Brotherhood, Isaiah 49:8-15, Psalms 145:8-18, John 5:17-30, Habemus Papam Francisco, Blessed Agnellus of Pisa, Franciscan Order of Friars Minor, Sistine Chapel, Catholic Catechism Part One Section 2 The Creeds Chapter 3:11 I Believe in the Resurrection of the Body
Good Day Bloggers! Wishing everyone a Blessed Week!
Year of Faith - October 11, 2012 - November 24, 2013
P.U.S.H. (Pray Until Serenity Happens). It has a remarkable way of producing solace, peace, patience and tranquility and of course resolution...God's always available 24/7.
The world begins and ends everyday for someone. We are all human. We all experience birth, life and death. We all have
flaws but we also all have the gift of knowledge and free will,
make the most of these gifts. Life on earth is a stepping stone to our eternal home in
Heaven. Its your choice whether to rise towards eternal light or lost to
eternal darkness. Material items, though needed for sustenance and
survival on earth are of earthly value only. The only thing that passes
from this earth to Purgatory and/or Heaven is our Soul, our Spirit...it's God's perpetual
gift to us...Embrace it, treasure it, nurture it, protect it...
"Raise not a hand to another unless it is to offer in peace and goodwill." ~ Zarya Parx 2012
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Prayers for Today: Wednesday in Lent
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Habemus Papam Franciscus
(We Have Pope Francis)
LET US PRAY:
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love.
Where there is injury, pardon.
Where there is doubt, faith.
Where there is despair, hope.
Where there is darkness, light.
Where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master,
grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled,
as to console;
to be understood, as to understand;
to be loved, as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive.
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life. Amen.
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| Habemus Papam: FRANCISCUS (We Have Pope Francis) |
"Brothers and sisters good evening.
You all know that the duty of the Conclave was to give a bishop to Rome. It seems that my brother Cardinals have come almost to the ends of the earth to get him… but here we are. I thank you for the welcome that has come from the diocesan community of Rome.
First of all I would say a prayer pray for our Bishop Emeritus Benedict XVI.. Let us all pray together for him, that the Lord bless him and Our Lady protect him.
Our Father…
Hail Mary…
Glory to the Father…
And now let us begin this journey, the Bishop and people, this journey of the Church of Rome which presides in charity over all the Churches, a journey of brotherhood in love, of mutual trust. Let us always pray for one another. Let us pray for the whole world that there might be a great sense of brotherhood. My hope is that this journey of the Church that we begin today, together with help of my Cardinal Vicar, be fruitful for the evangelization of this beautiful city.
And now I would like to give the blessing, but first I want to ask you a favour. Before the bishop blesses the people I ask that you would pray to the Lord to bless me – the prayer of the people for their Bishop. Let us say this prayer – your prayer for me – in silence.
[The Protodeacon announced that all those who received the blessing, either in person or by radio, television or by the new means of communication receive the plenary indulgence in the form established by the Church. He prayed that Almighty God protect and guard the Pope so that he may lead the Church for many years to come, and that he would grant peace to the Church throughout the world.]
[Immediately afterwards Pope Francis gave his first blessing Urbi et Orbi – To the City and to the World.]
I will now give my blessing to you and to the whole world, to all men and women of good will.
Brothers and sisters, I am leaving you. Thank you for your welcome. Pray for me and I will be with you again soon.
We will see one another soon.
Tomorrow I want to go to pray the Madonna, that she may protect Rome.
Good night and sleep well!" ~ Pope Francis 3/13/2013
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March 2, 2013 Message From Our Lady of Medjugorje to World:
“Dear children; Anew, in a motherly way, I am calling you not to be of a hard heart. Do not shut your eyes to the warnings which the Heavenly Father sends to you out of love. Do you love Him above all else? Do you repent for having often forgotten that the Heavenly Father, out of His great love, sent His Son to redeem us by the Cross? Do you repent for not having accepted the message? My children, do not resist the love of my Son. Do not resist hope and peace. Along with your prayers and fasting, by His Cross, my Son will cast away the darkness that wants to surround you and come to rule over you. He will give you the strength for a new life. Living it according to my Son, you will be a blessing and a hope to all those sinners who wander in the darkness of sin. My children, keep vigil. I, as a mother, am keeping vigil with you. I am especially praying and watching over those whom my Son called to be light-bearers and carriers of hope for you – for your shepherds. Thank you.”
February 25, 2013 Message From Our Lady of Medjugorje to World:
“Dear children! Also today I call you to prayer. Sin is pulling you towards worldly things and I have come to lead you towards holiness and the things of God, but you are struggling and spending your energies in the battle with the good and the evil that are in you. Therefore, little children, pray, pray, pray until prayer becomes a joy for you and your life will become a simple walk towards God. Thank you for having responded to my call.”
“Dear children! Also today I call you to prayer. Sin is pulling you towards worldly things and I have come to lead you towards holiness and the things of God, but you are struggling and spending your energies in the battle with the good and the evil that are in you. Therefore, little children, pray, pray, pray until prayer becomes a joy for you and your life will become a simple walk towards God. Thank you for having responded to my call.”
February 2, 2013 Message From Our Lady of Medjugorje to World:
"Dear children, love is bringing me to you - the love which I desire to
teach you also - real love; the love which my Son showed you when He
died on the Cross out of love for you; the love which is always ready to
forgive and to ask for forgiveness. How great is your love? My motherly
heart is sorrowful as it searches for love in
your hearts. You are not ready to submit your will to God's will out of
love. You cannot help me to have those who have not come to know God's
love to come to know it, because you do not have real love. Consecrate
your hearts to me and I will lead you. I will teach you to forgive, to
love your enemies and to live according to my Son. Do not be afraid for
yourselves. In afflictions my Son does not forget those who love. I will
be beside you. I will implore the Heavenly Father for the light of
eternal truth and love to illuminate you. Pray for your shepherds so
that through your fasting and prayer they can lead you in love. Thank
you."
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Today's Word: brotherhood broth·er·hood [bruhth
-er-hoodl]
Origin: 1250–1300; Middle English brithirhod (see brother, -hood); replacing early Middle English brotherhede; see -head
noun
1. the condition or quality of being a brother or brothers.
2. the quality of being brotherly; fellowship.
3. a fraternal or trade organization.
4. all those engaged in a particular trade or profession or sharing a common interest or quality.
5. the belief that all people should act with warmth and equality toward one another, regardless of differences in race, creed, nationality, etc.
