To Boost Understanding Religious Icons, Images “must resonate with cultural” Contexts: SIGNIS Africa President

He explained that if the people had been informed that the statue symbolized “the disciples of Christ today are His arms for performing good works,” they would not have perceived it “as a mutilation of Jesus and revolted against its erection in their parish.”

Credit: Gregory Odiakosa

“The more religious icons and images align with the peoples’ perception and history, the more they are able to communicate religious meaning to them,” SIGNIS Africa President said, and added, “This underscores the importance of adequate inculturation of communicating faith through icons and images.”

To address such levels of ignorance of religious icons and images, the member of the Clergy of Nigeria’s Ahiara Diocese emphasized, “Proper and continuous catechesis needs to be done in our local churches so as to enable our people to better understand the place and role of icons and images in our religious beliefs and praxis.”

“Religious imagery has long served as a powerful means through which faith communities visualize, embody, and interpret the sacred,” he said.

Credit: Gregory Odiakosa

In his speech at the conference that was realized under the theme, “Sacred Symbols, Cultural Identities: Rethinking Iconography and Imagery in Global Religions,” Fr. Walter said that art has been evident even across religious divides.

“Across time and cultures—from the Christian icon of the Theotokos to the Islamic arabesque, from Buddhist mandalas to Hindu deities, from Torah scrolls to ancestral masks in indigenous African religions—sacred symbols have shaped religious consciousness, preserved tradition, and reinforced communal identity,” he said.

In the contemporary world, SIGNIS Africa President, who is a Professor of Development Communication and Media Studies said, “religious iconography is increasingly being re-examined, reimagined, and even contested.”

“The dynamics of postcolonial reappropriation, digital visual culture, interfaith interactions, migration, and the rise of global identity movements are transforming the ways in which religious images are produced, viewed, and understood,” Fr. Walter said.

Credit: Gregory Odiakosa

Fr. Walter also reflected on the relationship between “Symbolic and Conceptual Languages”, saying, “Symbolic language is full of resonances and rhythms, stories and images, and suggestions and connections, which introduces us to a different kind of mental and emotional behavior.”

Conceptual language on the other hand, he explained, “is that form of language that provides an abstract, limited, and fixed mental representation of reality.”

The June 11-14 SIGNIS Africa Conference received several Goodwill messages, including one from the Secretary of the Dicastery for Evangelization's Section for First Evangelization and New Particular Churches, Archbishop Fortunatus Nwachukwu.

In his message, Archbishop Nwachukwu reflected on the theme of the SIGNIS Africa Conference, which he said addresses “questions both urgent and enduring.”

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“Across cultures and generations, sacred symbols have mediated the divine, expressed identity, and invited relationships. These icons are not decorations or passive artefacts. They are living signs that carry the memory of faith and open the way to encounter,” the Nigerian-born Archbishop said.

Archbishop Fortunatus Nwachukwu, Secretary of the Dicastery for Evangelization. Credit: CNA Deutsch/EWTN

In the Abrahamic traditions, he said that “the symbols speak powerfully. The Cross proclaims Christ crucified and risen, where suffering becomes redemption and death is transformed into life.”

The Vatican-based Catholic Archbishop, who was appointed Secretary of the Dicastery for Evangelization in March 2023 explained that “such images are not end in themselves. They summon us to the spirituality they signify, the morality they inspire, and the unity they invite. They are portals to the sacred.”

“When one clicks on an icon, a greater reality opens. In the same way, sacred imagery, rightly interpreted, unveils the face of divine love, the call to justice, and the promise of peace. These signs shape conscience, forge community, and preserve memory. They point beyond themselves,” the Catholic Church leader explained further.

Credit: Gregory Odiakosa

As artists, scholars, and communicators, Archbishop Nwachukwu said that SIGNIS Africa members stand “at a meeting point of faith and culture.”

“May this conference and exhibition renew your passion to serve with clarity and compassion. May you inspire a new generation of communicators to honor the richness of religious heritage and to transmit the beauty of art with integrity. May the symbols you study become bridges of unity and healing in a divided world,” the Secretary of the Vatican Dicastery for Evangelization implored.

In his Goodwill message, the President of the Pan African Episcopal Committee for Social Communications (CEPACS), Bishop Emmanuel Adetoyese Badejo lauded SIGNIS Africa for its commitment to promoting the Church’s understanding and appreciation of art.

On her part, the SIGNIS World President, Helen Osman, expressed her support for the SIGNIS Africa Conference, saying, “I encourage your seminar on Rethinking Iconography and Imagery in Global Relations.”

SIGNIS World President, Helen Osman. Credit: Vatican Media

“During your conference, I will be remembering you in prayer in a special way as I gaze on these beautiful icons and reflect on how people use their God-given talents to express love for God and for all people,” Ms. Osman said in her goodwill message shared with ACI Africa on June 18.