Share

Pope’s gift to Congress comes from Minnesota: A St. John’s Bible

The Minneapolis-based GHR Foundation is credited with bringing the work to life. Roy Blunt met Pope Francis and was there when he donated a rare bible to the Library of Congress.

Advertisement

Pope Francis will present an extremely rare Bible that cost an estimated $8 million to produce to House Speaker John Boehner and the Library of Congress on Friday before he addresses lawmakers. He now plans to return it to the US.

According to a news release from public relations firm Weber Shandwick, the book contains more than 160 illustrations on more than 1,130 pages.

The pontiff will now present it to the American people.

The original manuscript of The Saint John’s Bible is held at Saint John’s Abbey and University in Minnesota, a Benedictine institution. The Saint John’s Bible is an unprecedented combination of ancient methods and materials, with themes, images and technology of the 21st century. Visitors will be able to find it on the north side of the Great Hall of the Library’s Thomas Jefferson Building from September 26, 2015 to January 02, 2016.

St. John’s partnered with calligrapher Donald Jackson to create the Bible.

Now you can get a look at the illuminated Bible, too.

Advertisement

“It was wonderful”, Rev. John Klassen, abbot of St. John’s Abbey, told The Christian Post. Rather St. John’s Abbey donated one of the 12 sets of the Apostles Edition.

Psalms Frontispiece