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Today's Old Testament Reading - Psalms 145:8-9, 13-14, 17-18
8 Yahweh is tenderness and pity, slow to anger, full of faithful love.
9 Yahweh is generous to all, his tenderness embraces all his creatures.
13 Your kingship is a kingship for ever, your reign lasts from age to age. Yahweh is trustworthy in all his words, and upright in all his deeds.
14 Yahweh supports all who stumble, lifts up those who are bowed down.
17 Upright in all that he does, Yahweh acts only in faithful love.
18 He is close to all who call upon him, all who call on him from the heart.
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Today's Epistle - Isaiah 49:8-15
8 Thus says Yahweh: At the time of my favour I have answered you, on the day of salvation
I have helped you. I have formed you and have appointed you to be the
covenant for a people, to restore the land, to return ravaged
properties,
9 to say to prisoners, 'Come out,' to those who are in darkness, 'Show yourselves.' Along the roadway they will graze, and any bare height will be their pasture.
10 They will never hunger or thirst, scorching wind and sun will never plague them; for he who pities them will lead them, will guide them to springs of water.
11 I shall turn all my mountains into a road and my highways will be raised aloft.
12 Look! Here they come from far away, look, these from the north and the west, those from the land of Sinim.
13 Shout for joy, you heavens; earth, exult! Mountains, break into joyful cries! For Yahweh has consoled his people, is taking pity on his afflicted ones.
14 Zion was saying, 'Yahweh has abandoned me, the Lord has forgotten me.'
15 Can a woman forget her baby at the breast, feel no pity for the child she has borne? Even if these were to forget, I shall not forget you.
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Today's Gospel Reading - John 5, 17-30
Jesus answer to the Jews was, 'My Father still goes on
working, and I am at work, too.' But that only made the Jews even more
intent on killing him, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but
he spoke of God as his own Father and so made himself God's equal.
To this Jesus replied: In all truth I tell you, by
himself the Son can do nothing; he can do only what he sees the Father
doing: and whatever the Father does the Son does too. For the Father
loves the Son and shows him everything he himself does, and he will show
him even greater things than these, works that will astonish you. Thus, as the Father raises the dead and gives them
life, so the Son gives life to anyone he chooses; for the Father judges
no one; he has entrusted all judgement to the Son, so that all may
honour the Son as they honour the Father. Whoever refuses honour to the
Son refuses honour to the Father who sent him.
In all truth I tell you, whoever listens to my words, and believes in the one who sent me, has eternal life; without being brought to judgement such a person has passed from death to life. In all truth I tell you, the hour is coming -- indeed it is already here -- when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and all who hear it will live. For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself; and, because he is the Son of man, has granted him power to give judgement.
Do not be surprised at this, for the hour is
coming when the dead will leave their graves at the sound of his voice:
those who did good will come forth to life; and those who did evil will
come forth to judgement. By myself I can do nothing; I can judge only as
I am told to judge, and my judging is just, because I seek to do not my
own will but the will of him who sent me.
Reflection
• The Gospel of John is different from the other
three. It reveals a more profound dimension which only faith is able to
perceive in the words and gestures of Jesus. The Fathers of the Church
would say that the Gospel of John is “spiritual”, it reveals what the Spirit makes
one discover in the words of Jesus (cf. Jn 16, 12-13). A beautiful
example of this spiritual dimension of the Gospel of John is the passage
which we are going to meditate on today.
• John 5, 17-18: Jesus explains the profound meaning of the healing of the paralytic. Criticized by the Jews for having cured on Saturday, Jesus answers: “My Father still goes on working, and I am at work too!” The Jews taught that no work could be done on Saturday, because even God had rested and had not worked on the seventh day of creation (Ex 20, 8-11). Jesus affirms the contrary. He says that the Father has always worked even until now. And for this reason, Jesus also works, and even on Saturday. He imitates his Father! For Jesus the work of creation is not finished as yet. God continues to work, unceasingly, day and night, holding up the Universe and all of us. Jesus collaborates with the Father continuing the work of creation in such a way that one day all may be able to enter into the eternal rest that has been promised. The reaction of the Jews was violent. They wanted to kill him for two reasons: because he denied the sense of Saturday and for saying he was equal to God.
• John 5, 19-21: It is love which allows the creative action of God to shine and be visible. These verses reveal something of the relationship between Jesus and the Father. Jesus, the Son, lives permanently attentive before the Father. What he sees the Father do, he does it also. Jesus is the reflection of the Father. He is the face of the Father! This total attention of the Son to the Father makes it possible for the love of the Father to enter totally into the Son and through the Son, carry out his action in the world. The great concern of the Father is that of overcoming death and to give life. It is a way of continuing the creative work of the Father.
• John 5, 22-23: The Father judges no one; he has entrusted all judgment to the Son. What is decisive in life is the way in which we place ourselves before the Creator, because it radically depends on him. Now the Creator becomes present for us in Jesus. The plenitude of the divinity dwells in Jesus (cf. Col 1, 19). And therefore, according to the way in which we are before Jesus, we express our position before God, the Creator. What the Father wants is that we know him and honour him in the revelation which he makes of himself in Jesus.
• John 5, 24: The life of God in us through Jesus. God is life, he is creating force. Wherever he is present, there is life. He becomes present in the Word of Jesus. The one who listens to the word of Jesus as a word that comes from God has already risen. He has already received the vivifying touch which leads him beyond death. Jesus passed from death to life. The proof of this is in the healing of the paralytic.
• John 5, 25-29: The resurrection is already taking place. All of us are the dead who still have not opened ourselves to the voice of Jesus which comes from the Father. But “the hour will come” and it is now, in which the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who will listen, will live”. With the Word of Jesus which comes from the Father, the new creation begins; it is already on the way. The creative word of Jesus will reach all, even those who have already died. They will hear and will live.
• John 5, 30: Jesus is the reflection of the Father. “By myself I can do nothing; I can judge only as I am told to judge, and my judgment is just, because I seek to do not my own will but the will of him who sent me”. This last phrase is the summary of all that has been said before. This was the idea that the community of the time of John had and diffused regarding Jesus.
Personal questions
• How do you imagine the relationship between Jesus and the Father?
• How do you live faith in the resurrection?
• How do you live faith in the resurrection?
Reference: Courtesy of Order of Carmelites, www.ocarm.org.
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Featured Item of the Day from Litany Lane
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Saint of the Day: Saint Agnellus of Pisa, O.F.M.
