Donald Jackson, the artistic director of The Saint John’s Bible.

"As part of The Saint John’s Bible’s only exhibition in Florida, it is an honor to offer individuals, institutions, and rare book collectors the opportunity to be a part of history,” said Craig Bruner, director of The Saint John’s Bible, the Heritage Edition. “This places subscribers in the exclusive position of being able to share a millennial project with their families, places of worship, or cherished institutions."

Proceeds from the sale of the Heritage Edition will fund student scholarships, the continuing preservation of ancient Christian texts around the world, a permanent home for The Saint John’s Bible, and study and teaching about manuscripts, the Bible, and the interaction of art and religion throughout the ages.

Illuminating the Word will be on display through April 6 and is organized by The Minneapolis Institute of Arts and Saint John’s University. It is made possible by a grant from Target.

About The Saint John’s Bible:

With more than 1,150 pages and more than 160 illuminations, The Saint John’s Bible is the first handwritten and illuminated Bible commissioned by a Benedictine monastery since the invention of the printing press.  Saint John’s University has partnered with world-renowned calligrapher Donald Jackson, Senior Scribe to Her Majesty the Queen’s Crown Office at the House of Lords in London, England, to create this masterpiece.

The Saint John’s Bible is truly a monumental manuscript at more than two feet tall and three feet wide when open. The creation of the Bible continues the Benedictine tradition of copying and caring for sacred texts.  To spread its message of inclusion, The Saint John’s Bible is being written in English and includes powerful illuminations that place the manuscript clearly within our modern age.  Newsweek Magazine has christened The Saint John’s Bible. America’s Book of Kells.”

For more information, visit The Saint John's Bible Web site or the Heritage Edition Web site.  

About Saint John’s Abbey and University and the Hill Museum & Manuscript Library:

For more than 1,500 years, Benedictines have maintained the tradition of preserving and copying sacred texts.  Saint John’s University and Abbey, housing one of the nation’s largest Benedictine monasteries, continues this tradition at the Hill Museum & Manuscript Library, the home of The Saint John’s Bible. Founded in 1965, the Hill Museum & Manuscript Library now holds in trust the largest collection of Christian manuscript images in the world and is considered a premier research institution for the study of texts related to Christian culture. 

In the Benedictine tradition of reverence for human thought and creativity, the Hill Museum & Manuscript Library (HMML) preserves manuscripts, printed books and art at Saint John’s University; undertakes photographic preservation projects throughout the world; and makes these resources available to students, researchers and visitors both onsite and through advanced technology. HMML is the home of the world’s largest collection of manuscript images and of The Saint John’s Bible, a handwritten, illuminated Bible for the modern era. HMML is located on the Saint John’s University campus, 70 miles northwest of Minneapolis.  For more information, visit the HMML Web site.  .