Three Dutch Kinds of Marriage

After: Hendrick Goltzius (1558 – January 1, 1617)

Print made by: Jan Saenredam (C.1565-1607) 

Three kinds of marriages: Marriage for love officiated by Cupid; Cupid stands between a young, finely attired couple who face each other and hold hands

c 1595

Engraving

235 millimetres x 163 millimetres

Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam

After: Hendrick Goltzius (1558 – January 1, 1617)

Print made by: Jan Saenredam (C.1565-1607) 

Three kinds of marriages: Marriage for wealth officiated by Satan; Satan stands between a finely attired couple who face each other and hold hands 

c 1595

Engraving

235 millimetres x 163 millimetres

Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam

After: Hendrick Goltzius (1558 – January 1, 1617)

Print made by: Jan Saenredam (C.1565-1607) 

Three kinds of marriages: Marriage for spiritual love officiated by Jesus Christ; Jesus blesses the couple who face each other and hold hands; the bride holds a palm and resembles a female saint

c 1595

Engraving

235 millimetres x 163 millimetres

Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam

The three prints are from a series of three plates showing three different kinds of marriage, engraved by Saenredam after designs by Hendrick Goltzius

The set was first published in Haarlem by Goltzius around 1595

This set was numerously copied by Dutch and German printmakers up to the eighteenth century

Goltzius was an internationally acclaimed engraver, print publisher, draftsman, and painter,and was one of the outstanding figures in Dutch art during the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries

In the late 1580s, he was at the height of his success and created some of the most spectacular pieces in the history of prints

When Goltzius was only a year old, he fell headfirst into the fireplace and burned both his hands on the red-hot coals. His right hand was permanently deformed. Despite this he was capable of exceptional virtuosity, and one of the greatest draftsmen of his time.

At the age of 21 Goltzius married a rich widow Margaretha Jansdr in 1579. It was she who  helped him set up a workshop

In Holland at the time the role of the family as the basis of society was strongly emphasised

Physical attraction was only one of the factors to be taken into account. Spiritual and mental connection between spouses also had to exist as the basis for life long companionship

In a strongly Protestant Holland ruled by Catholic Spain, prints on the ideal Christian marriage were popular

In the third image we see the sacramentality of marriage as well as a union declared indissoluble in terms of Divine command

In the third print which obviously contrasts with the two others, we see Christ himself officiating at the Sacrament of marriage. 

The man is more mature. The woman holds a palm the symbol of purity

The inscription reads: "Quos connectit amor verus, castumque cubile / Auspice iunguntur Christo, remanentque fideles." - Those who are joined by true love and a chaste marriage bed will be faithful to each other

In the background of the image the husband receives a  crown from his wife. The other images have other background images which show that the other relationships are destined to lead to unhappiness, loneliness and vice

Mutual fidelity and not simply fidelity on the part of the wife towards the husband is what is being depicted

But more than that, mutual affection and love  which are absent from the other two images

Trinitarian Love

Unknown Peruvian

Sacred Conversation between St. Felix de Valois and St. Juan de la Mata

18th century

Oil on canvas

55.50 cm x 75.50 cm

The British Embassy, Bogota

The painting is by an unknown Peruvian artist in the 18th century, a mixture of European Baroque and indigenous influences, perhaps part of the Cuzco school (Escuela Cuzqueña),  the Roman Catholic artistic tradition based in Cuzco, Peru (the former capital of the Inca Empire) 

Its influence extended through Peru, Chile, and northern Argentina and beyond

The painting depicts two saints: St. Felix de Valois  (April 16, 1127 – November 4, 1212) and St. Juan de la Mata, (1150 - 1213)  both co-founders of the Trinitarian Order, the Order founded for the redemption of captives 

The Rule of the Order was approved by Innocent III on December 17, 1198 with the bull Operante Divine Dispositionis. 

It is the first official institution in the Church dedicated to the service of redemption and unarmed, with no other weapon beside Divine Mercy, and with the only purpose of returning hope to the brothers in the faith who suffer under the burden of captivity.

