LATROBE, PA—The Saint Vincent College Concert Singers and the Verostko Center for the Arts invite the community to A Space for Grace: Music for the Season of Lent—an evening performance on Thursday, March 16, at 7:00 p.m. in the Saint Vincent Basilica Crypt. The evening concert will feature musical selections by Gregorio Allegri (1582–1652), Craig Courtney (b. 1948), Nancy Galbraith (b. 1951) and Henry Mollicone (1946–2022). 
As part of the evening, Fr. Vincent de Paul Crosby, O.S.B., will offer insight into the details of the Crypt’s meditative environment. The concert is free, and reservations are not required. All are welcome.
The Crypt—located beneath the Saint Vincent Archabbey Basilica—is a contemplative space that pays homage to the spiritual lineage of the 1,500+ year-old Benedictine Order. Originally dedicated in 1946 to coincide with Saint Vincent’s centenary, the Crypt was later renovated in 2010 under Fr. Vincent’s direction. His decision to emphasize the noble simplicity of materials constituting the space and highlight commissioned artworks completed on behalf of several internationally recognized 20thcentury artists makes it one of the most evocative sacred spaces in the region.
A Space for Grace: Music for the Season of Lent coincides with Clothed in Glory—a retrospective exhibition featuring the work of Fr. Vincent at the Verostko Center for the Arts. Among the foremost designers of religious ritual garments in the United States working today, Fr. Vincent has completed commissions for dozens of Roman Catholic, Anglican, Episcopal, Lutheran and Methodist churches throughout the United States, Canada and Europe for more than 45 years. Featuring vestments, wall hangings, sculptures and recently-completed digital works, Clothed in Glory examines the career of a monk-artist committed to igniting spiritual imagination by forging connections between the material and the transcendent.
The exhibition runs through March 24. The Center is located on the 2nd floor of the Dale P. Latimer Library. During the spring 2023 semester, the Center is open Tuesday, 10:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m.; Wednesday, 10:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m.; and Thursday, 10:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m. The Center will also be oapen Sunday, March 19, from 1:00–4:00 p.m. To learn more, visit verostkocenter.org.
PHOTO: Saint Vincent Basilica Crypt renovated interior, May 2010
IMAGE: Emil Frei Studios (St. Louis, Missouri), Saint Gertrude the Great, 1946, leaded glass with vitreous paint, 77 x 35 1/2 in., Saint Vincent Archabbey, Latrobe, Pennsylvania