Seeking Justice Through Community: On the New Exhibition of The Saint John’s Bible Original Manuscript at Saint John’s University
Collegeville, MN – The Saint John’s Bible Gallery has refreshed its exhibition of several of the original pages of The Saint John’s Bible. Curated by Saint John’s University students Eamon Cavanaugh and Aaron Frier, the exhibition invites visitors to reflect on the timeless themes of community and justice.
Click here to listen to Frier and Cavanaugh speak about the exhibition.
Cavanaugh and Frier began choosing pages for the exhibition by asking a simple but profound question: how do the illuminations of The Saint John’s Bible speak to the world today? “We wanted these pages to work together, to speak to each other,” said Cavanaugh. “Our hope was to make people consider the relevance of these passages and images to our present day.”
The curatorial process was thoughtful and hands-on. The students began by looking through binders of images from each volume, pulling out more pages than they could possibly use. Then, they narrowed the selection by discussing which ideas or emotions each illumination sparked. “We’d say one or two words that came to mind for each page,” said Frier.
After hours of discussion and ruminating together over the illuminations, a guiding theme emerged for both students.
“Over time, the theme revealed itself. When we looked at the illuminations, we kept coming back to this idea of community and justice—of achieving justice through community,” said Frier. “We live in such an individualistic culture. Coming together to hear others’ struggles builds empathy, and empathy is essential to justice.”
The final exhibition includes four two-page spreads that have never before been displayed publicly: Letter to the Seven Churches by Donald Jackson, Let Us Lie in Wait for Him by Thomas Ingmire, Out of the Whirlwind by Ingmire, and Jackson’s Garden of Eden.
Other highlights include the Joshua Anthology, Loaves and Fishes, and The Beatitudes.
According to the curators, the exhibition does not attempt to propose a definitive definition of community or justice, the exhibition’s central themes. Rather, Frier and Cavanaugh hope that the illuminations will inspire questions, discussion, disagreement, and learning.
“Justice is something everyone agrees is important,” said Cavanaugh. “But people disagree on what it means. We don’t want to define justice for visitors. We want them to reflect on what it means in their own lives and communities.”
The ability of the exhibition to inspire nuanced, complex ideas is perhaps a testament to the diverse academic backgrounds of both student curators. Frier is an artist exploring quilting, printmaking, and new approaches to traditional crafts, often engaging questions of gender identity and sexuality. Cavanaugh, a history major focused on public history, sees museums as crucial spaces for dialogue in a divided world.
Together, they have created an exhibition that is as much about asking questions as offering answers. It is an experiment in dialogue—between curators and pages, between past and present, between visitor and text. It is an invitation to see The Saint John’s Bible not only as a work of art, but as a living conversation about justice, community, and what it means to belong.
The exhibition will remain on view through June 2026. To visit the gallery and find its hours, click here.
The Saint John’s Bible: Ignite the Spiritual Imagination
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