Here we see the two saints in  the forest or desert of Cerfroid, near Paris where the mother house of the whole order presently is

Margaret of Blois granted the order twenty acres of the wood where Felix had built his first hermitage, and on almost the same spot he erected the famous monastery of Cerfroi, the mother-house of the institute. 

Within forty years the order possessed six hundred monasteries in almost every part of the world.

The stag is a symbol for Christ, who tramples and destroys the Devil. The stag is the enemy of the Snake, the symbol of the Evil One. Both are visible in the painting

For more on the symbolism of the stag and the snake see The Medieval Bestiary

In the 7th century, St Isidore of Seville wrote in his  Etymologiae about the stag:

[They] are foes of snakes, and when they feel that they are weighed down with  weakness they draw snakes out from their holes by the breath of their nostrils and  overcoming the deadly poison they  refresh themselves by eating them. They made known the plant dittany. For they eat it, and shake out the arrows that have stuck in them. 

They give a wondering attention to the whistling sound of the Pan’s pipes. They  listen sharply with up-pricked ears, not with hanging ears. If ever they swim across great rivers or seas, they lay the head on the haunch of the one in front, and following one another in turn they feel no weariness from the weight

The name of the hermitage "Cerfroid" has significance. The French for stag is "Cerf". The place is therefore the place of the Cold Stag, or Winter Stag

The arch also has significance in the founding of the Order.

The church of San Tommaso in Formis in Rome is the church which Pope Innocent III gave to the Trinitarian Order. Saint John of Matha, lived there and made it the Order's headquarters

The Church is situated beside a Roman aqueduct and the ruin of the Arch of Dolabella and Silanus on the Caelian Hill

St John of Matha died there on 2 December 1213. His cell can still be seen

From the very beginning of the Order, a life of special dedication to the Most Holy Trinity has been an essential and characteristic element of the Order’s patrimony

The painting is a contemplation on the fons et origo of the Order

Members of the Order consecrate themselves to the Trinity in a further and special way “since God willed that we, among all other religious, be the chosen vessels to bear the wonderful title of the Most Holy Trinity throughout the world"

Last year on the 800th anniversary of the death of St John of Matha, Pope Francis said;

"Work, effort and freely given love are all summed up in the Rule of St John of Matha, in the words Ministro e sine proprio (Trinitarian Rule, n. 1). Indeed, the Trinitarians know, and we should all learn from them, that every responsibility or authority in the Church should be lived out as a service. 

Therefore, our action must be divested of any desire for profit or personal promotion and must always aim at sharing any talents we have received from God, in order to direct them, as good stewards, towards the end for which they have been granted to us, so as to give relief to the less fortunate. 

This is what interests Christ and that is why the homes of your Family are homes whose “doors are always open” in fraternal welcome (Direttorio primitivo delle Suore Trinitarie, n. 2, cf. Evangelii Gaudium, n. 46)."

Wrong doing

L'Ortolano (1485–c.1527)

Woman Taken in Adultery

1524–1527

Oil on panel

71.6 x 87.3 cm

The Courtauld Gallery, London

Rembrandt van Rijn 1606 - 1669

The Woman taken in Adultery

1644

Oil on oak

83.8 x 65.4 cm

The National Gallery, London

The event depicted is told in John 8

The Scribes and Pharisees, knowing that Jesus took pity on wrong-doers, tried to catch him condoning disobedience to the Law. 

They brought a woman to him who had been caught in the act of adultery and said, 'Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. Now in the law Moses commanded us to stone such. What do you say about her?' 

Christ replied, 'He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her' 

He started to write in the dust. The crowd gradually dispersed

Only Jesus and the woman were left at the scene

"10 Then Jesus straightened up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” 

11 She replied, “No one, sir.” Then Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you. Go, [and] from now on do not sin any more.” "

Of this passage in Scripture, Pope Benedict XVI said:

"St John the Evangelist highlights one detail: while his accusers are insistently interrogating him, Jesus bends down and starts writing with his finger on the ground. St Augustine notes that this gesture portrays Christ as the divine legislator: in fact, God wrote the law with his finger on tablets of stone (cf. Commentary on John's Gospel, 33,5). 

Thus Jesus is the Legislator, he is Justice in person. 

