It is interesting to note that with the exception of fresco The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci, 1495-1497, which is so familiar, and so many sacred images that we face every day or memories of countless other, in respect of all of the twelve Apostles, this is not so common. Excluding the Apostles Paul, Peter and John, most probably, this may be related to the vague knowledge we have of the apostolic life pathways of others.
     The unusual look that is seen in Les Apôtres, it is thus even more amazing. When we encounter works of this magnitude, it also surprised us with the dimension that photography is able to achieve. How much can stimulate such a comprehensive universe of possibilities as to meet in the same space-time: sacred and profane, without losing the supremacy to be art; and more, to be a greater expression of the essence of perception and feeling of humanity, and because, touching each one so deeply.
     Being our vision one of the senses which holds the quality to establish a direct connection between external images and pictures that we have within us internalized; and yet, of how this communication, voluntary or not, constitutes a powerful dynamic process with sufficient information to activate unconscious mechanisms that can facilitate the emergence of the earliest memories. Process, which perhaps justifies some of the profound impact that Kossakowski images provided myself: to access through the genius realized by the artist, reminiscent of my distant childhood imagination. Possibly from a childhood permeated by Catholic teachings, the early 1970s in the city of Criciuma, Brazil, remember muffled feelings that inevitably been part of my existence. Memories of feelings that somehow encouraged me the possibility to realize them.
     Unlike the concept involved in the series Les Apôtres, my thought was restricted to the possibility of finding somewhere oversized sculptures of the twelve Apostles, with the purpose of visit; and as did Kossakowski, to register some images. This was possible when I visited St. Paul the Apostle Sanctuary, which is located at of Rio Grande do Sul State, which contains a great work of the Twelve Apostles, work of the sculptor Conrado Michael Moser from Santa Catarina State.
     Descended from a traditional family of sculptors and son of renowned sculptor Conrado Moser, Conrado Michael started his activities in sculpture still young. Born in Treze in 1982, between the years 2001 and 2004 he studied and graduated in Sculpture at the Staatliche Berufsfachschule für Holzbildhauer in the city Oberammergau, Germany. Since then it has been carrying out a significant work in the field of sculpture, and in recent years has focused primarily on sacred statues in wood and concrete. His magnificent work with the Twelve Apostles comprises sculptures made of reinforced concrete, 2.5 meters high and placed on pedestals of 1.5 metersforming each of them a set of 4 meters high;and it took two years to its realization.
     Located in Ilópolis in Alto Taquari Valley, St. Paul the Apostle Sanctuary was a work idealized by Father Eleuterio Orsolin, which for its realization included the participation the Municipal Government of Ilópolis, universities, and other entities of the community. It was inaugurated on January 25, 2014 and is the only one in the world dedicated to St. Paul the Apostle. It had its high status on 1 January 1998, a fact that set up one of the main marks left by Father Eleuterio in the 17 years that remained in the city; today Rector of St. John the Baptist Seminary in Santa Cruz do Sul, and Vicar of the Parish of the Holy Martyrs Mission in Linha Santa Cruz. Father José Clécio Henckes is currently the parish priest of the Sanctuary.
      My visit to the city of Ilópolis occurred between 24 and 26 January 2015, coinciding with the commemoration of the 1st anniversary of the Sanctuary; occasion in which was inaugurated the chapel intended for Pope John Paul II, and presented to the community their liturgical vestments: a chasuble and a stole, superimposed on a new sculpture of the saint also of Conrado Michael Moser authorship. During the festive Mass held on the afternoon of Sunday, the 25th, it was announced that the Chapel would receive a relic with Pope John Paul II blood; event that only happened on April 26.
      Having the Church in the centre in front of Itália square, the St. Paul the Apostle Sanctuary is located on a small hill on downtown area. In its churchyard of green lawn, separated by a sidewalk in the centre, are located the sculptures of the twelve Apostles arranged in two groups, slightly diagonally with respect to the sides of the esplanade edges. Each of the sculptures is positioned in a specific place. Closest to the Church are: on the left side Paulo and on the right side Pedro. On the left side, down the hill toward the Itália square, from the sculpture of Paul the Apostle in the order are the disciples who were converted: James the Lesser, Philip, Bartholomew, Thomas and Matthew. And on the right side, from Peter the Apostle the theists: Andrew, James the Greater, John, Simon the Zealot and Jude. Positioned side by side the sculptures of the Apostles who were walking partners.
     Among the group of disciples, they were chosen by Jesus Christ to join in His work. They formed a group of twelve whom He entrusted His salvific mission: successors who could give the best guarantee of the Church's fidelity to the Founder; and this fidelity be guaranteed at any time in the unbroken apostolic succession. According to the Pope Benedict XVI in his book: Os Doze Apóstolos e os Primeiros Discípulos de Jesus , Lisbon, Ed Paulus, 2007: What the Apostles represent in the relationship between the Lord Jesus and the Church of origins, represents analogously the ministerial succession in the relationship between the Church of changes the current Church .
     Underlying the salvific mission entrusted by the Lord to each of His successors, the most direct contact with the walks of each of the Apostles, allows us to observe more deeply the quantum contribution that each of them brought to construction of His great work; either with their own initiatives, as an instrument of faith, allowing through their actions and questioning the Master, through His actions and His words, could show the direction to follow.
     Know a little more about the universe that involved the birth of the Church, it enables us to realize the real force that moved these twelve men called by Jesus toward the faith: their ways, their difficulties, their conquests, their legacy. It leads us to reflect a little more about the essence of men and things; about our own essence.
     Having visited the St. Paul the Apostle Sanctuary in Ilópolis for me was an experience which added in this reflective process. The numinous involving that spiritual space, the beauty and peace that resides on the faces of each of the Apostles of images consolidate our feeling and our historical and spiritual knowledge. Through subtle features expressed through the art of sculptor coexist symbolic components that express the remarkable apostolic journey; factors which contributes to preserving the true message of the Lord, transposing space and time. Similarly reveal the extent that art contains: "To the sculpture falls the task of materializing the immaterial; from the raw material he gives meaning to the form and recovers the image, and the sculptor the transforming agent, the connecting link between the imaginary and the real".
      Since I met Les Apôtres of Kossakowski, of course I did not think it would live (realize) an inner process so rich. Experience this issue strengthens my thoughts on the "believe", because when we believe, we have faith, and in the words of Jesus in Matthew 11, 22-26: "Have faith in God," Jesus answered. "I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea', and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins".
     In addition to the inherent strength of these words, is an example of perseverance shown by the "Twelve". Their determination to bring to the world the message of the Lord, and as successors of Jesus, keep it alive and preserved. So we, with our faith and our truths and therefore also live agents within a larger process, we have a particular mission to accomplish, to make this an even better world. Here is my reflection.
     I hope the images that I present here in this virtual exhibition also enrich your life and your way: be with God!


I dedicate this work to my parents Sonia Léa and Oduvaldo, great masters of my walk.


I offer this work:
- To the sculptor Conrado Michael Moser, artist of this great work of sculptures and his parents Katharina and Conrado Moser;
- To Father Eleuterio Orsolin who idealized and built St. Paul the Apostle Sanctuary;
- To Father José Clécio Henckes the attention he gave me during a visit to St. Paul the Apostle Sanctuary;
- To the inhabitants of Ilópolis city; and
- To Christians.