On Saturday, we went over to Millvale, a small quaint town near Pittsburgh, and we went to the St. Nicholas Croatian Catholic Church to check out some of Maxo Vanka’s murals in there. The decorations in there are packed with different kinds of catholic paintings, including those depicting a more masculine Mary, as well as angels from both Justice to Injustice.

One depiction of Mary that struck to me was in the front. A depiction of a more masculine Mary, one that wasn’t like the virgin Mary usually depicted in the Bibles was situated at the front. It shows her almost manspreading, holding a baby Jesus, and surrounded by seraphims on her sides. It struck out to me because it empowered women to be more than simply domestic housewives, and hold a larger role in both religion and war.

Another mural struck me was the one on the right side of the chapel. Above the paned windows, there represents an imagery of war. The Hand of God, carried by angels, assaults the person wearing a robed outfit, most likely depicting the enemies (the Nazis back in 1940). Furthermore, someone else strikes lightning, most likely Zeus, strikes the demons that are on the right (most likely the Nazi troops). This shows Vanka’s status as an immigrant, as he migrated to the United States in order to escape the threat of fascism in Europe.

I believe that the community was trying to tell a story of the injustices of World War II. Vanka escaped Europe in order to spread the word of the rising fascism in the United States. As such, he dedicated all of his effort into creating these murals to attract both tourists and people of importance. The community’s identity was most likely surrounded around the catholic beliefs of Vanka and the members of his community. In order to build this kind of identity, there was definitely much advertisement and word-of-mouth for his murals. Nevertheless, it is still an extremely impressive feat. All the murals inside the chapel took him 8 weeks, 6 days a week, and 12 hours per day.