Ingenious creators of beauty
John Paul II, Letter to Artists, 1999, ¶1
To discover the artists who have only just begun
The Wonder Institute seeks out the youngest generation of Catholic creators: the unknowns, the first works, the promise not yet noticed by anyone else. We honor them with the same seriousness the great academies reserve for a lifetime of achievement, because a vocation is most fragile, and most precious, at its beginning.
About the Institute Call for SubmissionsYounger than the Letter itself
The first ceremony falls in 2028, twenty-nine years after John Paul II wrote to artists on Easter Sunday 1999. So the Awards are open to artists aged twenty-nine and under: every laureate will be younger than the Letter itself.
The age limit is a span of years made into a promise: the Letter's hope, answered by those born after it.
The founding storyOnes to watch, ages 18 to 28
Illustrative profiles, fictional placeholders
WritingFionn Kilbride, 22
TheatreAdaeze Okonkwo, 24
MusicMatteo Ferrante, 19
Sacred MusicSeo-yeon Park, 26
Visual ArtsEmiliano Navarrete, 21
ArchitectureRóisín Hartigan, 28
Film and MediaPaolo Villanueva, 23
DanceClémence Valcourt, 18
The First Wonder Awards
Saturday, April 22, 2028, in the Octave of Easter
Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, Washington, D.C. (concept venue)
Eight laureates, one in each art, chosen from submissions opening September 1, 2027. Black tie. Vespers at 5 PM, ceremony at 7 PM.
Ceremony details“May the beauty which you pass on to generations still to come be such that it will stir them to wonder!”John Paul II, Letter to Artists, ¶16
Eight arts, one beginning
From Writing to Dance, each laureate receives the Wonder Medal, cast in gilded bronze.
Explore the categoriesEmerging Catholic creatives
A directory of young writers, composers, architects, iconographers and filmmakers open to commissions and mentors.
Search the DirectoryTwo thousand years of Church art
The tradition every young artist inherits, from the catacombs to today.
Enter The Catalog
Eight points for eight arts
An eight-pointed star, one ray for each art, radiating from a single center. It will be struck for the first time in 2028.
“Beauty is a key to the mystery and a call to transcendence.”John Paul II, Letter to Artists, ¶16