On a warm, mid-July weekend, just over a dozen artists came together a short walk from the ocean in Atlantic City – not for leisure time at the beach, but to express their faith through the creation of art.
Hailing from as far as California, Connecticut, Maryland, Virginia and Pennsylvania – and as close as South Jersey – the participants took part in an intensive, three-day workshop at Cappella Studio led by internationally acclaimed sculptor and portrait artist Rick Casali. As Casali guided the artists in sculpting a crucifix, they meditated on the Sorrowful Mystery of Christ’s Crucifixion and Death.
“They had to decide if the Christ they were sculpting was still struggling for breath or if he had already died and been pierced by Saint Longinus,” said Jim Dessicino, founder and director of Cappella Studio. “It is difficult to sculpt Christ – one really enters into His suffering whilst sculpting. It is really unlike sculpting anything else.”
The workshop was the first multi-day program hosted by Cappella Studio, a multi-functional sacred art studio housed in a restored former convent on the grounds of the Parish of Saint Monica. The studio was established by Dessicino, an artist, sculptor and Atlantic City native whose professional resume includes leading tours of Vatican Museums in Rome as well as restoring multiple pieces of art in the Diocese of Camden.
“Cappella Studio is first and foremost, a space of encounter in the way that Pope Francis spoke about meeting people where they are. We’re inviting artists and the community into a third space,” said Dessicino, a parishioner of the Parish of Saint Monica. “Those who might not initially feel comfortable coming into a church are not dissuaded by coming to an art studio. Because we have an Adoration Chapel at the studio, people are confronted with Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. Amazing things come from these encounters.”
He added, “We are set apart from other art studio experiences, because we have the option to invite people to meet Jesus face-to-face in the Eucharist.”
Underscored by a focus on catechesis and evangelization, the studio seeks to support the creation and restoration of sacred artwork, and the teaching of faithful to carry out such projects – including through workshops like the recent program led by Casali. With the studio based in a former convent, there is enough room for instructional spaces, private artist studios, a chapel and dormitories that can host visiting artists.
“In Atlantic City, when old buildings sell, they are usually razed and become unsightly empty lots,” Dessicino said. “I was inspired to open Cappella Studio to save an abandoned convent, to bring Christ to the seashore and to bring a different type of visitor to Atlantic City.”
Cappella Studio offers Eucharistic Adoration five days per week, with a chapel open around the clock during overnight workshops. Mass is celebrated twice each day, with daily opportunities for confession and a host of weekly events. Dessicino offers portrait sculpture classes; upcoming events include a repeat of Casali’s workshop in the spring, as well as a program around “drawing in the Biblical context” from Sept. 10-12.
Calling it “a place where Catholic artists can be in communion with each other,” Dessicino said his hope “is that Cappella Studio becomes a part of Catholic artists’ semi-annual routine.”
That ambition has already come to fruition for Casali. “I spent 25 years away from the Church, making only secular art. Then the death of my wife in 2022 sparked my reversion to the faith,” he shared. “Since then, I have felt a strong call to make sacred art.”
At Cappella Studio, Casali said, “Christ is at the center of our retreat.” He noted the participation of most students in daily Mass and Adoration, too. “Everybody worked hard, but there was a peaceful element to this workshop that I had never experienced before.”
For Dessicino, having the studio in Atlantic City is also important. “People go there to gamble away their fortunes, or to disappear into vice, and with that comes desperation, homelessness and poverty. It is in places such as this that Christ is most needed,” he said.
He also sees Cappella Studio as a means toward a broader ambition: helping artists to “redirect their aim to the highest good.” He noted that many artists, and even those who create religious works, are relegated to taking jobs to pay the bills. However, there are opportunities for artists to share their talents with the Church and support her needs. He believes the many “bare walled” spaces in churches provide the perfect opportunity to foster faith while supporting these artists.
“The Church was the No. 1 patron of the arts for 1,700-plus years, and it needs to return to that,” he said. “If we can have any significant role in doing that in the Church in the United States, then I think Cappella Studio will have accomplished its main objective.”
To learn more about Cappella Studio and to register for future programs and workshops, visit cappellastudio.org.
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