78: Saint John's Bible with John Ross

About this episode

In this episode, Brandon Nappi interviews John Ross about the creation and significance of The Saint John’s Bible.

The Reverend Dr. John F. Ross is the Executive Director of The Saint John’s Bible Heritage Program at Saint John’s University in Collegeville, Minnesota, where he shepherds global engagement with the Saint John’s Bible—the first handwritten illuminated Bible in over 500 years. In this episode of The Leader’s Way, Brandon Nappi asks John to tell the story of how this artistic and beautiful Bible came to be, from the early inspirations of renowned calligrapher Donald Jackson to the Bible's commissioning by a Benedictine monastery and its subsequent travels across the world. Explore more of the history and images from The Saint John’s Bible project here: https://saintjohnsbible.org/ Host: Brandon Nappi Guest: John Ross Instagram: @theleadersway.podcast berkeleydivinity.yale.edu/podcast You can support our work at https://tinyurl.com/support-transforming-leaders

People in this episode

Host: Brandon Nappi

Guest: John Ross

Topics covered

• Saint John's Bible
• calligraphy
• religious art
• Benedictine tradition
• global engagement
• history of the Bible

Keywords

• Saint John's Bible
• John Ross
• calligraphy
• Benedictine monastery
• Donald Jackson
• illuminated Bible
• religious art

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Saint John’s University, The Saint John’s Bible Heritage Program, Benedictine monastery

Books & works: The Saint John’s Bible

Places: Collegeville, Minnesota

More episodes of The Leader’s Way

• 90: Words Matter with Austin Carty · May 18, 2026 · 59 min
• 89: Digital Evangelism with Elizabeth Riley · May 11, 2026 · 56 min
• 88: Revolution of the Soul with Seane Corn · May 4, 2026 · 1h 7m
• 87: On Happiness with Laurie Santos · April 27, 2026 · 58 min
• 86: My Soul is Calling with Bonnie Piesse · April 20, 2026 · 1h 6m
• 85: The Discipline of Inspiration with Carey Wallace · April 13, 2026 · 49 min