The 2022 Saint Vincent Christmas ornament features Matthew, evangelist. The ornament is based on one of the four frescoes above the altar of the Archabbey Basilica and is the 27th in a series of ornaments that the Archabbey has produced on various elements of the Basilica.

The placement of the evangelists above the altar is traditional in all churches in Romanesque style. Joseph Reiter is the artist. Depicted with their traditional symbols, they are painted directly on the plaster of the ceiling: Matthew, with an angel; Mark, with a lion; Luke, with an ox and John, with an eagle. The symbols come from the Book of Revelation (4:1-11).

The 2022 ornament begins a series featuring the frescoes. The liturgical cycle for 2022-2023 features Year A, Matthew’s Gospel, thus the first fresco is his.

It is available online at www.stvincentstore.com along with other ornaments, at the Saint Vincent College Bookstore, or at the Basilica Gift Shop, on the ground floor of the Parish Center, adjacent to the Basilica. The gift shop is open from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Mondays to Saturdays.