Bethune, Ade, 1914-2002

Ade Bethune was born in Brussels, Belgium, Jan. 12, 1914. In 1928 her family immigrated to the United States. Bethune met Dorothy Day in 1934 and became involved with the Catholic Worker movement. She produced a great deal of original art for the Catholic Worker, including designs for thank-you and Christmas cards for Catholic Worker readers. The demand for these led Bethune to set up an independent mail-order business, which led to the formation of the St. Leo Shop as an outlet for distributing her religious artwork and goods including: cards for religious occasions, icons, calendars, embroidery kits, metalwork, lace and holiday items. It also carried a variety of liturgical publications and became the main North American outlet for Maria Montessori's books on education. Bethune published a yearly catalog that from 1957 onwards became the St. Leo bulletin; it included articles by her and other writers on sacred and liturgical arts. The shop served as an outlet for her many ideas on Catholicism, iconography, and religious art and design and led to the formation of the St. Leo League in 1961. This group met once a month to discuss issues in liturgical art and to publish Sacred signs, a quarterly publication on liturgical arts. Sacred signs ceased in the early 1980s, about the same time that Bethune closed the St. Leo Shop and began to distribute her work through other outlets.

Ade Bethune was born in Brussels, Belgium in 1914. She and her family immigrated to the United States and settled in New York in 1928. Newport, Rhode Island became her permanent home in 1938. She purchased a house in Newport's Point neighborhood in 1953 and remained a resident of the Point until her death in 2002. Bethune's experiences as a liturgical artist and architect and member of the Catholic Worker movement carried over into her activities with the many local organizations she supported later in life. In the 1950s Bethune became a member of the Point Association. Over the years she served as a member of the Board and also as the chair of the Traffic Committee and the Circulation Committee. For a period in the late 1960s and early 1970s she was chair of the East-West Point Committee, created in response to a proposed highway project that would divide the Point neighborhood. From 1989 to 1991, she worked on the Citizens Advisory Committee of Newport to help draft a comprehensive land use plan under the authority of the Newport City Council. Following final development of the plan a new group, the Foundation For Newport, was formed to help implement recommendations the plan had outlined. She served on the steering committee of the Foundation For Newport from its inception in 1992 until her death. She was also involved with several community organizations and their work related to redevelopment projects. Redevelopment plans for places such as the Broadway-West Broadway-Washington Square area also intersected with activities of other groups with which she was involved, such as the Church Community Housing Corporation. Ade Bethune was also a member of, worked with, or followed a number of other public and private civic groups operating in and around Newport including: the Point Neighborhood Association, the Commission on Affordable Housing, South End Association, Friends of the Waterfront, Save the Bay, and others.

Ade Bethune was born in Brussels, Belgium, Jan. 12, 1914. Her mother was a major influence in her early life, encouraging her to value her Catholic heritage, become politically active, and strive to help people, especially children and the elderly. In 1928 her family immigrated to the United States where she attended Cathedral High School in New York City and the National Academy of Design. As an art student, she attended the Cooper Union and was exposed to worker's issues and publications, especially the Catholic Worker. She joined the Catholic Worker Movement, and the original art she produced for the Catholic Worker launched her liturgical art career. Her illustrations in the publication drew the attention of many including her future mentors, Arthur Graham Carey and John Howard Benson. Benson instilled in her a love for calligraphy, which is apparent in much of her correspondence. He also gave Bethune studio space at the John Stevens Shop in Newport, Rhode Island. Ade Bethune resided in Newport from 1938 until her death on May 1, 2002.

Ade Bethune was born in Brussels, Belgium, Jan. 12, 1914. In 1928 her family immigrated to the United States. Bethune met Dorothy Day in 1934 and the two became lifelong friends. Bethune joined the Catholic Worker Movement and produced a great deal of original art for the Catholic Worker. Her designs using common, working class people to illustrate the Saints, the Catholic Works of Mercy, and Biblical scenes were radical. They helped launch Bethune's artistic career and remain prominent in the Catholic Worker newspaper today. Bethune was also befriended by the other founder of the Catholic Worker Movement, Peter Maurin. His philosophy, especially his easy essays, shaped Bethune's writing, her art, and her beliefs. Bethune was a passionate advocate for the Catholic Worker. She contributed artwork to the paper, became a prolific public speaker, wrote articles, sold the paper on street corners, and helped in the House of Hospitality. Through this activity she made business contacts, developed her artistic voice, and demonstrated her strong bent towards social justice. She stayed active in the movement until her death in 2002.

