March 8, 2004 Father Gavin Unveils "Jerusalem Rediscovered"  at the Embassy's Cultural Series The Embassy hosted Father C.E.Gavin, renowned author and historian and former curator of the Harvard Semitic Museum, as the guest speaker in the Ambassador’s Cultural Series March 8th. Father Gavin’s presentation, full of mystique and wonder, opened a window of insight to a lost history of the Holy City; Jerusalem, a history that helps dictate our image of the beautiful ancient city.  The mysterious story is of an influential photographer, M.J. Diness, of the 1840’s who, being the first Jerusalemite to have learned photography and set up a photo-studio in Jerusalem, allowed the world to see the Holy City through new and different perspective than they had before. Prior to the invention of photographs, most Western art—in mosaics, stained glass, tapestries, and carvings—had focused on Jerusalem and what had transpired there, but in ways more revelatory of the artist’s fantasy and piety than the actual appearance of the Holy City and it’s surroundings. Diness presented the world with a realistic image of the splendiferous Holy City and enabled people to gaze into the streets of the Holy City directly; to linger on the Mount of Olives –from very far away. The mystery lies not in the photographs, however. Rather in the fact that this great photographer seemed to completely vanish at some point with nearly no record of his life or his photographs. About a hundred and twenty year later, his prints were finally found…in Minnesota of all places! Father Gavin’s presentation of the mystery and its answers made for an interesting night of insight into part of the ancient city’s past that was only recently known.