By LiCAS.news
SINGAPORE – Faith found artistic expression in Singapore as Legionary of Christ priest Joseph Tham showcased a fusion of Chinese calligraphy and Catholic spirituality in an exhibition that drew more than 800 visitors.
According to Catholic News Singapore, the exhibit titled “Close Brush with God” featured about 50 works ranging from Scripture passages written in ancient Chinese scripts to landscape paintings inspired by biblical themes.
Held in September at the Catholic Center on Waterloo Street, it invited the public to explore how art can serve as a bridge between culture and belief.
The official news service of the Archdiocese of Singapore reported that the priest gave up his career as a doctor and his hobby for 17 years – Chinese calligraphy and painting – when he entered religious life in the early 1990s.
“I had to stop painting in the seminary because my superiors thought it was not relevant to my formation,” said the 60-year-old priest from Hong Kong, who began practicing calligraphy at age 12.
Two decades later, as a bioethics professor at the Pontifical Athenaeum Regina Apostolorum in Rome, Fr Tham resumed painting—this time infusing his art with Catholic themes and scriptural symbolism.
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