And what is his sentence? "Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her". These words are full of the disarming power of truth that pulls down the wall of hypocrisy and opens consciences to a greater justice, that of love, in which consists the fulfilment of every precept (cf. Rom 13: 8-10). 

This is the justice that also saved Saul of Tarsus, transforming him into St Paul (cf. Phil 3: 8-14)."

Medieval 'Sistine Chapel' in Rome opens its doors | Art&Culture

David Haines, rest in peace.

Mr Haines was an aid worker. He helped people who were the victims of violence and suffering.

He was murdered by people who sole raison d`etre is to kill people without proper reason and to cause pain and suffering` The act was one of "pure evil" as the Prime Minister has said

May God grant him mercy and eternal rest

Let us pray for him and also for his family and friends

Eternal rest grant unto him O Lord

And let perpetual light shine upon him

May his soul and those of the faithful departed forever rest in peace

Pope Gregory the Great

St Gregory the Great

From Gregory the Great, Registrum epistularum

c. 1170

Illuminated manuscript

Latin 2287, folio 1v

Département des Manuscrits, Division occidentale, Bibliothèque nationale de France

St Gregory the Great inspired by the Holy Spirit

From Sacramentarium

9th century (c 870)

Illuminated manuscript

Latin 1141, folio 3

Département des Manuscrits, Division occidentale, Bibliothèque nationale de France

St Gregory writing inspired by the Holy Spirit with two copyists acting under the dictation of the Pope

From St Gregory, Epistulae

Early 12th century

Dijon - BM - ms. 0180, folio 001

Abbaye Notre-Dame, Cîteaux

Mass of St Gregory

From Missel de Philippe de Luxembourg

1495 - 1503

Mans (Le) - BM - ms. 0254, folio 057

Mass of St Gregory

From Heures à l'usage de Paris

c. 1490

Moulins - BM - ms. 0079, folio 098

Giacomo Cavedone 1577-1660

St Gregory the Great

about 1640

Oil on canvas

114.3 x 95.3 cm

English Heritage, Chiswick House, Chiswick, London

John Rogers Herbert 1810–1890

Saint Gregory Teaching His Chant

1845

Oil on canvas

83.5 x 119 cm

The Royal Academy of Arts, London 

"Rather than Augustine, the true father of medieval European eschatology was Pope Gregory the Great, the second most-quoted author in Julian’s Prognosticon.  

Gregory set the eschatological tone for the entire period, through his Dialogues, homilies, and biblical exegesis. Presented in an accessible question-and-answer format, enriched with homely anecdotes, his Dialogues were especially popular.  

They were translated into Greek in the eighth century and Old English in the late ninth century, with a personal preface written by King Alfred himself. Book 4 of the Dialogues, which provided a summa on the afterlife and the end times, was particularly influential.  

Its imagery and doctrine permeate the Merovingian Vision of Barontus. When Wetti, a monk at Reichenau in the early ninth century, sensed the approach of death, he asked his fellow monks to read to him from the Dialogues.  

Gregory also guided Byzantine contemplation of the Last Things, especially as the seventh most frequently cited author in the Synagoge of Paul of Evergetis (d. 1054),a widely-influential florilegium on the ascetic life which has shaped the consciousness of many generations of Orthodox Christians. 

Part of the appeal of Gregory’s Dialogues lay in its transmission of “tales useful for the soul.” Such edifying tales originated in ascetic circles, but circulated broadly, and tales in early medieval collections began to reflect the everyday concerns of lay Christians living in the world, as well as those of monastic men and women.  

The stories run the gamut of eschatological anxieties, including the efficacy of almsgiving and prayers for the dead, resuscitation of the dead, the particular judgment of the soul, the struggle for the soul between angels and demons, interim afterlife zones, and the particulars of otherworld punishment and reward. 

Written in simple language, they impressed their teachings on sin, repentance, judgment, and the afterlife on the minds of hearers in concrete, unforgettable terms. 

Like the monk Wetti on his deathbed, Christians throughout the ages have derived both compunction and consolation from these short, homely tales of the death and afterlife fate of both ordinary and extraordinary people." 

