World Meeting of Families – Philadelphia 2015 has set a record for the largest WMOF ever and for being the first one ever to take place in the United States.

It’s about to set another record – for the most people to contribute to a single mural.

The greatest number to day is 2263, Project Manager Cathy Harris feels certain that the record will be beat by the end of WMOF.

The mural is a project of the City of Philadelphia Mural Arts Program, and intended for the Ponte Nuova Restoration Project, a renovation and expansion of St. Malachy School, an inner city elementary school.

The paint cans got rolling, you might say, in August 2014 when WMOF organizers contracted Cezar Viveros for the mural, which is being completed one section at a time by WMOF participants.

Talk about team work!

Throughout WMOF, the mural will be available for families to spend some time painting in the colors which will eventually create a depiction of all that is sacred to Viveros, who is a husband and father of two small children. He also recently received his US citizenship.

Viveros is passionate about his work, and even more passionate about the mural.

“The mural has transformed me, it is transforming me,” he said.

Before being chosen for by the WMOF committee, Viveros had lost enthusiasm for his work and wondering in what direction he should go.

The mural – actually, God speaking through the mural, he’ll tell you – has given Viveros the direction and enthusiasm he lacked.

Viveros photographed his subjects before working them into the mock-up of the mural.

One of the boys is his son, Maximillian, and another is a boy named Malachy who attends St. Malachy School. The girl with Down Syndrome is named Julie. Viveros was referred to her by three different families who wanted to help him with his search for subjects.

“I want to provide a medium for people to connect,” he said. “What better than a mural like this that brings people together, all working together?”

Viveros has made it simple for people to contribute to the mural by drawing it out on large canvases and marking what colors go where.

It’s basically a paint by numbers, with plenty of volunteers from the Philadelphia Mural Arts Program to offer assistance.

Harris estimates that 250-300 people have painted a section of the mural, and she is expecting that number to keep rising.

“The response has been very positive,” she said. “People get really excited and want to see what part of the mural they’re painting, so we show them.”

An image of the finished mural hangs near the painting tables.

Viveros is a humble as he is talented. He credits God for everything, including his artistic talent, which just always seemed to be there.

As a little boy, he made sculptures out of the muddy clay after the rains. The other kids always wanted him to teach them how to do it, too. So he would.

For a time, he was a diver for an oil company. He’d pass the time painting portraits of the rig’s crew members. They loved it.

Now he’s a full time artist, contracting for various projects in various places. Next month he’ll be going to Germany to ply his art.

“I’ve always wanted to reach as many people as possible, and that’s what I’m doing,” he said.

I believe it. I’ve seen it for myself at WMOF.