Heroic Service

Basic Info

Some faithful Christians have acted out their love of God in heroic ways: creating schools for people that society thought were uneducable, providing healthcare for those no one else would care for, feeding the hungry, braving dangers for the sake of spreading the Gospel, or battling for the sake of God or goodness or truth. These educators, healers, caregivers, missionaries, and soldiers have been understood to have been especially close to God in that they had been given the gift of the virtue of love and cultivated the virtue of courage to express that love in caring for the neighbor in a way that went against the tide. 

When these people are depicted in artworks, some reference is usually made to their heroism, either in their clothing, the objects they are holding, or the objects or scenes around them. That said, the symbols of education and healthcare have changed considerably. For example, Saint Camillus, who administered a hospital for the incurable, is sometimes depicted standing over an ill man who is sitting, but today the seated figure wouldn’t necessarily be recognized as ill.

It should be noted that someone designated as a Doctor of the Church is not a medical doctor but is someone whose words were especially foundational for Christian doctrine (beliefs).

What to Look For

• The saint’s physical appearance (expression, posture, gestures, etc.)
• The saint’s clothing 
• Virtues symbolized (charity, courage, humility, etc.)
• Objects or animals symbolic of the saint’s story
• Contextual references to the saint’s story (background, slain dragon, sacks of gold, etc.)

Questions to Focus a General Interpretation

Has the artist presented the saint as a symbol of service assuming that the audience already knows the story, or has the artist referenced enough details to educate the viewer about this saint’s service?

Does the artwork express the virtue that moved the saint to such heroic service?

Questions to Guide a Personal Interpretation

Does the artwork inspire you to imitate the saint’s service or virtue?

Does the artist depict the service or virtue in such a way as to give you ideas about how that type of service or virtue might play out in the contemporary world?

Questions to Suggest a Historical Interpretation



What might have been going on in the artist’s time and place that would have sparked an interest in this type of service (e.g., wars, epidemics, changing social or economic situations)?