Catholic art has a long and venerable history stretching back all the way to the catacombs. Lately, great church art has been rare, but some truly unusual and compelling work is on display at a parish in Arlington, Texas:

Aspects of faith — humility, prayerful reverence, even determination — are depicted in more than a dozen hand-carved statues of Catholic saints and others in a south Arlington church.

They stand at the back of St. Joseph Catholic Community, ringing the pews, bearing witness.

“The saints at the back of the church are a reminder of a life of piety and an inspiration of how to live our lives. They surround us at Mass as an example of Christian life,” said Christine Heimerman, who headed the arts and furnishing committee when St. Joseph Catholic Community built its church on Southwest Green Oaks Boulevard in the late 1990s.

The hand-painted mahogany statues were made by David Everett, an Austin sculptor who works almost exclusively with wood.

“It was a really interesting project to me because most of my art history background is in Italian Renaissance and baroque art,” Everett said.

The gently carved faces evoke the reverence of religious Renaissance art, but some rough edges create something of a folk-art feel.

“It really gives the viewer the sense that it’s not too far from the artist’s hand,” Heimerman said.

The saints are among several artworks in the parish that were chosen when the church was built. The Stations of the Cross are oil paintings, and the stained glass windows depict parts of the Bible. The windows, altar and tile mosaic were designed by the church’s first pastor, the Rev. Jim Miller.

He said the statues are there partly for teaching purposes.

“The idea with saints was it would be something accessible to the kids so they could get up close and look at it,” he said. “It wouldn’t be something looming at them from a high pedestal.”

Deacon Dean Hermann said the church does not have a “cry room” for kids who get noisy during Mass, so parents often try to calm their kids by walking them past the saints, telling the children their stories.

A fiery halo serves as the backdrop for Our Lady of Guadalupe. Mother Teresa’s hands are joined in prayer. Her face is detailed with tiny wrinkles around her mouth.

You can visit the parish website to see a gallery of the saint statues, which are both beautiful and simple, and have a way of drawing you in. Meantime, the artist has a website of his own that shows the full range of his work.