Feast Day: March 13
Patron Saint: Agnellus of Pisa, O.F.M
Attributes: n/a
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| Blessed Agnellus of Pisa, O.F.M |
Angellus was born in 1195 at Pisa,of the prominent family, Angenelli. This similarity to the upbringing of St. Francis makes it no surprise that Agnellus was approached by St. Francis himself and invited to join his Order. He lived a life of holiness, his purity, wholesomeness and devotion to improving the world around him had great impact on the world around him. Agnellus understood the value in learning and though not extremely learned himself, Agnellus sought to further the education of the monks and friars around him. This was how the founding of Oxford, in England, came about. His kind heart made him a friend and confidant to rules and diplomats. Agnellus died abruptly on May 7, 1236 and remains buried at the school he put his utmost efforts towards, at Oxford.
In his early youth, Agnellus was personally received into the Seraphic Order by St. Francis of Assisi, during the latter's sojourn in Pisa. After being sent to Paris by St.Francis, where he became Custos, Agnellus build a friary in the city. He then returned to Italy, was present at the first Chapter of Mats of the Order, and thence was sent by St. Francis to establish the Order in England. He and his party landed with nine other friars, who were graciously sent from France under the orders of the friars at Fecamp, Dover, on September 10, 1224. It was not easy for these brave friars, as the winter of 1224 was extremely harsh, and any food they ate had to be boiled to unfreeze. However, they did not let the conditions get their spirits down. The friars traveled on through the cold, always cheerful and believing they were filled with the Holy Spirit of God. Finally, months after the first cold winter, the friars found a place to shelter in. Their arrival was honored by Pope Honorious III. When the friars arrived, the Archbishop of Canterbury was expecting them with open arms. Everywhere the friars went they were treated with respect and honor. Agnellus and his followers soon became known for their humble manner, extreme prudence, and desire for no material items but what was necessary to survive.
Throughout his life, Agnellus would never allow expansion to the friars quarters, or to the university other than what was absolutely necessary. This was an example and a mannerism that continued on at Oxford long after Agnellus' death. Yet, despite his extreme frugality, Agnellus had a gentle way about him. It was this gentleness that made it possible for him to negotiate a truce with King Henry III of England. The English Franciscan Order secured a house there and subsequently played a large role in the establishment of the University of Oxford soon after. Catholic Online'.[1]
Agnellus established a school for the friars at Oxford, which helped in the development of the theology school at the university. He was not himself a scholarly man, but understood the importance of learning and knowledge. Therefore, Agnellus had great influence in affairs of the state. King Henry befriended the friar out of admiration for his wholesome, pure, ambitious attitude towards life. This resulted in Agnellus' becoming heavily involved in efforts to avoid a civil war between the King and the Earl Marshal, who had aligned himself for war with the Welsh. Shortly afterwards, Agnellus contracted a fatal illness, and the only account in existence is a brief one recorded by Thomas of Eccleston, a Friar Minor. Eccleston wrote that after Agnellus' death, his body was immaculately maintained and perfectly preserved. In honor of his great influence in the establishment of the university and his understanding of the importance of learning, Agnellus's body is held at Oxford in veneration.
His cultus was confirmed by Pope Leo XIII in 1882, and his feast day is kept on May 7 in Italy. The English Franciscan provinces celebrate his memory on 10 September.New Advent'.[2]
References
- ^ http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=1177
- ^ http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01212c.htm
- This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). Catholic Encyclopedia. Robert Appleton Company.
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Today's Snippet I: Franciscans Order of Friars Minor
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| Francisican Coat of arms |
Franciscans are those people and groups (religious orders) who adhere to the teachings and spiritual disciplines of Saint Francis of Assisi. The term is usually applied to members who also adhere to the Roman Catholic Church. However, other denominations also have members who self describe as Franciscan. They include Old Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran.
The most prominent group is the Order of Friars Minor,
commonly called simply the "Franciscans." They seek to follow most
directly the manner of life that Saint Francis led. This Order is a mendicant religious order
of men tracing their origin to Francis of Assisi. It comprises three
separate groups, each considered a religious order in its own right.
These are the Observants, most commonly simply called "Franciscan friars," the Capuchins, and the Conventual Franciscans. They all live according to a body of regulations known as "The Rule of St. Francis".[1]
The official Latin name of the Orders of Friars Minor is the Ordo Fratrum Minorum.[2]
St. Francis thus referred to his followers as "Fraticelli", meaning
"Little Brothers". Franciscan brothers are informally called friars or the Minorites.
The modern organization of the Friars Minor now comprises three separate branches: the 'Friars Minor' (OFM); the 'Friars Minor Conventual' (OFM Conv), and the 'Friars Minor Capuchin' (OFM Cap).[3]
The women who comprise the "Second" Order of the movement are most commonly called Poor Clares in English-speaking countries. The order is called the "Order of St. Clare" (O.S.C.).
The Franciscan Third Order, the Third Order of Saint Francis or Third Order of Penance, has many men and women members, whether in religious communities under the traditional religious vows, or trying to live the ideals of the movement in their daily lives outside of religious institutes.
