On September 18, 2025, the grand doors of St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Manhattan opened to reveal something both new and deeply rooted in the city’s past: a sprawling, 25-foot-tall mural honoring immigrants, filling the cathedral’s entrance with color, history, and humanity. Titled “What’s So Funny About Peace, Love, and Understanding,” the artwork is the largest ever commissioned for the Neo-Gothic landmark, and it’s already sparking conversation far beyond the church’s walls.
The mural, created by Brooklyn-based artist Adam Cvijanovic, stretches across both sides of the cathedral’s entryway. Its twelve oil-painted panels, painstakingly installed over weeks of overnight work, depict a vibrant tapestry of everyday immigrants, modern-day migrants, and notable historical figures who shaped New York City. According to Hyperallergic, the piece was entirely funded by private benefactors and was officially dedicated during Mass on the Sunday following its unveiling.
Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the archbishop of New York and the man behind the commission, explained the motivation for the project with characteristic candor. “The whole issue of immigrants has been important for the church, always, but it seems to be a little bit under the limelight today,” Dolan said at the unveiling, as reported by Hyperallergic. “Some have asked me, ‘Are you trying to make a statement about immigration?’ Surely, mainly that immigrants are children of God.”
Though the mural arrives amid a national climate of heated debate and federal crackdowns on immigration policy, Dolan and the cathedral’s rector, Rev. Enrique Salvo, insist the work is not meant as a political message. Instead, it’s a gesture of welcome and affirmation. “We want anyone that comes in to feel loved and welcomed,” Salvo told the Associated Press. “It’s a reminder that it doesn’t matter what’s happening ... politically. We have to treat everyone with love and respect.”
Salvo, himself an immigrant from Nicaragua, knows firsthand the power of such a message. “If you had told me that I was going to be the rector of Saint Patrick’s Cathedral when I came to this country, I would have never believed it,” he said during the unveiling, according to Hyperallergic. “Hopefully, [the mural is] an inspiration of that to everyone that walks in that we’re not only welcome, but we’re also invited to make a difference.”
The mural’s panels are nothing if not inclusive. Immigrants of various ethnicities—some gazing toward the cathedral’s altar, others upward into the distance—are joined by key figures from New York’s Catholic history. Among them are Dorothy Day, the journalist and social activist who co-founded the Catholic Worker Movement; Pierre Toussaint, a former slave from Haiti who became a celebrated philanthropist in the city; and Alfred E. Smith, the first Roman Catholic to receive a major-party nomination for president. St. Kateri Tekakwitha, the first Native American saint, is also prominently featured, as is Cuban abolitionist priest Venerable Félix Varela y Morales and St. Frances Xavier Cabrini, the first U.S. citizen to be recognized as a saint.
One section of the mural pays homage to the Irish immigrants who helped build the cathedral itself. Their arrival by ship is depicted alongside a scene from the Apparition at Knock—an event in 1879, the very year St. Patrick’s Cathedral opened its doors, when villagers in Knock, Ireland, reported seeing the Virgin Mary, Joseph, and John the Evangelist. “This event was remarkable,” Dolan shared, “because it occurred within the same year St. Patrick’s Cathedral was dedicated.” The apparition, Dolan explained, stands as a spiritual symbol of resilience.
The mural also gives a nod to modern-day migrants, law enforcement officers, and first responders of diverse backgrounds. According to Hyperallergic, Cvijanovic based many of the figures on real-life models, including members of his Catholic wife’s family in New Jersey. Even the lamb depicted in the Lamb of God panel—hovering above a line of immigrants that seems to stretch into infinity—was, as the artist quipped, modeled after a real New Jersey resident.
Cvijanovic, whose father immigrated from Serbia, described the emotional impact of the work. “What has made me, personally, really, really happy, is people who come in, who are from all kinds of different places and are feeling really not good about themselves at the moment, looking at this painting and saying, ‘I belong here. I belong in the center of New York. I belong in a place where I’m being deeply respected,’” he told Hyperallergic.
The mural’s creation was no small feat. Installation teams worked overnight for weeks to maneuver the towering panels into place, each one painted in Cvijanovic’s Brooklyn Navy Yard studio. The church, which welcomes some 6 million visitors every year, now greets each guest with a visual reminder of the city’s immigrant roots and ongoing diversity. “It was very drab,” Dolan admitted to the Associated Press about the old entryway. “So, we thought at least we need to spark it up and get some illumination.”
For the Catholic Church, the mural is also a reaffirmation of its longstanding advocacy for immigrants. In recent months, as reported by Hyperallergic, leading bishops have condemned mass deportation campaigns and spoken out against raids at houses of worship. Dolan himself has publicly expressed dismay at “blanket attacks” on immigrants, emphasizing the church’s role as a sanctuary—both spiritual and literal—for those seeking a better life.
The artwork’s title, “What’s So Funny About Peace, Love, and Understanding,” may sound whimsical, but its message is anything but. It’s a call to recognize the dignity and humanity of newcomers—whether they arrived centuries ago or just last week. The mural, funded entirely by private donors, stands as a testament to the city’s ever-evolving identity and the contributions of those who have made it home.
As New Yorkers and tourists alike stream through the cathedral’s doors, they’re met not only by soaring architecture and stained glass, but also by a bold, contemporary reminder: This city, and this church, belong to everyone. In an era marked by division and uncertainty, St. Patrick’s Cathedral has chosen to greet the world with open arms—and a mural that says, in a thousand brushstrokes, “You are welcome here.”