Jane Baun, Last Things in The Cambridge History of Christianity; volume 3, Early medieval Christianities, c. 600–c. 1100,  pages 610 - 611

As well as theology the contribution of St Gregory to liturgy especially  the proper celebration of the Eucharist. was also immense

Of Music and Chant he wrote:

"For the voice of melody, whenever it is moved by the intention of the heart, is made thereby to return again to the heart by the agency of Almighty God, so that it pours the mysteries of prophecy or the grace of compunction into the intent mind. Whence it is written:

“The sacrifice of praise shall glorify me: and there is the way by which I will show him the salvation of God” (Ps 49:23). 

As in the Latin salutare, so in Hebrew Jesus is meant. 

Furthermore, the way of revelation of Christ is in the sacrifice of praise, because while compunction is poured out through the melody, a way is opened in our hearts whereby we can finally approach Christ, as He speaks of the revelation of Himself." (In Ez. hom. I, 15)

The wisdom of Saint Gregory the Great

St Gregory in the Initial "U"

From The Letters of St Gregory the Great

1080-1110

Manuscript

Avranches - BM - ms. 0102, f. 001

Abbey Mont-Saint-Michel, Normandy

St Gregory writing while inspired by the Holy Spirit

From St Gregory the Great Homiliae in Evangelia

Before 1072

Manuscript

Avranches - BM - ms. 0103, f. 004v

Abbey Mont-Saint-Michel, Normandy

Gregory the Great in Initial "A" of Gregory`s Homily on "Luke 15"

From Lectionary F of the Chapter of Reims

Before 1096

Manuscript

Reims - BM - ms. 0294, f 252

Manassès de Châtillon, Reims

In these illustrations St Gregory the Great is shown blessed by the Hand of God and inspired by the Holy Spirit

Gregory (540-604) was the 64th Pope of the Latin Church, the first to take the title "servus servorum Dei" 

During the Middle Ages he was one of the most read and copied authors

It was during this time he was one of the four Doctors of the Latin Church

Pope Gregory the Great inspired by the Holy Spirit dictating to his secretary, the deacon Peter

From the Hartker-Antiphonar

990-1000

Manuscript

Cod. Sang. 390, f 13

Stiftsbibliothek, St. Gallen

Maître du Hiéron 

Saint Gregory the Great and his Deacon Peter

From Jean Mansel Fleur des histoires

c 1470

Illuminated manuscript

Paris - Bibl. Mazarine - ms. 1560, f. 219

"When we attend to the needs of those in want, we give them what is theirs, not ours. More than performing works of mercy, we are paying a debt of justice" (Saint Gregory the Great, Pastoral Rule, 3:21)

 "Holy Church has two lives: one that she lives in time, the other that she receives eternally; one with which she struggles on earth, the other that is rewarded in heaven; one with which she accumulates merits, the other that henceforth enjoys the merits earned. And in both these lives she offers a sacrifice: here below, the sacrifice of compunction, and in heaven above, the sacrifice of praise. Of the former sacrifice it is said: "The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit' (Ps 51[50]: 19); of the latter it is written:  "Then will you delight in right sacrifices, in burnt offerings and in whole burnt offerings' (Ps 51[50]: 21).... In both, flesh is offered, since the sacrifice of the flesh is the mortification of the body, up above; the sacrifice of the flesh is the glory of the resurrection in praise to God. In heaven, flesh will be offered as a burnt holocaust when it is transformed into eternal incorruptibility, and there will be no more conflict for us and nothing that is mortal, for our flesh will endure in everlasting praise, all on fire with love for him" 

(Saint Gregory the Great, Homilies on Ezechiel, 2, Rome 1993, p. 271)

“The supreme art is the direction of souls” (Saint Gregory the Great, Regula Pastoralis, I, 1: PL 77, 14)

"[T]he faithlessness of Thomas was far more useful to us, as regards faith, than the faith of the other disciples. While, in fact, Thomas is brought back to faith through touch, our mind is consolidated in faith with the overcoming of all doubt, Thus the disciple, who doubted and touched, became a witness to the reality of the Resurrection" (Saint Gregory the Great, XL Homiliarum in Evangelia lib. III, Homil. 26, 7: P.L. 76, 1201)