The Fransican Order is also sometimes referred to as the Seraphic Order.[4]
Beginning of the brotherhood
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| Regula bullata, the Rule confirmed by Honorius III |
A sermon which Francis heard in 1209 on Mt 10:9
made such an impression on him that he decided to devote himself wholly
to a life of apostolic poverty. Clad in a rough garment, barefoot, and,
after the Evangelical precept, without staff or scrip, he began to preach repentance.[5]
He
was soon joined by a prominent fellow townsman, Bernardo di
Quintavalle,
who contributed all that he had to the work, and by other companions,
who are said to have reached the number of eleven within a year. The
brothers lived in the deserted lazar-house of Rivo Torto near Assisi;
but they spent much of their time traveling through the mountainous
districts of Umbria,
always cheerful and full of songs, yet making a deep impression on
their hearers by their earnest exhortations. Their life was extremely
ascetic, though such practises were apparently not prescribed by the
first rule which Francis gave them (probably as early as 1209), which
seems to have been nothing more than a collection of Scriptural passages
emphasizing the duty of poverty.In spite of some similarities between this principle and some of the fundamental ideas of the followers of Peter Waldo, the brotherhood of Assisi succeeded in gaining the approval of Pope Innocent III.[6] What seems to have impressed first the Bishop of Assisi, Guido, then Cardinal Giovanni di San Paolo and finally Innocent himself, was their utter loyalty to the Church and the clergy. Innocent III was not only the Pope reigning during the life of St. Francis of Assisi, but he was also responsible for helping to construct the Church Francis was being called to rebuild. Innocent III and the Fourth Lateran Council helped maintain the church in Europe. Innocent probably saw in them a possible answer to his desire for an orthodox preaching force to counter heresy. Many legends have clustered around the decisive audience of Francis with the Pope. The realistic account in Matthew Paris, according to which the Pope originally sent the shabby saint off to keep swine, and only recognized his real worth by his ready obedience, has, in spite of its improbability, a certain historical interest, since it shows the natural antipathy of the older Benedictine monasticism to the plebeian mendicant orders. The group was tonsured and Francis was ordained as a deacon, allowing him to read Gospels in the church.[7]
Last years of Francis
Francis had to suffer from the dissensions just alluded to and the
transformation which they operated in the originally simple constitution
of the brotherhood, making it a regular order under strict supervision
from Rome. Exasperated by the demands of running a growing and fractious
Order, Francis asked Pope Honorius III for help in 1219. He was assigned Cardinal Ugolino
as protector of the order by the Pope. Francis resigned the day-to-day
running of the Order into the hands of others but retained the power to
shape the Order's legislation, writing a Rule in 1221 which he revised
and had approved in 1223. At least after about 1223, the day-to-day
running of the Order was in the hands of Brother Elias of Cortona,
an able friar who would be elected as leader of the friars a few years
after Francis' death (1226) but who aroused much opposition because of
his autocratic style of leadership. He planned and built the Basilica of San Francesco d'Assisi in which Saint Francis is buried, a building including the friary Sacro Convento, which still today is the spiritual centre of the order.
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| "The Confirmation of the Franciscan Rule" by Domenico Ghirlandaio (1449-1494), Capella Sassetti, Florence |
In the external successes of the brothers, as they were reported at
the yearly general chapters, there was much to encourage Francis. Caesarius of Speyer, the first German provincial, a zealous advocate of the founder's strict principle of poverty, began in 1221 from Augsburg, with twenty-five companions, to win for the order the land watered by the Rhine and the Danube. In 1224 Agnellus of Pisa led a small group of friars to England. The branch of the order arriving in England became known as the greyfriars.[8]
Beginning at Greyfriars at Canterbury, the ecclesiastical capital, they moved on to London, the political capital and Oxford, the intellectual capital. From these three bases the Franciscans swiftly expanded to embrace the principal towns of England.
Beginning at Greyfriars at Canterbury, the ecclesiastical capital, they moved on to London, the political capital and Oxford, the intellectual capital. From these three bases the Franciscans swiftly expanded to embrace the principal towns of England.
Development of the order after the death of Francis
Dissensions during the life of Francis
The controversy about issues of poverty, which extends through the
first three centuries of Franciscan history, began in the lifetime of
the founder. The ascetic brothers Matthew of Narni and Gregory of Naples,
a nephew of Ugolino, the two vicars-general to whom Francis had
entrusted the direction of the order during his absence, carried through
at a chapter which they held certain stricter regulations in regard to
fasting and the reception of alms, which really departed from the spirit
of the original rule. It did not take Francis long, on his return, to
suppress this insubordinate tendency; but he was less successful in
regard to another of an opposite nature which soon came up. Elias of Cortona
originated a movement for the increase of the worldly consideration of
the order and the adaptation of its system to the plans of the hierarchy
which conflicted with the original notions of the founder and helped to
bring about the successive changes in the rule already described.
Francis was not alone in opposition to this lax and secularizing
tendency. On the contrary, the party which clung to his original views
and after his death took his "Testament" for their guide, known as
Observantists or Zelanti, was at least equal in numbers and activity to the followers of Elias. The conflict between the two lasted many years, and the Zelanti
won several notable victories, in spite of the favor shown to their
opponents by the papal administration—until finally the reconciliation
of the two points of view was seen to be impossible, and the order was
actually split into halves.
Development to 1239
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| Anthony of Padua (c1195-1231) with the Infant Christ, painting by Antonio de Pereda (c1611-1678) |
When the General Chapter could not agree on a common interpretation of the 1223 Rule it sent a delegation including St. Anthony of Padua to Pope Gregory IX for an authentic interpretation of this piece of papal legislation. The bull Quo elongati
of Gregory IX declared that the Testament of St. Francis was not
legally binding and offered an interpretation of poverty that would
allow the order to continue to develop. The earliest leader of the
strict party was rather Brother Leo, the witness of the ecstasies of
Francis on Monte Alverno and the author of the Speculum perfectionis, a strong polemic against the laxer party. Next to him came John Parenti,
the first successor of Francis in the headship of the order.
In 1232 Elias succeeded him, and under him the order developed its ministries and presence in the towns significantly. Many new houses were founded, especially in Italy, and in many of them special attention was paid to education. The somewhat earlier settlements of Franciscan teachers at the universities (in Paris, for example, where Alexander of Hales was teaching) continued to develop. Contributions toward the promotion of the order's work, and especially the building of the Basilica in Assisi, came in abundantly. Funds could only be accepted on behalf of the friars for determined, imminent, real necessities that could not be provided for from begging. Gregory IX, in Quo elongati, authorized agents of the order to have custody of such funds where they could not be spent immediately. Elias pursued with great severity the principal leaders of the opposition, and even Bernardo di Quintavalle, the founder's first disciple, was obliged to conceal himself for years in the forest of Monte Sefro.
In 1232 Elias succeeded him, and under him the order developed its ministries and presence in the towns significantly. Many new houses were founded, especially in Italy, and in many of them special attention was paid to education. The somewhat earlier settlements of Franciscan teachers at the universities (in Paris, for example, where Alexander of Hales was teaching) continued to develop. Contributions toward the promotion of the order's work, and especially the building of the Basilica in Assisi, came in abundantly. Funds could only be accepted on behalf of the friars for determined, imminent, real necessities that could not be provided for from begging. Gregory IX, in Quo elongati, authorized agents of the order to have custody of such funds where they could not be spent immediately. Elias pursued with great severity the principal leaders of the opposition, and even Bernardo di Quintavalle, the founder's first disciple, was obliged to conceal himself for years in the forest of Monte Sefro.
St. Clare of Assisi,
whom St. Francis saw as a his "little daughter" and now considered as
the foundress of the Poor Clares consistently backed Elias as faithfully
reflecting the mind of St. Francis.
