Church of the Gesù displays a second banner by ASHS artist Josh Ong Ante

Ateneo de Manila Senior High School artist Josh Ong Ante (11-Tsuji) was again commissioned by Church of the Gesù Rector Fr Raymund Benedict “RB” Hizon SJ to paint a 4 feet x 12 feet banner for the church's altar, this time with Halloween/All Souls’ Day/All Saints’ Day as its theme. The banner was installed on 5 November 2024 and will be displayed throughout this month.

And what did Josh hope to convey in his newest commissioned work? “My objective with this piece is to intertwine the concepts of All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day by showing that all souls, whether living or passed, can be saintly in their own right,” explains Josh. “This is shown through the Atenean dancing with the statue of Mama Mary, immortalized and saintly, both being on equal footing, both of them in the focal point, neither one outshining the other but instead engaged in a graceful balance. The dance reflects the balance between the blessed saints and the blessed nature of all souls.

“Saints are remembered through the works of those who have immortalized them in writings, paintings, and sculptures. Such works give an air of mystique to the saints that I wish to somewhat demystify through my painting. By showing the Atenean holding Mama Mary’s hand, I hope to convey that saints are not ‘untouchable’ and that we can be on equal footing with them.

"The painting seen in the wall behind them is a reference to the popular painting Adoration of the Trinity (a.k.a. the Landauer Altarpiece), created by Albrecht Dürer in 1511. It was one of the first paintings to depict All Saints’ Day,” he concludes.

In July 2024, Fr RB Hizon SJ commissioned Josh to create a banner depicting St Ignatius for the soldier-saint's 31 July 2024 Feast Day Mass. That work was displayed in the Church of the Gesù from late July to mid-August 2024 (https://www.ateneo.edu/features/2024/10/07/ashs-artist-josh-ong-ante-paints-st-ignatius-vulnerable-light).