All Saints Mural

In the summer and fall of 2017, Artist Corbert Gauthier painted a breath-taking mural behind the altar at All Saints Catholic Church in Holdrege. This art was commissioned as part of an overall renovation of the sanctuary (completed in 2015) and is intended to inspire and lead souls to Christ. Those who visit All Saints for adoration or Mass may find themselves gazing upon the beautiful mural causing them to reflect on the glory of heaven.

The crucifix is at the painting’s center with Saint John, the Blessed Virgin Mary and Mary Magdalene at the foot of the cross. To Jesus’ left is the Archangel Gabriel, while Michael the Archangel kneels on his right. Saints holding palm branches and clothed in white appear on both sides of the crucifix and are representative of varied ethnicities. This imagery is inspired by Revelation 7: 9-10.

“After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every      nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice: Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.”

All Saints parish has a relic of Saint Maria Goretti and has a special devotion to her. For this reason, she is the only other specific saint depicted. She is the saint with the red scarf and lilies as a symbol of purity. Leaving the rest of the saints without specific identities allows worshipers to assign their own meaning or identity to each figure.

The painting of the mural lasted three months. The finished mural is 30 feet wide and 18 feet tall.

ARTIST INFORMATION: Corbert Gauthier is a 1973 graduate of Pius X High School in Lincoln and has been a realist painter and illustrator since his graduation from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design in 1983. His professional résumé includes work for companies such as General Mills, Pillsbury and Nabisco. He has painted several murals for churches in the Lincoln Diocese, including murals at St. Anthony’s Parish in Steinauer, the Marian Sisters’ Chapel and a portrait of Bishop Glennon P. Flavin that was commissioned by the diocese and the School Sisters of Christ the King.