An Evening of Catholic Culture

Inaugural Fra Angelico Award Recipient

Holly Schapker is a prolific local artist whose work is displayed for veneration internationally and throughout the region. From New Zealand to Chicago, from Kenya to Peru, and from Dayton to Crescent Springs, Holly's work can be found in churches, universities, libraries, and more. One of her pieces was even gifted to Pope Francis! Holly resides and works in Cincinnati, OH. She graduated from Xavier University’s Art Department in 1992. She then continued her painting education by studying under Michael Scott for ten years, whose fine art teaching process has a strong focus on painting outdoors. For the past 15 years, she has focused her time and talents on Catholic art. Her work has been the subject of many publications, including print, television, and radio. Holly has been invited to demonstrate her painting techniques and creative process to universities all around the nation. She taught Beginning, Advanced, and Thesis Painting at Xavier University. In addition to her painting demonstrations, Holly travels to give lectures as a creative Catholic and hosts spiritual retreats. Her deep spirituality and enthusiasm for honoring God and drawing people closer to him through art makes her the perfect candidate for our inaugural Fra Angelico Award.

Keynote Speaker

Fr. James Sullivan, O.P., is a Dominican priest of the Province of Saint Joseph (eastern United States). He holds a Licentiate in Sacred Theology from the Dominican House of Studies and a Licentiate in Philosophy from The Catholic University of America, both in Washington, DC. Fr. Sullivan has served as Prior and Pastor at Saint Dominic’s Church in Youngstown, Ohio and at Saint Louis Bertrand Church in Louisville, Kentucky. He has taught systematic theology at Saint Joseph’s Seminary—Dunwoodie, in Yonkers, New York, and homiletics at Mount Saint Mary Seminary of the West in Cincinnati, Ohio. After being Novice Master for his Province for four years and for 65 novices, in 2014 he went to Rome to serve as the Director of the Institute for Continuing Theological Education at the Pontifical North American College. Since 2018, he has served as a Spiritual Director at Saint John’s Seminary in Brighton, Massachusetts, as Pastor of Saint Pius V Church in Providence, Rhode Island, and as Director of Spiritual Formation at Our Lady of Providence Seminary, also in Providence. At present, Fr. Sullivan is Prior of Saint Dominic’s Priory in Washington, DC.