CAMDEN, N.J. — Brother Mickey McGrath has been creating art since he was 5 years old, but his artistic style changed dramatically after he encountered the story of Servant of God Sister Thea Bowman more than three decades ago.
The 69-year-old member of the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales first learned of Sister Thea, a Franciscan Sister of Perpetual Adoration, while visiting his sick father. He picked up a magazine and saw an article about her accompanied by a photograph.
“I had never heard of the woman in my life, but there was this beautiful picture of her there, and I thought, ‘I’ll read this,’ ” Brother Mickey said, noting that he immediately felt a connection to Sister Thea through their shared love of art.
Born in Yazoo City, Mississippi, in 1937, Sister Thea converted to Catholicism as a child and became one of the most influential voices advocating for black Catholics in the U.S.
She is among seven African American Catholics — known as the “Saintly Seven” — whose causes for canonization are being considered by the Vatican.
The interview that Brother Mickey read was from 1990, shortly before Sister Thea died of breast cancer. About a year later, after watching a video about Sister Thea’s life, Brother Mickey said he was so inspired that he couldn’t sleep, and the next day he just started painting.
“Two weeks later I had nine paintings in a style very different from anything that I had ever done before,” he recalled. “I know that was Sister Thea.”
That was in 1991. Brother Mickey has since created 47 watercolor paintings inspired by Sister Thea, aiming to tell her story and highlight her impact on the Church.
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The artwork has been sent to Rome as part of the documentation for her cause for canonization.
“She’s just become a big, big part of my life,” said Brother Mickey, who earlier this year attended the Mass in Jackson, Mississippi, that formally closed the diocesan phase of Sister Thea’s cause. “You never know how God’s going to come to you, the Holy Spirit. She just touched my artistic, creative self.”
Katie Vasquez contributed to this story.
