75 years of art and spirituality

Cláudio Pastro: 75 years of art and spirituality

The sacred artist, who would have turned 75 this Monday (16), marked the National Sanctuary with his works

Cláudio Pastro would have turned 75 years old this Monday (16). He was the artist who marked Christian sacred art on the Brazilian scene, especially through the National Sanctuary, where his largest collection is located.

Born in São Paulo on October 16, 1948, into a Catholic family, Pastro passed away on October 19, 2016, due to complications from a stroke.

Specializing in sacred art, his works were based on the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council. His work - the result of a 40-year career - can be seen in churches, chapels and other spaces around the world. Sober and elegant features were a trademark, on a large scale, at the National Sanctuary.

In addition to countless panels, pieces from the celebratory space and sacred vases, the artist brings together a collection of literary works in the spirit of sacred art, always with the concern of offering didactic content for the segment, particularly in Brazil.

Some facts marked his brilliant career in a unique way. At the end of the 1990s, he was invited by the Vatican to carry out one of the works that marked the preparation for the Jubilee of the New Millennium (2000).

He also produced the sacred vases used in 2007 by Pope Benedict XVI at the opening mass of the General Conference of Bishops of Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as those used by Pope Francis in 2013, on the occasion of his visit to Aparecida and participation in the World Day of Youth (WYD), in Rio de Janeiro.