A Message from

Dr. Hugh M. Dempsey, Deputy Director

The Pope John Paul II Cultural Center continues to develop programs that will be of interest to the widest possible audience. This column will give the reader an overview of the Cultural Center and draw your attention to the content areas of this website. In addition to this website, we also produce a monthly “snapshot” calendar of the Center’s activities and visitors. If you would like to receive this calendar electronically, please provide me your email address by contacting me at: hdempsey@jp2cc.org.

Throughout the world, people are setting up crèches and trees for Christmas.  We at the Center are doing the same.  We invite everyone to celebrate the Christmas season here with us beginning on December 5, the opening of our annual crèche exhibit, “Joy to the World: Celebrating Pope John Paul II’s Marian Spirituality.”  Our exhibit of over two hundred crèches from throughout the world represents one of the largest displays in the metropolitan D.C. area and reflects one of the purposes of the center: intercultural relations.  Each crèche speaks to the visitor from its own cultural traditions.  From Poland, the “szopki,” a rich folk art form from the Middle Ages, present the nativity scene not in a stable but in designs reminiscent of the magnificent gothic church architecture of the city of Krakow.  From Russia, the figures are reminiscent of sacred icons.  From native-American cultures, the three kings, in the browns and turquoise shades of native-American art, bring corn, pottery, and a chicken to the newborn Child.  From Alaska, the figures wear traditional parkas, and the stable is an igloo.  From Paraguay, gifts of pineapples, watermelons, and tomatoes surround the child.  From Italy, terracotta figures are molded in the exquisite tradition of eighteenth century crèches from Naples where the carving of crèches reached a high art form. 

     

Whether your heritage is from Germany, Guatemala, Sweden, Indonesia, France, or anywhere else in the world, come to the Center to experience the traditions of that heritage and to learn of the traditions of other countries throughout the world.

      

This year, we will also have a handcrafted, oversized nativity scene mounted by the Holy Land Christian Ecumenical Foundation.  In addition, we will have a variety of Christmas trees on display, including several decorated in the colorful Polish style.

Please check our website for the dates, days, and hours of the exhibit.

 

Thank you for your kind interest and support,

Hugh Dempsey, Deputy Director

 

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