Ade Bethune was born in Brussels, Belgium, in 1914 and immigrated with her family to New York in 1928. During the early 1930s Bethune met Dorothy Day and became involved with the Catholic Worker Movement. Her contributions to the Catholic Worker newspaper gave her experience in developing her artistic talents and editorial skills. Peter Maurin, co-founder of the Catholic Worker Movement, encouraged Bethune to speak in public, helping shape her abilities to lecture and advocate for others. Also, through the Catholic Worker she met, worked with, and was influenced by Graham Carey, a co-founder of the Catholic Art Association (CAA). Bethune's liturgical art and social activism helped shape the rest of her life's work. From 1939 through the late 1970s, she was actively involved in the work of the CAA at both the national and regional levels. She was a speaker at several conferences, helped organize conventions, workshops, and exhibitions, served on committees and the CAA's Board of Directors. Over the years, Bethune wrote articles and contributed artwork to the CAA's journal, Catholic art quarterly (CAQ). In addition she served as its editor from 1947-1951 and as a contributing editor from 1961-1965. She also helped produce the Catholic elementary art guide. Bethune's work and writings for the CAA were strongly intertwined with her liturgical design work. Articles that she wrote for CAQ beginning in the 1950s foreshadowed many of the changes brought about by the Second Vatican Council. These articles were very influential and earned her a reputation as a liturgical consultant. A strong proponent of Vatican II, Bethune remained active as a liturgical designer and consultant until the early 1990s. She died in Newport, Rhode Island, on May 1, 2002.

Ade Bethune was born in Brussels, Belgium, Jan. 12, 1914. In 1928 her family immigrated to New York, where she attended Cathedral High School and the National Academy of Design. During this period she became interested in the Catholilc Worker Movement and met Dorothy Day, a lasting influence on her life. In 1933, Bethune's first article was published in Stained glass. She tried to publish several children's books in the early 1930s. In the mid-1930s she began to write for Liturgical arts, and later for the Catholic art quarterly and Orate fratres. From 1949 to1950, she served as the editor of Catholic art quarterly during which time the journal won two awards. Bethune began writing about church architecture in 1954. Her many articles on the subject became very influential, some of them foreshadowing changes later brought about by the Second Vatican Council. Bethune's classic is the booklet Work, first published in 1939, in which she distills her philosophy of work into a love of work and doing things well. One of Bethune's favorite efforts was Uniscript, published in 1964. This booklet on teaching handwriting grew from her interest in the history of the alphabet as well as the Montessori teaching methods. Ade Bethune died in Newport, Rhode Island, May 1, 2002.

Ade Bethune was born in 1914 and lived in Newport, R.I. from 1938 until her death. She was a founding member of Church Community Corportation in 1969 (later Church Community Housing Corporation, CCHC) that helped low-income Newport County families find new homes. In 1991 with other CCHC members she founded Star of the Sea Non-Profit Corporation whose mission was to develop Harbor House, a residence for the elderly in Newport. Bethune was one of the first tenants when Harbor House opened, Feb. 4, 2002. She died on May 1, 2002.

Ade Bethune was born in 1914 and lived in Newport, R.I. from 1938 until her death. She was a founding member of Church Community Corportation in 1969 (later Church Community Housing Corporation, CCHC) and remained an active member of its board of directors throughout her life. She also served as treasurer (1970-1976), vice-president (1977-1978), and president (1979). She contributed architectural designs for affordable houses and rehabilitation projects and conducted research and coordinated the the design of the first solar house in Newport. Bethune remained actively involved in CCHC and other local organizations concerned with social and environmental issues until her death in 2002.

Ade Bethune was born in Brussels, Belgium, Jan. 12, 1914, and immigrated to the United States with her family in 1928. In her youth she developed a strong interest in Catholicism, liturgical art and the Progressive movement. Her early years as a young artist in New York were spent with Dorothy Day and the Catholic Worker Movement, and her designs were often published in the Catholic Worker. This work helped lead to her first church commission in 1935, for St. Paulinus Church, Clairton, Pennsylvania. Later her work expanded to include churches throughout the United States and other countries. A strong proponent of Vatican II, Bethune's liturgical design work encompassed a wide variety of mediums, including stained glass, woodcarving, painted murals, mosaics, vestments, banners, and other textiles, and metal and pottery chalices. She incorporated her artistic designs into all aspects of church liturgy and architecture. In some cases, she designed entire churches, including St. Leo's Church, St. Paul, Minnesota in the 1960s; St. Michael's Church, Troy, New York in 1981; and St. Lucy's Church, Middletown, Rhode Island in 1986. In her later years, Bethune concentrated more heavily on liturgical design, but she remained active through 1999 when she created designs for Our Lady of Peace Church, North Augusta, South Carolina. Her work as a liturgical artist and consultant spanned several decades and influenced many others to incorporate her ideas into church architecture. Bethune died in Newport, Rhode Island on May 1, 2002.

Liturgical artist and author.

Bethune was born in Brussels in 1914 and emigrated to New York in 1928. She studied art and became involved with Dorothy Day's Catholic Worker Movement. Beginning in the 1930s she worked as an illustrator and liturgical consultant.