AVE: Sacred Images of Mary
2025 Summer Iconography Exhibition at Mount Angel Abbey
Every summer, the Classical Iconography Institute is honored to present a special Iconography Exhibition at the Mount Angel Abbey Aalto Library — a space where art, prayer, and learning come together. The exhibition is free and open to the public, inviting all to encounter the beauty of sacred images.
For 2025, our exhibition was titled “AVE: Sacred Images of Mary.” Preparation began in January, when students of the Classical Iconography Institute entered into a unique studio-style course dedicated entirely to Marian iconography. Each student prayerfully selected an image of Mary that carried personal meaning, then drew it from scratch and painted the icon in traditional egg tempera on a professional icon board. The process itself became a prayer, carried out with reverence and devotion under expert guidance.
The result was an extraordinary collection of original icons — each one a luminous window into Mary’s life and her witness to Christ.
To enhance the experience, the exhibition featured Marian flowers, offering a gentle visual echo of the Mother of God’s presence in Christian devotion. Visitors also listened to hymns to Mary filling the gallery space, adding a contemplative soundtrack that deepens the sense of sacred encounter.
In addition to the fragrance, music and visual beauty, interactive Q&A boxes invited visitors to ask questions about iconography, faith, and artistic process — which were answered in short form in the boxes, and longer form by accessing our blog by QR Code. At every icon, guests found Marian prayers to take home, extending the encounter beyond the walls of the Abbey. Here is an example of how the icon was displayed with the Q&A box, description and prayer.
Guided by our Exhibitions Curator, Natalie Wood, the Exhibitions Team (Tony Montes, Roberta Recken, Christine Thum Schlesser) created an engaging and contemplative environment that showcased both the beauty of Marian iconography and the living tradition of devotion practiced today.
Please enjoy these icons of Mary from the Exhibition.
Click on the icon to read the wall text that explains its history, origin and its writer.
Iconographers who contributed to the 2025 Ave Exhibition include (in alphabetical order):
Jacky Bolding, Alice Bolgova, Fr. Jon Buffington,Kati Cooke, Fernanda DeClercq, Emma Fitzgerald, Scott Hay, Denise Hess, Reem Jazrawi, Mariann Kitten, Nachi Kobayashi, Tony Montes, Laurie Muench, Cheri Munske, AnnMarie Overholser, Dee Passmore, Mia Ramig, Christine Thum Schlesser, Br. Ambrose Stewart, Katie Sweenie, Lesley Valentine, Br. Isaiah Vargas, Keith Walters, Ania Kocurek Williams,Fr. Joseph W. Williams
Some of our guests wrote comments in our guest book, like…
Thank you for this beautiful work – inspiring and brought me to tears. Teresa
Beautiful! Such a wonderful collection. I learned so much about iconography, its history and its symbolism. Julia
Such devotion to Jesus through our Mother Mary. Icons tying their love together, and their love of us – so wonderful. They draw us closer to the Lord and His Mother. Geoff
Thank you for visiting AVE: Sacred Images of Mary.
NOW YOU CAN LEARN TO PAINT ICONS – Check out our Beginning Iconography Level I Courses
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