The people of Sacred Heart Parish are fortunate to have some beautiful works of art by the artist William Schickel. Mr. Schickel, a renowned artist and designer, is considered one of the leading biblical artists in America. The design of the Sacred Heart Church building won him an American Institute of Architects Gold Medal Award, as well as a 1971 Nation Honor Award for excellence in design from the Guild for Religious Architecture. In 1991 he produced a series of eight related paintings, commissioned under the pastorate of Fr. Francis McDonnell.

The eight paintings, executed in acrylic on canvas in a combination of brushstroke and palette knife techniques, tell the Christian story of salvation beginning with the Judaic roots and ending with the Resurrection of Christ. The paintings, according to the artist, "say traditional things in a vocabulary that the visually literate, contemporary person will understand and respond to."

Art critic Gregory Wolfe noted that the paintings are "a modern equivalent to the icon; stylized, abstracted forms that present us with fresh visions of the mysteries of the Christian faith. They embody the belief that Christian culture must be created anew, in the forge of the artist's imagination."

Sacred Heart parish is fortunate to be the home of these visually stunning and evocative paintings. They are presented here for your observation and enjoyment.