Our Common Home

While reading Pope Francis’ encyclical Laudato Si’, artist and author Brother Michael O’ Neill McGrath was literally inspired to grab stylus in hand and embark on a creative drawing journey that lead him to illustrate some of the pope’s most inspirational writings. Most of the art in the book is digital, while some images were taken from Mickey’s ever-present sketchbook, all of them highlighted by the impassioned, uplifting, and challenging quotations from Pope Francis. These vivid illustrations help the reader discover and remember the pope’s instructional words of wisdom as he speaks of the God-given gifts that surround us, and how we have been mandated to care for creation with all of its beauty and inspiration.

Our Common Home invites us to slow down, look around, and remember that all around us has been granted to us and is in our care. It coaxes us to take the time to find some quiet respite from the frantic pace of the world in which we live and ponder what we might do to safeguard that which has been given to us.