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

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…