Overheard in the Sacristy

In answer to an interesting comment/question of an earlier post, Pope Pius IX may have been the first pope to be photographed.

WASHINGTON The message “Christ Our Hope,” atop an image of an open-arms Pope Benedict XVI before the dome of St. Peter’s Basilica, has been chosen as the logo for the visit of Pope Benedict to the United States, April 15-20.

The papal visit will include visits to the Archdioceses of Washington and New York as well as a visit to the United Nations. The theme reflects Pope Benedictís encyclical Spe Salvi, issued in late 2007 as an invitation for people to personally encounter Jesus Christ. In the encyclical, the pope said that faith in Christ brings well-founded hope in eternal salvation, the “great hope” that can sustain people through the trials of this world.

The logo features a full color photograph of Pope Benedict XVI waving both hands. Behind him is a yellow-screened image of the dome of St. Peter’s Basilica. In black type running at the top and over the cupola of the dome are three lines of type reading “Pope Benedict XVI/Christ Our Hope/Apostolic Journey to the United States 2008.”

Logo designer Donna Hobson, director of publications at The Catholic University of America (CUA), explained her goal with this design.

“I wanted to incorporate the papal colors — yellow and white — and my vision was to show a welcoming, arms-open, smiling Pope Benedict,” she said.

Ms. Hobson has been a graphic designer for more than 20 years. She has been CUA’s publications director for more than two years, after she returned to Washington from Detroit, where she was creative director at Wayne State University.

Father David O’Connell, C.M., CUA president, said he was “pleased to volunteer the services of our university’s excellent publications office to design the logo” and delighted that the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops accepted the design.

“Our CUA community is eagerly awaiting the pontiff’s visit to the United States, and especially to our campus, and we want to contribute to its success in every possible way.”