May 2025

Mother of Silence Iconography Workshop

Saint Michael the Archangel Church, Bridgeport, Connecticut

In May 2025, St. Michael’s Parish in Bridgeport hosted its first iconography workshop dedicated to the Icon of the Mother of Silence. For five Saturdays, the Chapel of Divine Mercy became a place of prayer, contemplation, and quiet creation.

The workshop was led by Ewa, with the spiritual guidance of Fr. Norbert M. Siwiński, OFMConv.—a Franciscan friar, theologian, and Marian scholar. Together, they guided participants through the spiritual and artistic process of writing an icon, showing that iconography is not only art, but prayer expressed through color and form.

Holy Mass and spiritual reflection were part of the workshop, and Fr. Norbert’s talks invited participants to enter more deeply into the mystery of the icon, the grace of silence, and the example of Mary as the Mother who listens. Rooted in Franciscan and monastic spirituality, the gatherings helped participants find stillness and hear the quiet voice of God.

Guided by Ewa, each participant prayerfully created their own icon of the Mother of Silence. Over the five weeks, each session drew inspiration from the example of a saint, weaving their spirit of contemplation, devotion, and silence into the creative process. At the close of the five weeks, each participant completed a personal icon of the Mother of Silence.

During a special Mass at St. Michael’s Church, Bishop Frank Caggiano blessed the icons, marking the end of a time filled with prayer and grace. Mater Misericordiae, ora pro nobis. May the Mother of Silence lead us always to the quiet where the voice of her Son can be heard.

May 2024

The Word Became Flesh Triptych

Recognized as “Most Eucharistic” at the National Eucharistic Art Exhibition 2024

FLESH

Ewa’s The Word Became Flesh triptych was featured at the “Do This in Memory of Me” sacred-art exhibition at the Blessed Michael McGivney Pilgrimage Center in New Haven, Connecticut. Among more than 650 entries by over 300 artists nationwide, her work was recognized as the exhibit’s most Eucharistic piece.

The triptych’s bold composition—saturated in luminous reds, with circular forms, tender outstretched hands, and a striking bloodstain—offers a meditation on Christ’s Incarnation and Sacrifice. Krepsztul describes her motivation simply: “To show our beautiful God alive in my paintings.” Her work reflects a prayerful, deeply personal approach to sacred imagery, affirming her voice as an artist of living faith.

The exhibition formed part of the National Eucharistic Revival, initially curated by the Sacred Art Institute on Enders Island, a serene Catholic retreat. It later expanded into a national exhibition at the McGivney Pilgrimage Center, where over one hundred selected works were displayed from May 31 to August 25, 2024, with some featured digitally at the National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis.

Critical response highlighted the triptych’s impact. The National Catholic Reporter described it as “explosive red… the circles, the delicate hands reaching, and the wet-looking bloodstain all serve to create a boldness and originality that is almost unnerving.” The National Catholic Register also noted the strong reception to Krepsztul’s work among the 109 pieces chosen for display.

Theological Inspiration

The Word Became Flesh draws on deeply Eucharistic encounters, including the 2008 Eucharistic Miracle of Sokółka, Poland, where the Host revealed visible heart tissue—an image that inspired the third panel’s depiction of the Eucharist. A story from a young boy’s First Communion reflection—“On the cross, God is dead; in the Eucharist, God is alive”—also helped shape the triptych’s vision.

The structure of the three egg-tempera-on-wood panels reflects the Eucharistic theology of St. Anthony of Padua. The first, The Word, meditates on the Creator’s beauty: “If there is so much beauty in a creature, how much more must there be in the Creator?” The second, Became, reflects on Christ hidden in the womb and offered in sacrifice: “White on the inside, ruddy on the outside… hidden for nine months… ground for us in the mill of the Cross.” The third, Flesh, expresses the true presence of Christ’s body, “inwardly and outwardly filled with all spiritual strength and charity.” Together, these meditations form a single theology of Incarnation—where mystery, faith, and art converge in the image of the Living God.

Visual Testimony

The triptych commands attention through its vivid color and symbolic form. The gently outstretched hands—reminiscent of Michelangelo’s Creation—evoke the eternal reaching between God and humanity. The deep red field opens toward the mystery of the Blessed Mother’s womb, the Living Tabernacle. The pure white circle suggests both the Eucharistic Host and the cycles of divine mystery, while the bloodstain—unsettling yet sacred—invites contemplation on sacrifice and redemption, drawing the viewer into the presence of the Living God revealed in the Eucharist.

From the press…