Arbor augustiniana

Oliviero Gatti of Bologna (1579-ca. 1648)

Mysticae Augustinensis Eremi sacrum gloriae decorisq. Theatrum , or otherwise known as Arbor augustiniana

1614

Engraving

145 x 160 cm

Wellcome Library, London

The Wellcome Library blog in its article Hermitage and heritage: Augustinians in history displays a gigantic etching (approx 145 x 160 cm.) produced on twelve plates in 1614 by the Italian engraver Oliviero Gatti

It is entitled Mysticae Augustinensis Eremi sacrum gloriae decorisq. Theatrum (“Sacred display of the mystic glory and distinction of the Augustinian hermitage”). It is also called Arbor augustiniana (“The Augustinian tree”).

It was commissioned by two Augustinian friars, P. Abbate Marc'Antonio Viani (from Bologna) and Paulus Vois Wadowita (from Wadowice in Poland) (d. 1616), historian and theologian

In the work Saint of Augustine of Hippo sits holding the Rule of his Order. Around him are representatives of the sacred and knightly orders associated with him, saints and martyrs, and eminent Augustinian friars and nuns, as well as  his mother, Saint Monica

Shortly after this time in 1624 Schelte Adamsz. Bolswert produced his  series of 28 engravings entitled Iconographia magni patris Aurelli Augustini : Hipponensis episcopi, et ecclesiae doctoris excellenti... 

They depicted scenes of the life of St Augustine.  Each plate  had verses below the image

Bolswert was among the second generation of engravers working for the painter Peter Paul Rubens in Antwerp. He received his first artistic training in the workshop of his brother Boetius (1580–1633).

Some of the Baroque iconography depicted below set a standard and was used as a template in future lives of the saint

The Cure of Innocentius of Carthage

Schelte Adamsz Bolswert (1586-1659)

The Cure of Innocentius of Carthage

c. 1624

Oil on copper 

69 x 85.7 cm

Wellcome Library, London

This is a depiction of a scene and discussion of a lengthy passage of St Augustine De Civitate Dei, Book XXII, Chapter 8, where he discusses the continuation of miracles into his own age.

The sick man is Innocentius of Carthage, ex-advocate of the deputy prefecture of Carthage.

He was being treated for several anal fistulas, an extremely painful and debilitating condition

Augustine and his brother Alypius were witnesses to the events in Carthage

Innocentius was to undergo a very serious and dangerous operation. The prognosis was not good and it was feared that he would die under the knife. Prayers were said. On the day of the operation it was discovered that the fistulae were healed and no operation was required

Augustine then goes on to list and describe similar examples of healing through prayer and requests for intercessions through the Martyrs and saints in Carthage and beyond and in particular through the intervention of  St Stephen, martyr

In subsequent chapters, Augustine goes on to discuss Miracles

In Chapter 9, he writes:

"To what do these miracles witness, but to this faith which preaches Christ risen in the flesh, and ascended with the same into heaven? For the martyrs themselves were martyrs, that is to say, witnesses of this faith, drawing upon themselves by their testimony the hatred of the world, and conquering the world not by resisting it, but by dying. For this faith they died, and can now ask these benefits from the Lord in whose name they were slain. For this faith their marvellous constancy was exercised, so that in these miracles great power was manifested as the result. 

For if the resurrection of the flesh to eternal life had not taken place in Christ, and were not to be accomplished in His people, as predicted by Christ, or by the prophets who foretold that Christ was to come, why do the martyrs who were slain for this faith which proclaims the resurrection possess such power? 

For whether God Himself wrought these miracles by that wonderful manner of working by which, though Himself eternal, He produces effects in time; or whether He wrought them by servants, and if so, whether He made use of the spirits of martyrs as He uses men who are still in the body, or effects all these marvels by means of angels, over whom He exerts an invisible, immutable, incorporeal sway, so that what is said to be done by the martyrs is done not by their operation, but only by their prayer and request; or whether, finally, some things are done in one way, others in another, and so that man cannot at all comprehend them—nevertheless these miracles attest this faith which preaches the resurrection of the flesh to eternal life."

