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By Katy Kelly

Visitors to the University of Dayton’s Marian Library reading room can view The Saint John’s Bible Heritage Edition in a beautiful oak display case, designed by Brother M. Gary Marcinowski, S.M. Both are the result of donor support. 

The Marian Library is one of 124 permanent homes worldwide for The Saint John’s Bible Heritage Edition, a seven-volume fine-art reproduction of the handwritten and hand-illustrated Bible commissioned by Saint John’s Abbey and University in Collegeville, Minnesota, whose mission for the edition is “to ignite the spiritual imagination of people around the world.” 

Over 10 years ago, Father Thomas Thompson, S.M., former director of the Marian Library, led the University to establish a fund to support the purchase. In three-and-a-half years, 91 individual donors, with gifts ranging from $10 to $25,000, helped reach the goal. This generous group of donors included UD faculty, staff, alumni and friends of the University Libraries.

Library staff member Maureen Schlangen made a gift after seeing the Heritage Edition for the first time at St. Mary’s University in San Antonio.

“I was immediately drawn to its artistry — the meticulous calligraphy, the colors, the mingling of Scripture with imagery — all using traditional materials, inks and tools,” she said. “But when I looked a little further, I could see that a lot of the artwork was inspired as much by a modern understanding of the world — science, history, society and technology — as it was by the Word. It is a breathtaking work of humanity and the Holy Spirit.”

The Heritage Edition is used for Masses on campus, in classes on the Gospels and for sessions led by Campus Ministry. Tour groups have stopped in to see it and to learn about the production and illumination of the original. 

“The Heritage Edition is a rare and valuable treasure,” Thompson wrote in the Marian Library Newsletter, “but more importantly, it is accessible.”

Each gift to the fund shows the power of collective support for the Marian Library. This work of devotion will continue to serve as an avenue to multiple faiths and cultures in the UD community. 

Gifts to the Marian Library support learning, teaching and research on the Blessed Virgin Mary. The Marian Library is growing its collection with items that celebrate the Blessed Virgin Mary in many faith traditions and cultures. 

— Katy Kelly is a professor in the University Libraries and assistant dean of strategic communication and outreach.