He Is Risen: A Resurrection Glass Mosaic for St. Thomas More, Sarasota, Florida

In a quiet garden where a parish remembers its loved ones, the Risen Christ now stands in thousands of pieces of glass, 8 feet high and 14 feet wide, with 2 angels kneeling at His feet.

Mary's Memorial Garden

St. Thomas More Catholic Church stands on Gulf Gate Drive in Sarasota, in the Diocese of Venice in Florida. Beside the church lies Mary's Memorial Garden. According to the diocese, the garden was established in 1989 by the parish's first pastor, Father Gene Ryan, and today it is the final resting place for more than 600 people, remembered by plaques along the garden wall.

In 2026 the parish renewed the garden with a fountain, new plantings, fresh paint and, as its centerpiece, a glass mosaic of the Risen Christ by Mila Apperlo. The mosaic and the renewed garden were blessed and dedicated by Bishop Frank J. Dewane on May 27, 2026, together with a new Gethsemane Prayer Garden with the Stations of the Cross.

The garden at dusk Mother of Christ and the Risen Lord

The design

Mila Apperlo designed the mosaic as a message of hope for a place of remembrance. The Risen Christ steps forward from the empty tomb in a white robe, His right hand raised in blessing and His left holding the banner of victory with its red cross, the traditional sign of the Resurrection. A burst of golden light radiates around Him. On each side an angel kneels in prayer, one in blue and gold, one in rose, their wings open in red, orange and blue.

Behind them grows a garden: a wooden fence, palm trees and tall pines, the same trees that rise above the real garden wall in Sarasota, so the mosaic seems to open onto the landscape around it.

Glass, cut by hand

The color comes from sheets of stained glass, chosen one by one for their tone and texture: opalescent whites for the robe, streaky ambers and golds for the light, deep cobalt and turquoise for the wings.

Choosing the glass Mila setting the face of Christ

From full size drawing to mosaic

The approved design was enlarged to a full size cartoon, 8 by 14 feet, laid out on the long tables of our studio in Bonita Springs, Florida. Every piece of glass was cut to fit the drawing, so that each line of the face, each fold of the robe and each feather of the wings would read clearly from across the garden.

The full size cartoon Marking the Risen Christ

The mosaic was built with the direct method, each hand cut piece bonded face up onto rigid, weather resistant panels made for exterior use, with flexible high performance adhesives that let the glass move with the Florida heat, humidity and summer rain.

Assembling the panels Bonding the glass

The whole picture on the table A tree in glass

Installation day

On June 27, 2026, the panels went up on the garden wall in Sarasota under the Florida sun. One by one they were set in place from the scaffold, aligned along the lines of the design and joined so that the picture reads as one continuous mosaic.

Halfway up Setting a panel

Mila on the scaffold Stevan on the scaffold

The finished mosaic

Mila with the finished mosaic Along the wall

Up close, the glass shows the hand of the artist: the calm face of Christ, the golden rays, the folded hands of the angels.

The Risen Christ The face of Christ

The angel in rose Hands in prayer

A place of hope

In a garden of remembrance, the Resurrection is the promise that gives the place its meaning. Families who come to pray beside their loved ones now see, every morning and every evening, the Risen Christ in light and color.

Planning sacred art for a church, chapel or memorial garden in Sarasota, Naples or anywhere in Florida? See more of our glass murals and mosaics and sacred art, or contact us.

Church: St. Thomas More Catholic Church, Sarasota, Florida, USA
Work: Resurrection of Christ glass mosaic, 8 ft x 14 ft
Design: Mila Apperlo
Fabrication and installation: Mila Apperlo and Stevan Stanisic, Apperlo Art, Bonita Springs, Florida
Blessed: May 27, 2026, by Bishop Frank J. Dewane
Installed: June 27, 2026