This banner was created by Indian artist Lucy D’Souza for MISEREOR, the German Catholic Bishops’ Organisation for Development Cooperation, as part of its 1990/91 Lenten campaign. UniLu acquired it in 1991 with the help of longtime member Gisela Koester. MISEREOR has been committed to fighting poverty in Africa, Asia and Latin America for more than 50 years.
The banner’s central scene illustrates two parables in the gospel of Luke, which compare the kingdom of God to “leaven which a woman took and hid in three measures of flour” (Luke 13:21) and “a grain of mustard seed which a man took and sowed in his garden”. (Luke 13:19). Clockwise from top left, the outer scenes depict other Biblical women:
- the prophet Miriam
- Shiphrah and Puah, midwives who defied the ordinance of the Pharaoh
- Ruth, Naomi, and Boaz
- Mary and Elizabeth
- Jesus and the Canaanite woman
- Mary of Magdala
As the Guide to the Misereor Lenten Veil (PDF) suggests, “The biblical figures presented in the [outer] six scenes can be our guides and companions on our ‘outward journey’ to the poor, the oppressed, and forgotten.”
Photo by Chris Pollari.