12/2/2014
Sketches, photos, revisions...
11/6/14
Has anyone looked up our heroes' car licence plate number?
8/14/2014
6/29/2014
Some of the symbols in the book:
Wheat can be made into bread, and grapes can be made into
wine. Thus wheat and grapes represent
the Eucharist at Holy Mass.
Star
of the Sea is a popular name for churches in coastal cities. Here we see a
star guiding a ship. Our
Lady, Star of the Sea, is patroness of the Catholic missions to seafarers.
Santo Niño de Cebú (Holy Child of Cebu) is a statue of Jesus that was presented by
Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan, as a gift from Charles V, Spanish emperor
of the Holy Roman Empire, to Lady Humamay, the principal wife of Rajah Humabon,
then ruler of the Philippines in 1521.
They converted to Catholicism. Forty
years later, another Spanish Expedition arrived, but they were most hostile to
the Filipinos. After a great village
fire, the Cebu statue was found, miraculously unharmed by the flames. He is now one of the most celebrated icon in
the Philippines.
5/10/2014
Introducing Sister Barbara.
Sister Barbara, the fictional nun in the story, lives in the tiny convent next to Our Lady of the Visitacion School, which neighbors Church of the Visitacion in Visitacion Valley, San Francisco.
She belongs to the Daughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul, an order of sisters focused on education, health care and missionary work, which was founded in France in 1633.
I named her after St. Barbara, protector of artillery men, and patron of sailors, prisoners, mathematicians, builders and architects.
4/18/2014
Cameo appearances by Bay Area celebrities...
3/14/2014
How did I choose a 1984 Renault 4 to be the car in this book?
I painted it yellow & white, to reference the colors of the Vatican City flag, and to resemble a taxi of some sort.
My friend Will Golden sent me this article from the Huffington Post...
Huffington Post Sept. 11, 2013 -------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pope Francis' Vintage Renault Is Pretty Fly
Photo: OSSERVATORE ROMANO-/AFP/Getty Images
Bucking tradition, Pope Francis could soon be seen tooling around the Vatican in a vintage Renault 4.
The vehicle, still in working condition despite clocking 190,000 miles, was given to the new leader of the Catholic Church by Fr. Renzo Zocca, an elderly priest from the northern Italian city of Verona.
The car was used by Zocca to minister to a hardscrabble, working-class community, according to Vatican Insider. Indeed, it was the car's legacy of working with the poor that inspired Zocca to hand the keys over to the famously populist Pope Francis.
Earlier in August, Zocca wrote to Francis, asking if he could give him a gift, according to Vatican Insider. Zocca was shocked when Francis called him up. At first reluctant, Francis eventually agreed to take the car, which was delivered on Saturday.
Before driving off, Francis told Zocca that he had once owned a similar car, according to the Agence France-Presse.
"The security guard standing next to me was really worried because he knew that from now on he'll be going around the Vatican in my car," Zocca said, according to the AFP.
While stylish in its own way, the Renault's recycled status fits with the pope's earlier statements regarding humility and frugality.
Although Francis' predecessor, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, was often transported in luxury cars including a BMW X5 and a Mercedes, Francis chose a modest Ford Focus to travel to the Holy See summer home in July.
“It hurts me when I see a priest or nun with the latest-model car," Francis said at the time. "You can’t do this. A car is necessary to do a lot of work, but, please, choose a more humble one. If you like the fancy one, just think about how many children are dying of hunger in the world."
Photo: OSSERVATORE ROMANO-/AFP/Getty Images
