The Sacred Arts come from an expression of the soul that has found itself loved. That soul, in answer, longs to return to God the immensity of his love. The creative arts give voice, eyesight, color, wings to that ardent response of the heart. (Mother Betty Pugsley, CJ)
About
The Mount Tabor Centre for Art and Spirituality is an international organization facilitating ecumenical dialogue through educational symposia, visual and performing arts, spiritual retreats and exhibitions of contemporary sacred art. Bridging cultural, ecclesial and national boundaries, the Mount Tabor Centre provides opportunities for reflection and discussion about faith and creativity, contemplation and communion, liturgy and beauty. As the Spirit inspires the contemporary voices of today’s Christian artists, musicians and authors, Mount Tabor provides venues for encouragement and fellowship.
Via Sacra, home of the Mount Tabor Ecumenical Centre in Barga, Italy, provides a context for reflection and discussion about faith and creativity, contemplation and communication, liturgy and beauty.
The Centre also has an office and gallery in Orleans, Massachusetts, Cape Cod.
Throughout the year, there are exhibits of contemporary sacred art both in Barga and Orleans.
Mission
Since its beginning, Christianity has recognized the power of the Arts to enlarge faith through sanctified imagination, illustrate truth and beauty, and turn souls toward Christ. Throughout Christian history, great works of art, architecture, drama, poetry, and music have been created to enrich liturgy, enliven teaching, and evangelize the world, proclaiming the hope of the Gospel message and sharing more deeply the mysteries of the faith.
The same Spirit who spoke through Rublev, Mozart, Dante, and Michelangelo is breathing life into today’s artists, musicians, and authors, inspiring contemporary voices that are deeply rooted in Christian tradition, bridging international cultural and ecclesial divides. Those who encounter their art, are invited to experience Divine Beauty.
In this modern age, the pursuit of excellence in the arts as a vehicle to communicate truth, goodness, and beauty has been replaced with a market-driven economy, secular commercialism, and an internet isolationism. This spiritual hunger in modern society makes it all the more essential for the sacred arts to thrive.
Via Sacra
A large 17th-century house sits atop the medieval walls of an ancient town facing Pania della Croce, a mountain named for Jesus’s Cross above the Serchio river valley; a place of silence for reading and prayer, but also of conversation and thoughtful sharing. Via Sacra is minutes from Barga’s main church or “duomo,” San Cristoforo, with its 800-year-old stone pulpit sculpted with Annunciation, Nativity, and Epiphany scenes: an Angel, a Woman, a Child, three Kings, and a Star. Reached by a short walk through Barga’s narrow, stone-paved streets, the house and its tower sit astride the town’s medieval fortifications, amid terraced gardens with vistas of encircling mountains with villages on their slopes, and Barga’s own weathered terracotta roofs.
Via Sacra is home to a small but vibrant resident household of religious brothers and sisters from the ecumenical Community of Jesus on Cape Cod Massachusetts. Supported by the Benedictine life of the Community of Jesus, Via Sacra provides an atmosphere of monastic hospitality of peace. Members of the villa household express their monastic vocation, welcoming guests in a spirit of generosity and service.
Mount Tabor Ecumenical Centre for Art and Spirituality (in Italian)