1239–1274
 |
| A Franciscan Convent in Mafra in Portugal. |
Elias had governed the order from the center, imposing his authority
on the provinces (as had Francis). A reaction to this centralized
government was led from the provinces of England and Germany. At the
general chapter of 1239, held in Rome under the personal presidency of
Gregory IX, Elias was deposed in favor of Albert of Pisa,
the former provincial of England, a moderate Observantist. This chapter
introduced General Statutes to govern the order and devolved power from
the Minister General to the Ministers Provincial sitting in chapter.
The next two Ministers General, Haymo of Faversham (1240–44) and Crescentius of Jesi (1244–47), consolidated this greater democracy in the Order but also led the order towards a greater clericalisation. The new Pope Innocent IV
supported them in this. In a bull of November 14, 1245, this pope even
sanctioned an extension of the system of financial agents, and allowed
the funds to be used not simply for those things that were necessary for
the friars but also for those that were useful. The Observantist party
took a strong stand in opposition to this ruling, and carried on so
successful an agitation against the lax General that in 1247, at a
chapter held in Lyon, France—where Innocent IV was then residing—he was
replaced by the strict Observantist John of Parma (1247–57) and the order refused to implement any provisions of Innocent IV that were laxer than those of Gregory IX.
Elias, who had been excommunicated and taken under the protection of Frederick II,
was now forced to give up all hope of recovering his power in the
order. He died in 1253, after succeeding by recantation in obtaining the
removal of his censures. Under John of Parma, who enjoyed the favor of
Innocent IV and Pope Alexander IV,
the influence of the order was notably increased, especially by the
provisions of the latter pope in regard to the academic activity of the
brothers. He not only sanctioned the theological institutes in
Franciscan houses, but did all he could to support the friars in the
Mendicant Controversy, when the secular Masters of the university of Paris and the Bishops of France combined to attack the Mendicant Orders.
It was due to the action of Alexander's representatives, who were
obliged to threaten the university authorities with excommunication,
that the degree of doctor of theology was finally conceded to the Dominican Thomas Aquinas and the Franciscan Bonaventure (1257), who had previously been able to lecture only as licentiates.
 |
| Bonaventure (1221-1274), painting by Claude François, ca. 1650-1660. |
The Franciscan Gerard of Borgo San Donnino at this time issued a Joachimite tract and John of Parma was seen as favoring the condemned theology of Joachim of Fiore.
To protect the order from its enemies John was forced to step down and
recommended Bonaventure as his successor. Bonaventure saw the need to
unify the order around a common ideology and both wrote a new life of
the founder and collected the order's legislation into the Constitutions
of Narbonne, so called because they were ratified by the Order at its
chapter held at Narbonne, France, in 1260. In the chapter of Pisa three years later Bonaventure's Legenda maior
was approved as the only biography of Francis and all previous
biographies were ordered to be destroyed. Bonaventure ruled (1257–74) in
a moderate spirit, which is represented also by various works produced
by the order in his time—especially by the Expositio regulae written by David of Augsburg soon after 1260.
1274–1300
The successor to Bonaventura, Jerome of Ascoli or Girolamo Masci (1274–79), (the future Pope Nicholas IV), and his successor, Bonagratia of Bologna (1279–85), also followed a middle course. Severe measures were taken against certain extreme Spirituals who, on the strength of the rumor that Pope Gregory X was intending at the Council of Lyon
(1274–75) to force the mendicant orders to tolerate the possession of
property, threatened both pope and council with the renunciation of
allegiance. Attempts were made, however, to satisfy the reasonable
demands of the Spiritual party, as in the bull Exiit qui seminat of Pope Nicholas III
(1279), which pronounced the principle of complete poverty meritorious
and holy, but interpreted it in the way of a somewhat sophistical
distinction between possession and usufruct. The bull was received
respectfully by Bonagratia and the next two generals, Arlotto of Prato (1285–87) and Matthew of Aqua Sparta (1287–89); but the Spiritual party under the leadership of the Bonaventuran pupil and apocalyptic Pierre Jean Olivi
regarded its provisions for the dependence of the friars upon the Pope
and the division between brothers occupied in manual labor and those
employed on spiritual missions as a corruption of the fundamental
principles of the order. They were not won over by the conciliatory
attitude of the next general, Raymond Gaufredi (1289–96), and of the Franciscan Pope Nicholas IV (1288–92). The attempt made by the next pope, Pope Celestine V, an old friend of the order, to end the strife by uniting the Observantist party with his own order of hermits (see Celestines)
was scarcely more successful. Only a part of the Spirituals joined the
new order, and the secession scarcely lasted beyond the reign of the
hermit-pope. Pope Boniface VIII annulled Celestine's bull of foundation with his other acts, deposed the general Raymond Gaufredi, and appointed a man of laxer tendency, John de Murro,
in his place. The Benedictine section of the Celestines was separated
from the Franciscan section, and the latter was formally suppressed by
Pope Boniface VIII in 1302. The leader of the Observantists, Olivi, who
spent his last years in the Franciscan house at Tarnius and died there
in 1298, had pronounced against the extremer "Spiritual" attitude, and
given an exposition of the theory of poverty which was approved by the
more moderate Observantists, and for a long time constituted their
principle.
Persecution
Under Pope Clement V (1305–14) this party succeeded in exercising some influence on papal decisions. In 1309 Clement had a commission sit at Avignon for the purpose of reconciling the conflicting parties. Ubertino of Casale, the leader, after Olivi's death, of the stricter party, who was a member of the commission, induced the Council of Vienne to arrive at a decision in the main favoring his views, and the papal constitution Exivi de paradiso (1313) was on the whole conceived in the same sense. Clement's successor, Pope John XXII (1316–34), favored the laxer or conventual party. By the bull Quorundam exigit he modified several provisions of the constitution Exivi, and required the formal submission of the Spirituals. Some of them, encouraged by the strongly Observantist general Michael of Cesena,
ventured to dispute the Pope's right so to deal with the provisions of
his predecessor. Sixty-four of them were summoned to Avignon, and the
most obstinate delivered over to the Inquisition, four of them being
burned (1318). Shortly before this all the separate houses of the
Observantists had been suppressed.
