Brother Christopher Villanueva, a member of the Order of Friars Minor (OFM), uses his creativity in painting to restore and strengthen hope among victims of conflict and natural disasters. His paintings encourage people to grow in faith.

He started drawing with pencils, ballpoint pens and crayons when he was in primary school. He drew on paper and maths notebook pages, which caught the attention of the teachers. His teachers encouraged him to participate in editorial cartooning and poster-making competitions at school. Over the years, he developed his artistic talent. During high school, he participated in regional and national competitions in editorial cartooning and poster making. He started painting in college and continued after joining the Franciscans in 2010.

Franciscan Br. Christopher Villanueva. (Courtesy of Order of Friars Minor)

Three years after he professed his first religious vows with the Franciscans, Typhoon Yolanda (international name Typhoon Haiyan) struck the central Philippines in 2013. The super typhoon claimed the lives of more than 6,000 people. The typhoon left survivors with food and water shortages.
International and local volunteers came to help rebuild communities devastated by the typhoon. Villanueva went to the affected communities and conducted art therapy workshops for children who had survived the massive disaster. He saw the impact of the typhoon, the most destructive in recent Philippine history, on the children.
Days after the typhoon hit the communities, the children were still terrified. The children would cry and tremble at the slightest rainfall, fearing that it could be another deadly and destructive typhoon. Studies have shown that art therapies such as drawing, painting, clay modelling, sculpting, photography and others develop and strengthen emotional resilience, reduce and resolve distress, help manage anxiety and boost self-esteem.In 2016, Villanueva also travelled to Basilan, an island province in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region, to conduct art therapy workshops for children whose fathers were Abu Sayyaf guerrillas and died in the conflict. Abu Sayyaf is an Islamic militant group operating in Mindanao that is affiliated with the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.
Some of the children whose fathers died in the fighting were left behind to live with their surviving mothers, Villanueva said. Others joined their relatives to live with them.

Br. Christopher leads an art therapy workshop with Muslim children whose fathers were members of Abu Sayyaf and died in the fighting in Basilan, the Philippines. (Courtesy of Order of Friars Minor)

In 2017, the Marawi siege broke out. Government troops clashed with the Maute and Abu Sayyaf groups, both of which are linked to ISIS. The five-month battle claimed the lives of more than 970 Islamist militants and more than 160 government soldiers. Among the dead were 87 civilians, 40 of whom died of disease in evacuation centres. More than 300,000 people were displaced by the clashes. Marawi is an Islamic city in the province of Lanao del Sur in the southern Philippines.
The displaced civilians were evacuated to temporary shelters in the neighbouring province of Lanao del Norte. Villanueva and other Franciscans travelled to the evacuation centres in Lanao del Norte. They distributed relief goods to the evacuees. He also conducted art therapy workshops for the children in the evacuation centres. When they arrived, the fighting was still going on, but government troops had regained control of most of the city. “Bombs were still exploding in the distance when we got there – said Villanueva-. The children’s longing for home in their city manifested itself in the drawings they made.”
But most of the city was in ruins and it would take years to rebuild. The children’s drawings also showed their hope for a peaceful and better future, he said. The monk also trained Muslim mothers to run art therapy sessions, as the traumatised children’s recovery could take a long time so that they could do it themselves after he left.

Art Exhibits
When the government imposed restrictions on public travel at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Villanueva stayed at the Franciscan community in Kidapawan, a city in Cotabato province. He had to isolate himself in the community for some time until he recovered when he contracted the virus.
His passion for painting helped him to cope. “The depressing situation during the pandemic prompted me to release my emotions through painting,” he said. Villanueva even participated in an art exhibition for the first time when Art Show Philippines announced it was calling for submissions during the pandemic.

Br. Christopher works on a large painting. (Courtesy of Order of Friars Minor)

Since physical art exhibitions were banned at the time to prevent the spread of the virus from person to person, Art Show Philippines held online exhibitions using its social media platform. His paintings caught the eye of art lovers – and his pieces sold at the online exhibitions. When the government eased restrictions on public movement in the latter stages of the pandemic, the ban on physical art exhibitions was lifted.
The monk took the opportunity to show more of his works at the exhibitions, which are usually held in shopping malls in Manila. He was able to sell more of his paintings and Villanueva became one of the top-selling artists of the Art Show Philippines for three consecutive years from 2021 to 2024. Villanueva has used his talents to touch the lives of war and typhoon survivors, especially children. He has helped restore hope and rebuild their lives through art therapy sessions.

Everyone is a hero
As well as helping victims of conflict and natural disasters, the Brother also uses and shares his talent and artwork to inspire hope in ordinary people. In 2022, he participated in a physical exhibition called “Everyday Heroes” in a shopping mall in Manila to honour ordinary people who work for their families. The artwork included paintings of a fisherman, a shoe repairman, a farmer, a security guard, a teacher and a tailor.

Br. Christopher’s “Sonata Kay Niño.”(Courtesy of Order of Friars Minor)

For Villanueva, anyone in society, regardless of social status, who works hard and is dedicated to his or her family is a hero. He also participated in an art exhibition in 2022 to raise funds for the survivors of Typhoon Odette (internationally known as Typhoon Rai) in Surigao. The typhoon struck the country in December 2021. “I want to help people grow more in their faith through my artworks,” he said. “I hope my artworks inspire hope, especially for those who are facing challenges in their daily lives.” (Painting: ‘Pista sa Sugbo, Bai!’ – Fiesta in Sugbo, Friend) – (Courtesy of Order of Friars Minor)

Oliver Samson