Pope Present As Saint John's Abbey Gifts Handwritten Bible To Library Of Congress

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – Saint John's Abbey presented the Library of Congress Thursday with an intricate, hand-made Bible, and the leader of the Catholic church was there to see it.

The Catholic community from Collegeville, Minn., says it gifted the national library an Apostles Edition of The Saint John's Bible, a work of art with more than 1,130 pages and 160 illumination paintings. The Librarian of Congress, James H. Billington, accepted the book on behalf of the American people following Pope Francis' historic address to Congress.

According to a press release, the gift is "the first handwritten and illuminated Bible commissioned by a Benedictine monastery since the invention of the printing press, more than 500 years ago."

The Minneapolis-based GHR Foundation is credited with bringing the work to life.

"We felt this gift was an especially appropriate way to commemorate the Holy Father's visit," said GHR Foundation Chair and CEO Amy Rauenhorst Goldman, in a statement.

Saint John's Abbey says that world-renowned calligrapher Donald Jackson led a team of calligraphers that worked on the sacred book, using quills to illuminate the text with precious metals and paints.

The work of art given to the Library of Congress is one of only 12 sets of the Apostles Edition in existence, Saint John's Abbey says.

The Bible will be on display at the national library starting Saturday.