Renewed controversy on the question of poverty
 |
| Franciscan friary in Katowice, Poland |
A few years later a new controversy, this time theoretical, broke out on the question of poverty. In his 14 August 1279 bull Exiit qui seminat, Pope Nicholas III had confirmed the arrangement already established by Pope Gregory IX, by which all property given to the Franciscans was vested in the Holy See,
which granted the friars the mere use of it. The bull declared that
renunciation of ownership of all things "both individually but also in
common, for God's sake, is meritorious and holy; Christ, also, showing
the way of perfection, taught it by word and confirmed it by example,
and the first founders of the Church militant, as they had drawn it from
the fountainhead itself, distributed it through the channels of their
teaching and life to those wishing to live perfectly".[9][10][11]
Although Exiit qui seminat banned disputing about its
contents, the decades that followed saw increasingly bitter disputes
about the form of poverty to be observed by Franciscans, with the
Spirituals (so called because associated with the Age of the Spirit that
Joachim of Fiore had said would begin in 1260)[12] pitched against the Conventual Franciscans.[13] Pope Clement V's bull Exivi de Paradiso of 20 November 1312[14] failed to effect a compromise between the two factions.[12] Clement V's successor, Pope John XXII
was determined to suppress what he considered to be the excesses of the
Spirituals, who contended eagerly for the view that Christ and his
apostles had possessed absolutely nothing, either separately or jointly,
and who were citing Exiit qui seminat in support of their view.[15] In 1317, John XXII formally condemned the group of them known as the Fraticelli.[12] On 26 March 1322, he removed the ban on discussion of Nicholas III's bull[16][17]
and commissioned experts to examine the idea of poverty based on belief
that Christ and the apostles owned nothing. The experts disagreed among
themselves, but the majority condemned the idea on the grounds that it
would condemn the Church's right to have possessions.[12]
The Franciscan chapter held in Perugia in May 1322 declared on the contrary: "To say or assert that Christ, in showing the way of perfection, and the Apostles, in following that way and setting an example to others who wished to lead the perfect life, possessed nothing either severally or in common, either by right of ownership and dominium or by personal right, we corporately and unanimously declare to be not heretical, but true and catholic."[12] By the bull Ad conditorem canonum of 8 December 1322,[18] John XXII, declaring it ridiculous to pretend that every scrap of food given to the friars and eaten by them belonged to the pope, refused to accept ownership over the goods of the Franciscans in future and granted them exemption from the rule that absolutely forbade ownership of anything even in common, thus forcing them to accept ownership.[19] And on 12 November 1323 he issued the short bull Cum inter nonnullos,[20] which declared "erroneous and heretical" the doctrine that Christ and his apostles had no possessions whatever.[11][15][21] John XXII's actions thus demolished the fictitious structure that gave the appearance of absolute poverty to the life of the Franciscan friars.[22]
The Franciscan chapter held in Perugia in May 1322 declared on the contrary: "To say or assert that Christ, in showing the way of perfection, and the Apostles, in following that way and setting an example to others who wished to lead the perfect life, possessed nothing either severally or in common, either by right of ownership and dominium or by personal right, we corporately and unanimously declare to be not heretical, but true and catholic."[12] By the bull Ad conditorem canonum of 8 December 1322,[18] John XXII, declaring it ridiculous to pretend that every scrap of food given to the friars and eaten by them belonged to the pope, refused to accept ownership over the goods of the Franciscans in future and granted them exemption from the rule that absolutely forbade ownership of anything even in common, thus forcing them to accept ownership.[19] And on 12 November 1323 he issued the short bull Cum inter nonnullos,[20] which declared "erroneous and heretical" the doctrine that Christ and his apostles had no possessions whatever.[11][15][21] John XXII's actions thus demolished the fictitious structure that gave the appearance of absolute poverty to the life of the Franciscan friars.[22]
Influential members of the order protested, such as the minister general Michael of Cesena, the English provincial William of Ockham and Bonagratia of Bergamo. In 1324, Louis the Bavarian sided with the Spirituals and accused the Pope of heresy. In reply to the argument of his opponents that Nicholas III's bull Exiit qui seminat was fixed and irrevocable, John XXII issued the bull "Quia quorundam" of 10 November 1324,[23]
in which he declared that it cannot be inferred from the words of the
1279 bull that Christ and the apostles had nothing, adding: "Indeed, it
can be inferred rather that the Gospel life lived by Christ and the
Apostles did not exclude some possessions in common, since living
'without property' does not require that those living thus should have
nothing in common." In 1328 Michael of Cesena was summoned to Avignon to
explain the Order's intransigence in refusing the Pope's orders and its
complicity with Louis of Bavaria. Michael was imprisoned in Avignon,
together with Francesco d'Ascoli, Bonagratia and William of Ockham. In
January of that year Louis of Bavaria entered Rome and had himself
crowned emperor. Three months later, he declared John XXII deposed and
installed the Spiritual Franciscan Pietro Rainalducci as Pope. The Franciscan chapter that opened in Bologna
on 28 May reelected Michael of Cesena, who two days before had escaped
with his companions from Avignon. But in August Louis the Bavarian and
his pope had to flee Rome before an attack by Robert, King of Naples. Only a small part of the Franciscan Order joined the opponents of John XXII, and at a general chapter held in Paris
in 1329 the majority of all the houses declared their submission to the
Pope. With the bull "Quia vir reprobus" of 16 November 1329,[24] John XXII replied to Michael of Cesena's attacks on Ad conditorem canonum, Cum inter and Quia quorundam.
In 1330 Antipope Nicholas V submitted, followed later by the ex-general
Michael, and finally, just before his death, by Ockham.[12]
Separate congregations
Out of all these dissensions in the fourteenth century sprang a
number of separate congregations, almost of sects. To say nothing of the
heretical parties of the Beghards and Fraticelli, some of which developed within the order on both hermit and cenobitic principles, may here be mentioned:
Clareni
The Clareni or Clarenini, an association of hermits established on the river Clareno in the march of Ancona by Angelo da Clareno
after the suppression of the Franciscan Celestines by Boniface VIII. It
maintained the principles of Olivi, and, outside of Umbria, spread also
in the kingdom of Naples, where Angelo died in 1337. Like several other smaller congregations, it was obliged in 1568 under Pope Pius V to unite with the general body of Observantists.
Minorites of Narbonne
As a separate congregation, this originated through the union of a
number of houses which followed Olivi after 1308. It was limited to
southwestern France and, its members being accused of the heresy of the
Beghards, was suppressed by the Inquisition during the controversies
under John XXII.
