From crumbling convent to Catholic art studio: A new light in Atlantic City, New Jersey

Atlantic City, New Jersey, Catholics have rescued an abandoned convent, restored to life its chapel, and transformed the building into a Catholic art studio.

A Catholic art studio is beginning to blossom in an unexpected place. Cappella Studio in Atlantic City, New Jersey, aspires to be a light in the darkness of the city, reaching out to those on the periphery and centering the art on the good, true, and beautiful.

“Atlantic City exists at the edge of the world. In many ways it is a forgotten- about place on the periphery,” Jim Dessicino, who founded Cappella Studio, told EWTN News. “People go there to gamble away their fortunes or to disappear into vice, and with that comes desperation, homelessness, and poverty.”

“It is in places such as this that Christ is most needed,” he continued.

The abandoned convent there was going to be sold — and likely razed to the ground. But Dessicino saw that it could be something more.

“When I entered that chapel for the first time, I knew I had the opportunity to emulate St. Francis during his special jubilee year called by Pope Leo XIV,” Dessicino said.

“In 1205, kneeling in prayer and searching for his purpose in the crumbling Church of San Damiano, St. Francis heard the voice of God say: ‘Francis, go rebuild my church, which you see has fallen into ruin!’” he recounted.

“The chapel in the convent was literally crumbling,” Dessicino recalled. “There were holes in the walls and floor. The windows were broken, and the sanctuary lamp had been extinguished 10 years prior.”

Time for renewal

Cappella’s art program is a way to train artists, to bring beauty to the city, and even to evangelize artists.

“This city has always been about hospitality and welcoming people; it has just been dominated by the vice industry for so long that it is time for a renewal,” Dessicino continued.

“It is often difficult to see the beauty of the city through the poverty and corruption, but if you enter our churches … you are instantaneously transported and uplifted out of the mess and towards the heavenly realm,” Dessicino said.

The program is an invitation to artists of all faiths to meet Jesus.

“Weʼre inviting artists and the community into a third space; those who might not initially feel comfortable coming into a church are not dissuaded by coming to an art studio,” Dessicino said. “Because we have an adoration chapel at the studio, people are confronted with Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, even if they donʼt know it. Amazing things come from these encounters.”

“We are set apart from other art studio experiences because we have the option to invite people to meet Jesus face-to-face in the Eucharist,” Dessicino said.

“As a catechetical leader, my experience is that I think itʼs easier to bring good artists who are not yet Catholic into the fold than it is to train an entire generation of artists,” Dessicino explained. “It is simpler in my experience to help a person who is sympathetic to Catholicism to convert than it is to spend 10 years training an artist to become proficient enough at their craft to create artworks for the Church.”

Cappella offers lodging for visiting artists as well as private studios for local artists. It also offers art classes and even space for communal activities like book clubs.

The art classes are taught by both Catholic and non-Catholic artists.

“The beauty of the Catholic tradition in the arts is that there is no official style,” Dessicino said. “The artworks must be instructive and clear. They can have layered meaning, like a Shakespearean drama, but they should be understood by the average parishioner.”

Father Robert Hughes, a parochial priest involved in the project, said refurbishing the adoration chapel was their first step.

“We took a leap of faith — focusing on the need to pray that God’s will be done by calling upon parishioners to pray for our parish, our city, and success of Cappella Studio,” Hughes said. “Therefore, our first initiative was to open the Mercy Chapel.”

The daily adoration chapel, open 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., has been “well attended,” according to Hughes.

“The Eucharist is the source and center of our Christian lives and must be so for our parish life and mission as well as for Cappella Studio,” Hughes said. “We hope the artist-in-residency program will give artists an opportunity to integrate prayer and meditation into their work while experiencing the vibrancy of Atlantic City and the beauty of the ocean just two blocks away.”

Water and boat imagery is an important part of Cappella Studio, especially as it’s located in a city on the ocean.

“The convent was built in the late 1930s and was conceived to look like a ship in honor of Our Lady, Star of the Sea — the name of this campus,” Hughes said. “The sisters’ chapel is appropriately located in the bow.”

Dessicino sees Cappella Studio as a ship as well.

“Itʼs almost too easy to see how Cappella Studio will be a light for the city of Atlantic City: We’re connected to the church, Our Lady Star of the Sea (who is the lighthouse for this city), our convent building is shaped like a ship and inside that ship, people will be formed to go out and spread the Gospel to the world,” Dessicino said.

“There are precious few places where sacred artists can gather and focus specifically on the sacred. God is, of course, the master artist and he calls sacred artists to cooperate with him in serving the peopleʼs prayer and worship by creating beautiful works worthy of contemplation,” Hughes said. “Through art, we can touch the divine.”