David Hume (1711 – 1776) famously defined a miracle as “a violation of the laws of nature”

But this is not Augustine`s definition

But Hume suppressed his chapter On Miracles for some time His attack on miracles and especially the literal interpretation of Scripture might have met with criminal prosecution in Scotland

Although he does not refer to Augustine, one does wonder if it was St Augustine who was the main object of the critique by Hume

Unlike Hume, Augustine was also of the view that one need not believe in Miracles to have Faith, and that Faith and Reason do not contradict each other

Pala di Santa Monica

Antonio Vivarini (c.1415-m.1476/84)

The Marriage of St Monica

1440

Tempera on panel

47 x 32 cm

Gallerie dell'Accademia, Venice

Source:  Antoine Motte dit Falisse

Antonio Vivarini (c.1415-m.1476/84)

Birth of Saint Augustine

1440

Tempera on panel

32.7 cm  x 25.3 cm

The Courtauld Gallery, London

Antonio Vivarini (c.1415-m.1476/84)

St Ambrose baptising St Augustine

1440

Tempera on panel

40.3 x 26.5 cm

Accademia Carrara, Bergamo

Vivarini is known to have painted an altarpiece ("Pala di Santa Monica") dedicated to Saint Monica for the Venetian church of San Stefano, the Church of the Augustinians

It depicted scenes from the lives of St Monica and her son, St Augustine

Book 9 of St Augustine`s Confessions describes how he received baptism and discusses the life and virtues of his mother, St Monica

Monica was never a religious, even after the death of her husband Patrick

It contains with the following encomium:

"22. Finally, her own husband, now towards the end of his earthly existence, did she gain over unto You; and she had not to complain of that in him, as one of the faithful, which, before he became so, she had endured. She was also the servant of Your servants. Whosoever of them knew her, did in her much magnify, honour, and love You; for that through the testimony of the fruits of a holy conversation, they perceived You to be present in her heart. For she had been the wife of one man, had requited her parents, had guided her house piously, was well-reported of for good works, had brought up children, as often travailing in birth of them as she saw them swerving from You. Lastly, to all of us, O Lord (since of Your favour Thou sufferest Your servants to speak), who, before her sleeping in You, lived associated together, having received the grace of Your baptism, did she devote, care such as she might if she had been mother of us all; served us as if she had been child of all. ...

37. May she therefore rest in peace with her husband, before or after whom she married none; whom she obeyed, with patience bringing forth fruit unto You, that she might gain him also for You. And inspire, O my Lord my God, inspire Your servants my brethren, Your sons my masters, who with voice and heart and writings I serve, that so many of them as shall read these confessions may at Your altar remember Monica, Your handmaid, together with Patricius, her sometime husband, by whose flesh You introduced me into this life, in what manner I know not. May they with pious affection be mindful of my parents in this transitory light, of my brethren that are under You our Father in our Catholic mother, and of my fellow citizens in the eternal Jerusalem, which the wandering of Your people sighs for from their departure until their return. That so my mother's last entreaty to me may, through my confessions more than through my prayers, be more abundantly fulfilled to her through the prayers of many."

Pope Francis in August of last year described the relationship of Monica with Augustine in these terms:

"3. And let us come to the last kind of restlessness, the anxiety of love. Here I cannot but look at the mother: this Monica! How many tears did that holy woman shed for her son’s conversion! And today too how many mothers shed tears so that their children will return to Christ! Do not lose hope in God’s grace! In the Confessions we read this sentence that a bishop said to St Monica who was asking him to help her son find the road to faith: “it is not possible that the son of so many tears should perish” (III, 12, 21). After his conversion Augustine himself, addressing God, wrote: “my mother, your faithful one, wept before you on my behalf more than mothers are wont to weep the bodily death of their children” (ibid., III, 11, 19). 

