At a time when we can’t be bothered to handwrite a grocery list, let alone a thank-you note, it seems impossible to imagine someone taking on the immense task of handwriting the Bible. Renowned calligrapher Donald Jackson, with a team of brilliant artists, not only wrote the entire Bible in an original calligraphy, but depicted more than 160 illustrations to accompany the scripture. Are you impressed? Because that’s not even half the story. 

The St. John’s Bible, commissioned in 1998 by St. John’s College of Collegeville, Minn., did not have its first words written in it until two years later. To prepare for this enormous project, teams of art historians, theologians, artists, Bible scholars, even botanists were put together in order to ensure the most precise depictions possible from all different perspectives. Consequently, they wanted the images to not only be portrayed accurately, but to be produced authentically by using ancient techniques. Hand-crafted true feather quills for calligraphy, real gold leaf, and 250 calfskins for the 1,150 pages are just a few materials that barely scratch the surface of all what Jackson and his team utilized for the original piece of art.

Calligraphers spent a complete day’s worth of work to perfect two columns of text, and the layout was meticulously composed using computer software. The text is 2,000 years old, but because of the invention of the printing press, the last hand-written Bible was produced in 1452. All others before were Latin, and therefore unreadable to many who came in contact with it. Before the printing press, Bibles were not commonplace. Medieval monks dedicated their lives to copying the Bible in hopes of spreading the word further. To accompany it, monks drew illustrations, which included gold that reflected off the page. Soon these became known as “Illuminated” since the technical definition of “illumination” is the play of light upon gold. To see the gold reflect, you must engage with the art by moving around, making it an interactive work.

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St. John’s central goal for this project is to bring the Bible into the 21st century and multiple aspects of the Bible itself show an extraordinary effort of juxtaposing ancient artistic techniques with modern science, technology, and embracing multiple cultures. A prime example is the first illumination in the New Testament, opposite of the first page of Matthew, which tells of Jesus’ birth and genealogy. The image is, at first glance, a Menorah (a Jewish candleholder), but when observed more carefully, actually resembles a family tree and depicts Jesus’ ancestral history back to Abraham. One of Abraham’s sons, Ishmael, is actually an ancestor of Muhammad, the Muslim religion’s most prominent prophet. Christians, Muslims, and Jewish people are all people of “The Book” in some form, in addition to being three monotheistic religions. St. John’s hope is that this Bible and all 299 Heritage Editions will draw people of all faiths together to connect and display their commonalities. Included in this image of the Menorah are also detailed images of a DNA double-helix to bring modern-day science into the conversation.

On June 18, 2011, with the final gold leaf crosses burnished, the Bible was completed. Soon after, the limited number of Heritage Editions were planned for not only each state, but each country around the world to continue to open up the tabooed dialogue between faiths.

The Eau Claire Community Foundation raised $145,000 in community donations to purchase a copy, now on display the Sacred Heart Hospital and Mayo Clinic Health System. Each has volumes of the book displayed for the public to enjoy, just as you could at The Vatican. This was a huge community effort to make this happen, so kudos, Eau Claire. 

Because of the fragility of the book, the pages must be turned regularly, so you never know what you’ll see when you visit. At Mayo, it’s located in the main lobby behind The Living Room Coffee Shop, and at Sacred Heart it’s in the main lobby in the atrium area by the gift shop. Illuminations are also hanging in Sacred Heart’s lower level after the front desk.