Tutty Crucifix
Brother Benedict Tutty was one of Ireland’s foremost liturgical artists and at the peak of his career when he created this 9” x 9" bronze-cast crucifix in 1965.
He was born John Gerard (Seán) Tutty on July 6, 1924, in County Wicklow, Ireland. At age 25, he entered Glenstal Abbey, a community of Benedictine monks in County Limerick, and was professed two years later.
Br. Benedict established his workshop in the Abbey after studying metalwork and sculpture in Belgium, France, and Germany. He originally produced altar vessels, but later began to craft artistic works. He collaborated in many re-orderings of churches after the Second Vatican Council as well as commissions for new churches.
He primarily worked in copper but began experimenting with terra cotta later in his career. His work was exhibited in London, New York, at the Salzburg Biennale in 1962, the Irish Exhibition of Living Art, and at the Royal Hibernian Academy of Arts in Dublin, Ireland.
Nearly 30 years after his death in 1996, his work is still on display at Glenstal Abbey, where it continues to inspire visitors and members of the community.
One of those visitors was Robin Jensen, the Patrick O'Brien Professor of Theology at Notre Dame and an original member of the Crucifix Initiative Committee. She connected with another artist at Glenstal Abbey, Brother Emmaus O’Herlihy, and Abbot Brendan Coffey, who generously agreed to donate the crucifix to Notre Dame’s collection in 2023.
The crucifix was featured in the Mass of Thanksgiving at Dublin Castle that was part of the celebration surrounding Notre Dame’s participation in the 2023 Aer Lingus College Football Classic.
Learn more about Brother Benedict Tutty’s life and career here.
