A church in the heart of the city, with a heart for the city

Colorado cathedral hosts immersive show depicting human experiences, spirituality

July 08, 2026

[Episcopal News Service] St. John’s Cathedral in Denver, Colorado, is home to a new immersive, multisensory show that tells a story of creation, awakening and belonging. “Celestia” incorporates lights, ethereal music and the cathedral’s neo-Gothic architecture to depict spiritual experiences in five different parts: awakening, becoming, transformation, belonging and radiance. Its music is an original composition by Sean Friar, a Denver-based composer. The 45-minute night program is a collaboration between St. John’s, Paquin Entertainment Group and Normal Studio. Proceeds from ticket sales benefit the cathedral’s outreach ministries. “I would describe ‘Celestia’ as a spiritual experience for a secular audience,” Rebecca Richardson, the cathedral’s arts and architecture program chair, told Episcopal News Service. “Everything you experience in this program is open to interpretation.” Tara Tzirlin, marketing director of Paquin, described the show as a “reflection of a soul’s journey through different stages of life.” “The symbols and pictures, what the music feels like and the architectural space that they’re in – all of those pieces come together to try to convey that emotional journey for people,” Tzirlin told ENS. The audience, seated in chairs in St. John’s nave, look up and see birds flying overhead, or notice that they are under water surrounded by aquatic animals and plants. Or they will find themselves surrounded by shooting stars or a forest full of wildlife. The projectors’ lights also illuminate the cathedral’s stained-glass windows. Every show begins with a 15-minute meditation. Some audience members meditate, while others opt to take in St. John’s interior. Many people have said in their reviews that they’d never visited the cathedral until “Celestia,” and commented on how well its architecture blends with the music and projections. Those who attend “Celestia” on a Friday or Saturday night also will hear a professional choir, hired by Paquin, sing live throughout the program. Click here to watch a trailer for “Celestia.” Twenty-four projectors deliver 480,000 lumens and 83 million pixels to show the moving 360-degree images. The most important number to Paquin’s producer Kurt Baker, though, is 99. “The show is 99% human created,” Baker told ENS. “It was not artificially generated by computers. Real artists – real human beings – created the narrative and designed the visuals. The remaining 1% is the machinery and the editing software that used a little bit of artificial intelligence to tweak a few images. But in terms of the actual creative ideas and visuals of the story and the show, they’re all human generated.” Richardson described the timing of debuting “Celestia” as the latest of many events in recent years that have made St. John’s congregation move “full speed ahead with no signs of stopping.” The cathedral, for example, completed a multimillion-dollar capital campaign to pay for repairs, renovations and replacements throughout the building, which was built in 1911. Those physical changes, according to Richardson, made it possible for St. John’s to host “Celestia.” The cathedral is also in the middle of a new dean search after the Rt. Rev. Richard T. Lawson III left earlier this year to serve as bishop of the Diocese of Alabama. “We’ve been undergoing a lot of changes, but the congregation is growing (2,200+ members) with many young families, our finances are good and we’re in a good place to serve Denver’s diverse community through different means, whether it’s through our ministries or sharing beautiful art,” Richardson said. “We want to keep moving forward with this kind of energy.” “Celestia” is scheduled to run through September. St. John’s, Paquin and Normal will then decide whether to extend the program a few more months. Baker said he hopes “Celestia” will still be around by late February 2027, when the Episcopal Church in Colorado will host the Episcopal Parish Network’s annual conference, which is the largest annual gathering within The Episcopal Church and the largest overall church gathering other than the triennial meetings of General Convention. As of now, Baker’s wish may be a possibility. “Celestia” has been selling out or been close to selling out most nights since it launched last month. “St. John’s is such a beautiful space with incredible history, and Denver is a great city for something like ‘Celestia’ because it’s a young, artistic community,” Baker said. “It’s a perfect canvas for us to tell this story of life. It’s really exciting.” -Shireen Korkzan is a reporter and assistant editor for Episcopal News Service. She can be reached at skorkzan@episcopalchurch.org.