A furious Moses. A callous tycoon. A battlefield Madonna. Pittsburgh church murals revived

South China Morning Post10-06-2025

When the scaffolding came down inside an unassuming hilltop church, it revealed a raging storm of biblical proportions.
A wide-eyed Moses holds the Ten Commandments aloft in righteous fury, ready to shatter the tablets when his followers abandon God for a golden calf. Lightning sizzles and a tornado surges in the background.
The late artist Maxo Vanka created the mural in 1941, based on a scene from the Book of Exodus. It is one of 25 that cover the walls and ceilings of St Nicholas Croatian Catholic Church near Pittsburgh, in the US state of Pennsylvania.
Vanka, a Croatian-American immigrant like most of the original parishioners, painted the scenes in bursts of creative energy. In marathon sessions, he captured stark social inequities alongside traditional religious themes.
Art conservator Jessica Keister works on a mural by Maxo Vanka depicting the hand of God handing a tablet to Moses, inside St Nicholas Croatian Catholic Church in Pittsburgh. Photo: AP
St. Nicholas Croatian Catholic Church stands across the Allegheny River from central Pittsburgh. Photo: AP
The murals depict scenes with dualities. An angelic justice figure contrasts with a haunting figure of injustice in a World War I gas mask.

Hashtags

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Pilot who died in North Carolina plane crash was trying to avoid hitting turtle on runway

South China Morning Post

7 hours ago

South China Morning Post

Pilot who died in North Carolina plane crash was trying to avoid hitting turtle on runway

The pilot of a small plane that crashed near a North Carolina airport this month had raised a wheel after landing to avoid hitting a turtle on the runway, according to a National Transportation Safety Board preliminary report. The pilot of the Universal Stinson 108 and a passenger were killed in the June 3 crash near Sugar Valley Airport in Mocksville, officials said. A second passenger was seriously injured in the crash. A communications operator looking out the airport office window advised the pilot that there was a turtle on the runway, according to the report released this week. The operator reported that the pilot landed about 427 metres (1,400 feet) down the 739-metre (2,424-foot) runway, then lifted the right main wheel to avoid the turtle. The operator heard the pilot advance the throttle after raising the wheel, but the plane left her view after that. A man cutting the grass at the end of the runway reported seeing the pilot raise the right wheel to avoid the turtle, then the wings rocked back and forth and the plane took off again, according to the report.

These are 5 things the UN does that you may not have known

The Standard

16 hours ago

The Standard

These are 5 things the UN does that you may not have known

Download The Standard app to stay informed with news, updates, and significant events - The upgraded app is now available on both iOS and Android platforms.

All of BTS has returned as Suga is discharged from an alternative form of military service