Reform of Johannes de Vallibus
 |
| Franciscan convent at Lopud in Croatia |
This was founded in the hermitage of St. Bartholomew at Brugliano near Foligno
in 1334. The congregation was suppressed by the Franciscan general
chapter in 1354; reestablished in 1368 by Paolo de' Trinci of Foligno;
confirmed by Gregory XI. in 1373, and spread rapidly from Central Italy
to France, Spain, Hungary and elsewhere. Most of the Observantist houses
joined this congregation by degrees, so that it became known simply as
the "brothers of the regular Observance." It acquired the favor of the
popes by its energetic opposition to the heretical Fraticelli, and was expressly recognized by the Council of Constance
(1415). It was allowed to have a special vicar-general of its own and
legislate for its members without reference to the conventual part of
the order. Through the work of such men as Bernardino of Siena, Giovanni da Capistrano, and Dietrich Coelde (b. 1435? at Munster; was a member of the Brethren of the Common Life,
died December 11, 1515), it gained great prominence during the
fifteenth century. By the end of the Middle Ages, the Observantists,
with 1,400 houses, comprised nearly half of the entire order. Their
influence brought about attempts at reform even among the Conventuals,
including the quasi-Observantist brothers living under the rule of the
Conventual ministers (Martinianists or "Observantes sub ministris"),
such as the male Colletans, later led by Boniface de Ceva in his reform
attempts principally in France and Germany; the reformed congregation
founded in 1426 by the Spaniard Philip de Berbegal and distinguished by
the special importance they attached to the little hood (cappuciola);
the Neutri, a group of reformers originating about 1463 in Italy, who
tried to take a middle ground between the Conventuals and Observantists,
but refused to obey the heads of either, until they were compelled by
the Pope to affiliate with the regular Observantists, or with those of
the Common Life; the Caperolani, a congregation founded about 1470 in
North Italy by Peter Caperolo,
but dissolved again on the death of its founder in 1481; the Amadeists,
founded by the noble Portuguese Amadeo, who entered the Franciscan
order at Assisi in 1452, gathered around him a number of adherents to
his fairly strict principles (numbering finally twenty-six houses) and,
died in the odor of sanctity in 1482.
Unification
Projects for a union between the two main branches of the order were
put forth not only by the Council of Constance but by several popes,
without any positive result. By direction of Pope Martin V, John of Capistrano
drew up statutes which were to serve as a basis for reunion, and they
were actually accepted by a general chapter at Assisi in 1430; but the
majority of the Conventual houses refused to agree to them, and they
remained without effect. At Capistrano's request Eugenius IV put forth a bull (Ut sacra minorum,
1446) looking to the same result, but again nothing was accomplished.
Equally unsuccessful were the attempts of the Franciscan Pope Sixtus IV,
who bestowed a vast number of privileges on both the original mendicant
orders, but by this very fact lost the favor of the Observants and
failed in his plans for reunion. Julius II
succeeded in doing away with some of the smaller branches, but left the
division of the two great parties untouched. This division was finally
legalized by Leo X, after a general chapter held in Rome in 1517, in connection with the reform-movement of the Fifth Lateran Council,
had once more declared the impossibility of reunion. The less strict
principles of the Conventuals, permitting the possession of real estate
and the enjoyment of fixed revenues, were recognized as tolerable, while
the Observants, in contrast to this usus moderatus, were held strictly to their own usus arctus or pauper.
All of the groups that followed the Franciscan Rule literally were
united to the Observants and the right to elect the Minister General of
the Order, together with the seal of the Order, was given to this united
grouping. This grouping, since it adhered more closely to the rule of
the founder, was allowed to claim a certain superiority over the
Conventuals. The Observant general (elected now for six years, not for
life) inherited the title of "Minister-General of the Whole Order of St.
Francis" and was granted the right to confirm the choice of a head for
the Conventuals, who was known as "Master-General of the Friars Minor
Conventual"—although this privilege never became practically operative.
Visions and Stigmata
 |
| The Stigmatisation of St. Francis |
Among the many Catholic orders, Franciscans have proportionally reported higher ratios of stigmata and have claimed proportionally higher ratios of visions of Jesus and Mary. Saint Francis of Assisi himself was one of the very first reported cases of stigmata, and perhaps the most famous stigmatic of modern times is Saint Padre Pio,
a Capuchin, who also reported visions of Jesus and Mary. Pio's stigmata
persisted for over fifty years and he was examined by numerous
physicians in the 20th century, who confirmed the existence of the
wounds, but none of whom could produce a medical explanation for the
fact that his bleeding wounds would never get infected. According to
Encyclopædia Britannica, his wounds healed once, but reappeared.[32] According to the Columbia Encyclopedia[33]
some medical authorities who examined Padre Pio's wounds were inclined
to believe that the stigmata were connected with nervous or cataleptic
hysteria. According to Answers.com[34]
the wounds were examined by Luigi Romanelli, chief physician of the
City Hospital of Barletta, for about one year. Dr. Giorgio Festa, a
private practitioner also examined them in 1920 and 1925. Professor
Giuseppe Bastianelli, physician to Pope Benedict XV agreed that the
wounds existed but made no other comment. Pathologist Dr. Amico Bignami
of the University of Rome also observed the wounds, but made no
diagnosis.
Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land
After an intense apostolic activity in Italy, in 1219 Francis went to Egypt with the Fifth Crusade, to announce the Gospel to the Saracens. He met with the Sultan Malek-al-Kamel, initiating a spirit of dialogue and understanding between Christianity and Islam. The Franciscan presence in the Holy Land started in 1217, when the province of Syria was established, with Brother Elias as Minister. By 1229, the friars had a small house near the fifth station of the Via Dolorosa. In 1272 the sultan Baibars allowed the Franciscans to settle in the Cenacle on Mount Sion. Later on, in 1309, they also settled in the Holy Sepulchre and in Bethlehem. In 1335 King Robert d'Angiò of Naples, and his wife, Sancia di Maiorca, bought the Cenacle and gave it to the Franciscans. Pope Clement VI,
by the Bulls "Gratias agimus" and "Nuper charissimae" (1342), declared
the Franciscans as the official custodians of the Holy Places in the
name of the Catholic Church. The Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land is still in force today.[35]
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Today's Snippet II: Sistine Chapel
 |
| Michelangelo's The Last Judgment. |
The chapel takes its name from Pope Sixtus IV, who restored the old Cappella Magna between 1477 and 1480. During this period a team of painters that included Pietro Perugino, Sandro Botticelli and Domenico Ghirlandaio created a series of frescoed panels depicting the life of Moses and the life of Christ, offset by papal portraits above and trompe l’oeil drapery below. These paintings were completed in 1482, and on 15 August 1483,[3] Sixtus IV celebrated the first mass in the Sistine Chapel for the Feast of the Assumption, at which ceremony the chapel was consecrated and dedicated to the Virgin Mary.[4]
Since the time of Sixtus IV, the chapel has served as a place of both
religious and functionary papal activity. Today it is the site of the Papal conclave, the process by which a new Pope is selected.
