Newswise — MAYWOOD, Ill. – Loyola University Chicago has acquired an edition of The Saint John’s Bible, the only handwritten and illuminated Bible commissioned by a Benedictine monastery since the advent of the printing press more than 500 years ago. The University’s Heritage Edition is a fine-art reproduction of the original manuscript, one of only 299 sets created.
The University acquired this limited edition through the generosity of the Jesuit Community of Loyola University Chicago and its donors. This bible is displayed in Loyola University Chicago’s new Marcella Niehoff School of Nursing building.
“The Jewish and Christian Scriptures tell us that the human person is a union of body and soul,” said Michael J. Garanzini, S.J., Loyola president and CEO. “It is our hope that the bible serves as a reminder to all of us of our ongoing commitments at the Health Sciences Division to care for the whole human person."
The Saint John’s Bible was a 15-year collaboration of Scripture scholars and theologians from Saint John's Abbey & University in Collegeville, Minn., and a team of artists and calligraphers at the scriptorium in Wales, U.K. The group operated under the direction of Donald Jackson, one of the world’s foremost calligraphers and senior scribe to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth’s Crown Office at the House of Lords. The Saint John’s Bible was written and drawn entirely by hand using quills and paints hand-ground from precious minerals and stones.
In addition to Loyola, these fine-art editions of The Saint John’s Bible also can be seen at more than 50 universities, museums, libraries and churches around the world. Original pages of The Saint John’s Bible are always on exhibition at the Hill Museum & Manuscript Library on the Saint John’s Abbey & University. The public also can see original pages from the bible as part of its touring exhibition program at the New Mexico History Museum now through Monday, Dec. 31.
For more information, please visit www.saintjohnsbible.org
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