A restless woman, this woman who at the end of her life said these beautiful words: “cumulatius hoc mihi Deus praestitit!” [my God has exceeded my expectations abundantly] (ibid., IX, 10, 26). God lavishly rewarded her tearful request! And Augustine was Monica’s heir, from her he received the seed of restlessness. This, then, is the restlessness of love: ceaselessly seeking the good of the other, of the beloved, without ever stopping and with the intensity that leads even to tears. "

The Centenary of the Death of St Pope Pius X

Félix Sébastopol Rasumny 1869 - 1940

Medallion of Saint Pope Pius X

1904

Bronze sculpture

0.067 m x  0.05 m

Musée d'Orsay, Paris

Rasumny was a Ukranian  engraver, born in Sebastopol, who emigrated to France. 

He regularly exhibited, including at the Salon 

He executed a number of religious commissions some of which are exhibited at the Musée d'Orsay

The portrait of Pius X was commissioned shortly after the Pope`s election in 1903. It is in the tradition of Art Nouveau ("New Art"), the metaphor for the freedom and release sought by its practitioners and admirers from the weight of artistic tradition and critical expectations.

In France it was also known as Style Jules Verne, Le Style Métro, Art belle époque, and Art fin de siècle

Art Nouveau was a short-lived movement whose brief incandescence was a precursor of Modernism, which emphasised amongst other things  function over form and the elimination of superfluous ornament.

The Pope was to die a mere 11 years after his election in 1914 and we commemorate the 100th anniversary of his death on 20 August 1914, the liturgical feast coming after

During his pontificate he railed against forces in Western Society which were too febrile and insubstantial to withstand those other forces which hurled Europe into two lengthy and savage holocausts in the bloodiest century in the history of Western Europe

It was an era which hailed Francesca da Rimini and her lover, Paolo, as heroes and it reaped the whirlwind

Perhaps it is not insignificant that the Pope`s star rose again in the 1950s when he was canonised and that in the 1960s and 1970s  his reputation and influence declined to nothing

The D`Alessandri photograph of the same year shows perhaps a less youthful figure than the flattering hand of Rasumny. See below

Fratelli D'Alessandri

Pope Pius X (Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto: 1835-1914)

1904

Bromide print

150 mm x 103 mm

The National Portrait Gallery, London

His election was quite extraordinary and out of place. He had literally came from nowhere and nothing.

When a deputation of nobles came from Palermo to Rome to beg the Pope to preserve their tradition of having as Archbishop an aristocrat and a Doctor of Theology, Pius replied:

"I know a curate who was neither a noble nor a Doctor of Theology who was appointed parish priest; that parish priest was made a Canon and then a Bishop; that Bishop who was neither a Doctor of Theology nor an aristocrat was created Cardinal and then elected Pope, and it is the Pope who is now speaking with you."

The web site of the birthplace and the Museum of St. Pius X (The Pius X Foundation) has done itself proud for the centenary

Pictures and photographs abound about the town`s favourite son

Some are below

There is an updated biography of the saint in three parts: Pio X , Un Papa Veneto

There is also a detailed schedule of the ceremonies to mark the centenary

See also:

Centro Studi san Pio X è l’istituzione della Diocesi di Treviso

On Saturday, August 23, His Eminence Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican Secretary of State, will celebrate Mass at the Shrine of Cendrole near the parish Church of Riese. It was this shrine which was founded by the saint

The Pope`s sister married a "Parolin" and a number of her ibecame members of the clergy. One wonders if Cardinal Parolin is a distant relative of the Saint ?

There will be a diocesan pilgrimage to Rome on 8th - 10th September where there will be an audience with Pope Francis to mark the centenary (Wednesday 10th  September)

Here are the pictures:

Entry in the Baptismal Register of the Parish of the Baptism of Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto (3rd June 1835)

Chaplain at Tombolo

Parish priest at Salzano

Handwritten page of the Catechism used by Don Sarto at Salzano

The three sisters of the Pope who came to Rome to keep house for him as well as when he was a parish priest and bishop: Anna, Maria and Rosa. Without them he would not have achieved what he did

Patriarch of Venice

Patriarch of Venice in the Corpus Domini procession

Cardinal Sarto in a gondola

Pope in audience with Greek clergy

The Pope and members of his private office

Papal catafalque in the Sistine Chapel