Art Installation Planned For Pope’s Visit

An art exhibit is being planned for Pope Francis’ visit to Philadelphia in September. Inspired by a painting said to be dear to the pope, the installation will encourage supplicants to leave their cares in the hands of God – and for all men to help one another with their problems.

The Baroque painting Mary, Undoer of Knots, is the inspiration for the art installation.

The installation will take the form of a grotto built alongside the city’s Roman Catholic cathedral. Visitors will be supplied with ribbon, and encouraged to write down their prayer requests or concerns and tie them onto the grotto. In this way, those who visit can acknowledge the challenges in their day-to-day lives. Visitors coming after can untie some of the knots, representing the unburdening of their fellow man.

Artist Meg Saligman says that the grotto will be “made of struggles,” although she is as yet unsure what material(s) she will use to physically construct it. She hopes to collect hundreds of thousands of knots, both by outreach workshops held throughout the city and also by soliciting knots on mercyandjustice.org. Some knots already collected address general issues, like wanting more balance in one’s life. Others are more specific – one asks for the recovery of a sick pet, and another for help with current medical issues.

The exhibit is inspired by an 18th-century painting, “Mary, Undoer of Knots.” The picture depicts the Virgin Mary surrounded by angels as she unties a knotted ribbon trailing to the ground. In this representation, Mary’s ability to help the faithful untie the “knots” – or problems – in their own lives is on display. The pope first encountered the portrait as a young man, and has mentioned it in his public speaking, encouraging Catholics to pray to Mary for guidance and help regarding problems in their lives.