This 6-week series will examine how works of art interpreted and promoted the spiritual teachings of saints Hildegard of Bingen, Catherine of Siena, Teresa of Ávila, and Thérèse of Lisieux. We will explore historical influences on female devotional experiences and discuss how artistic representations integrated the unique visions of these four female saints into broader Christian narratives. Suggested text is Vinita Hampton Wright’s Set the World on Fire: A 4-Week Personal Retreat with the Female Doctors of the Church.

Date:  Thursdays: Aug. 13, 20, 27; Sept. 3, 10, and 17.

Time:  6-7:30 pm

Retreat leaders: Annette LeZotte

Cost: $120/series

Registration deadline: Aug. 1, 2026

Retreat facilitator:  Annette LeZotte

Annette lectures in Art History for Professional and Continuing Education at Black Hawk College and volunteers as a docent at the Hauberg Estate.  She received her PhD in Art History from the University of Texas at Austin, her MA in Art History from Florida State University and her BA in Art History from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She spent 20 years in Kansas working as Associate Professor of Art History at Wichita State University, Education Curator/Curator at the Wichita Art Museum, and Director/Curator of Kauffman Museum at Bethel College. Dr. LeZotte’s areas of research interest include the analysis of audience and perception issues relating to late Medieval and Early Renaissance devotional art. Her publications include “Mary Magdalene and the Iconography of Domesticity” in Mary Magdalene: Iconographic Studies from the Middle Ages to the Baroque, and is currently working on her next book Constructing and Promoting Catholic Devotional Imagery: The Post-Reformation Paintings of Joos van Cleve.

Scholarships available.  Ask at time of registration.