Church Murals

Donatus Buongiorno painted murals and other decorations in eight churches in three cities in the northeast United States from 1911–1919. The churches were all Roman Catholic with Italian and Italian-American parishes, many being Neapolitan southern Italians like Buongiorno. They were housed in both newly constructed and reused buildings.

The murals, listed below, are of religious subjects. In the churches run by Franciscan orders, the murals include images of, or scenes from the lives of, early Franciscans—St. Francis of Assisi, St. Anthony of Padua and St. Clare of Assisi (in Italian: San Francesco, San Antonio, Santa Chiara). In churches run by Scalabrinian fathers, the murals often include images of the Scalabrinians’ patron saint, Charles Borromeo.

New York

“Principal Episodes in the Life of Christ, of St. Francis of Assisi, and of St. Anthony of Padua”
Shrine Church of the Most Precious Blood
New York, New York
painted 1916–1917

Attributions

“The Apotheosis of St. Clara” (sic)
St. Clare’s Church
New York, New York
painted 1916–1917

“Our Lady of Peace”
Church of Our Lady of Peace
New York, New York
painted 1916–1917

Boston

“Apotheosis of the Evangelist”
Church of St. Leonard of the Franciscan Fathers
Boston, Massachusetts
painted 1911–1913

“St. Charles Borromeo”
Church of Sacred Heart
Boston, Massachusetts
painted 1914–1915

“The Holy Trinity”
Church of St. Peter
Boston, Massachusetts
painted 1916–1917

“Episodes of Christ and St. Charles Borromeo”
Church of St. Lazarus
East Boston, Massachusetts
painted 1918–1919

Brattleboro, Vermont

“Fall of the Angels”
St. Michael’s Catholic Church
Brattleboro, Vermont
painted 1914–1915

How were the churches documented? See Biography.