NEWS FROM THE DIOCESE OF KNOXVILLE
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‘Drawn to it’ By Bill Brewer
what a feature film is to a TV show. Graphic novels are single stories that are illustrated similarly to a comic book, with panels and word balloons. They are a combined visual and text medium and are especially accessible to youth and young adults. And they’ve grown in popularity in recent years. Professor Holt’s artwork attracted the attention of writer Matt Yocum while both were attending a comic convention in Charlotte, N.C. That chance meeting among two Christians at a secular convention led to a creative partnership that was consummated in the fall of 2023. That’s when Blood & Water: The Life and Martyrdom of Shahbaz Bhatti began to take form. Professor Holt, who has a master’s degree in fine arts and has been teaching full time at Lee University since 2015, agreed to illustrate the book detailing Mr. Bhatti’s influence in Pakistan. “Shahbaz’s story is one of those that is both tethered to a particular time and a particular political context. But it is one of those that is timeless,” he said. The Shahbaz Bhatti story is new in the context of world history. The government minister was assassinated on March 2, 2011, in Islamabad, Pakistan, at the age of 42. He was a graduate of the University of Punjab and was a member of the Pakistan Peoples Party. He was born on Sept. 9, 1968, in Lahore, Pakistan, and was Catholic. He was serving as the Pakistan government’s federal minister of Minorities Affairs when he was shot to death by the Pakistan Taliban while in his car shortly after leaving his mother’s residence. And on March 2, 2016, on the
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ordan Holt is accustomed to his artistic creations being embraced by youth and young adults. His artwork has been appreciated at comic conventions around the country. It never occurred to him at first that his most important work to date would have a dangerous undertone and be unwelcome in the country in which it is set. But that’s the reality of Blood & Water: The Life and Martyrdom of Shahbaz Bhatti, a book that Professor Holt has illustrated detailing the life and assassination of one of Pakistan’s most widely respected and popular figures. Professor Holt was unfamiliar with Shahbaz Bhatti until a chance encounter introduced the Lee University fine arts instructor to the martyr whose cause for sainthood is in the hands of the Vatican. His name is now on a new book about Servant of God Shahbaz Bhatti that brings to life the Pakistani’s story of faith and courage in the face of intense religious persecution. Professor Holt and his wife, Sarah, live in Cleveland and attend St. Thérèse of Lisieux Church with their five children. His professional focus is graphic design and illustration, and he also does professional illustration as a sideline from his home studio. The 36-year-old artist’s medium of choice is comic illustration, and he covers topics from religion and history to mythology, literature, and games. In 2020, he began creating graphic novels and self-published some works while also doing projects for publishers. He explained that a graphic novel is to a comic book
DAN MCWILLIAMS
East Tennessean illustrates book on life, martyrdom of Servant of God Shahbaz Bhatti
Illustrating a Servant of God Lee University professor Jordan Holt displays his drawings of the cover for the book Blood & Water: The Life and Martyrdom of Shahbaz Bhatti. fifth anniversary of his tragic assassination, Mr. Bhatti’s cause for beatification was formally opened by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Islamabad-Rawalpindi. “It’s pretty recent history. The shaping this story has had on me even makes me look at political context and religious context today with a more sensitive eye, a more sensitive ear,” Professor Holt said. “Shahbaz, coming from Pakistan, he was a political activist. That is how he is known globally. But the more intimate story, which is covered by the graphic novel, encompasses that period of his life, but he starts off as this young Pakistani Christian. He grows up in a small, Catholic community in a village called Khushpur, Pakistan,” Professor Holt explained. Khushpur is located in the Punjab region of northern Pakistan. “It’s somewhat isolated. The majority of Pakistan is Muslim. That
is by far the majority population. In fact, Pakistan is one of the few countries that is founded particularly as a Muslim government, an Islamic government,” Professor Holt observed. “However, there were caveats placed in the nation’s founding documents—its constitution, etc.—that made allowances for religious minorities. But Pakistan has not done a good job in preserving minority religious rights.” The more research Professor Holt did on Mr. Bhatti, the more the Servant of God has resonated with his East Tennessee illustrator. “Shahbaz’s situation was really unique because he grew up in this Christian context. He didn’t realize in his earliest years just how separate they were from the rest of Pakistan. This really crystallizes him when he goes off to college. That is when he encounters his first perseShahbaz Bhatti continued on page B2
Turning the tassels Knoxville Catholic presents 162 diplomas and Notre Dame awards 109 in commencement ceremonies By Dan McWilliams
Phifer Award recipients DaLana Brown and Cooper Campbell received the James D. Phifer “Spirit of Notre Dame” Award at the Notre Dame High School commencement on May 16. the ceremonies. Baccalaureate Masses were celebrated for the schools the day before graduation, with Bishop Beckman presiding at the KCHS liturgy on May 14 at the Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. The Notre Dame Baccalaureate Mass took place on May 15 at the Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul. School chaplain Father A.J. Houston and priests from the basilica and Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish in Chattanooga concelebrated.
JACLYN HOLLOWAY
DAN MCWILLIAMS
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eniors at Knoxville Catholic High School and Notre Dame High School in Chattanooga have moved into the next part of their lives as they took part in commencement ceremonies in May. Diplomas were awarded to 162 graduates of Knoxville Catholic in the school’s 94th commencement held on campus on May 15 at Blaine Stadium. On the next day, 109 graduates of Notre Dame—in the school’s 150th-anniversary year—received their diplomas at the Chattanooga Convention Center. Bishop Mark Beckman presented the diplomas at KCHS and gave a closing prayer and blessing at both ceremonies. New superintendent Martha Mundine attended her first high-school graduations as leader of diocesan schools. Dickie Sompayrac, president of KCHS, and Notre Dame head of school Dr. Eric Schexnaildre gave welcoming remarks at the events. The graduates from both schools have combined to earn millions of dollars in scholarships to colleges and universities spread across many states. Several graduates as well as faculty received special honors during the commencements. The athletic accomplishments of each school were also noted during
Honorees address the graduation gathering The Sedes Sapien-
tiae (Mary, Seat of Wisdom) Award, the highest honor KCHS confers on graduating seniors, went to Miriam Campfield and Will Howell. Both are pictured above with Knoxville Catholic High School president Dickie Sompayrac at the graduation ceremony on May 15.
‘The world needs this class’
As the KCHS graduation began, Mr. Sompayrac introduced Father Chris Michelson to give the invocation. “God, our good and loving Father, we thank you this night for the guidance and love you have poured upon these students, our graduating class. May what they have learned here at Knoxville Catholic High over the past four years guide them as they look forward to discovering what you have
in store for each of them in their future,” Father Michelson prayed. “May they continue their journey to become men and women who are noticed because of their concern and their compassion for one another. Lord, please help them to make this world a better place as they follow their call to serve the needs of the poor, the needs of the marginalized, and all those who are suffering. May they see and find you in their experiences of joy as Graduations continued on page B3