History
 |
| Pope Sixtus IV |
The Sistine Chapel is best known for being the location of Papal conclaves; it is, however, the chapel of the Papal Chapel (Cappella Pontificia), one of the two bodies of the Papal household, called until 1968 the Papal Court (Pontificalis Aula). At the time of Pope Sixtus IV in the late 15th century, the Papal Chapel comprised about 200 people, including clerics, officials of the Vatican
and distinguished laity. There were 50 occasions during the year on
which it was prescribed by the Papal Calendar that the whole Papal
Chapel should meet.[5] Of these 50 occasions, 35 were masses, of which 8 were held in Basilicas, in general St. Peter's,
and were attended by large congregations. These included the Christmas
Day and Easter masses, at which the Pope himself was the celebrant. The other 27 masses could be held in a smaller, less public space, for which the Cappella Maggiore was used before it was rebuilt on the same site as the Sistine Chapel.
The Cappella Maggiore derived its name, the Greater Chapel, from the fact that there was another chapel also in use by the Pope and his retinue for daily worship. At the time of Pope Sixtus IV, this was the Chapel of Pope Nicholas V, which had been decorated by Fra Angelico. The Cappella Maggiore is recorded as existing in 1368. According to a communication from Andreas of Trebizond to Pope Sixtus IV, by the time of its demolition to make way for the present chapel, the Cappella Maggiore was in a ruinous state with its walls leaning.[6]
The Cappella Maggiore derived its name, the Greater Chapel, from the fact that there was another chapel also in use by the Pope and his retinue for daily worship. At the time of Pope Sixtus IV, this was the Chapel of Pope Nicholas V, which had been decorated by Fra Angelico. The Cappella Maggiore is recorded as existing in 1368. According to a communication from Andreas of Trebizond to Pope Sixtus IV, by the time of its demolition to make way for the present chapel, the Cappella Maggiore was in a ruinous state with its walls leaning.[6]
The present chapel, on the site of the Cappella Maggiore, was designed by Baccio Pontelli for Pope Sixtus IV, for whom it is named, and built under the supervision of Giovannino de Dolci between 1473 and 1481.[1]
The proportions of the present chapel appear to closely follow those of
the original. After its completion, the chapel was decorated with
frescoes by a number of the most famous artists of the High Renaissance, including Botticelli, Domenico Ghirlandaio, Perugino, and Michelangelo.[6]
The first mass in the Sistine Chapel was celebrated on 9 August 1483, the Feast of the Assumption, at which ceremony the chapel was consecrated and dedicated to the Virgin Mary.[4]
The Sistine Chapel has maintained its function to the present day,
and continues to host the important services of the Papal Calendar,
unless the Pope is travelling. There is a permanent choir, the Sistine Chapel Choir, for whom much original music has been written, the most famous piece being Gregorio Allegri's Miserere.[7]
Papal conclave
One of the primary functions of the Sistine Chapel is as a venue for the election of each successive pope in a conclave of the College of Cardinals.
On the occasion of a conclave, a chimney is installed in the roof of
the chapel, from which smoke arises as a signal. If white smoke appears,
created by burning the ballots of the election, a new Pope has been
elected. If a candidate receives less than a two-thirds vote, the
cardinals send up black smoke—created by burning the ballots along with
wet straw and chemical additives—it means that no successful election
has yet occurred.[8]
The conclave also provided for the cardinals a space in which they
can hear mass, and in which they can eat, sleep, and pass time attended
by servants. From 1455, conclaves have been held in the Vatican; until the Great Schism, they were held in the Dominican convent of Santa Maria sopra Minerva.[9] Since 1996, John Paul II's Apostolic Constitution Universi Dominici Gregis requires the cardinals to be lodged in the Domus Sanctae Marthae during a papal conclave, but to continue to vote in the Sistine Chapel.[10]
Canopies for each cardinal-elector were once used during conclaves—a
sign of equal dignity. After the new Pope accepts his election, he would
give his new name; at this time, the other Cardinals would tug on a
rope attached to their seats to lower their canopies. Until reforms
instituted by Saint Pius X, the canopies were of different colours to designate which Cardinals had been appointed by which Pope. Paul VI
abolished the canopies altogether, since, under his papacy, the
population of the College of Cardinals had increased so much to the
point that they would need to be seated in rows of two against the
walls, making the canopies obstruct the view of the cardinals in the
back row.
Architecture
Exterior
 |
| Exterior of the Sistine Chapel |
The Chapel is a high rectangular brick building, its exterior
unadorned by architectural or decorative details, as common in many Medieval and Renaissance
churches in Italy. It has no exterior façade or exterior processional
doorways, as the ingress has always been from internal rooms within the Apostolic Palace
(Papal Palace), and the exterior can be seen only from nearby windows
and light-wells in the palace. The internal spaces are divided into
three stories of which the lowest is huge, with a robustly vaulted
basement with several utilitarian windows and a doorway giving onto the
exterior court.Above is the main space, the Chapel, the internal measurements of
which are 40.9 metres (134 ft) long by 13.4 metres (44 ft) wide—the dimensions of the Temple of Solomon, as given in the Old Testament.[11]
The vaulted ceiling rises to 20.7 metres (68 ft). The building had six
tall arched windows down each side and two at either end. Several of
these have been blocked, but the chapel is still accessible. Above the
vault rises a third story with wardrooms for guards. At this level, an
open projecting gangway
was constructed, which encircled the building supported on an arcade
springing from the walls. The gangway has been roofed as it was a
continual source of water leaking in to the vault of the Chapel.
Subsidence and cracking of masonry such as must also have affected
the Cappella Maggiore has necessitated the building of very large buttresses to brace the exterior walls. The accretion of other buildings has further altered the exterior appearance of the Chapel.
Interior
 |
| Sistine Chapel showing the East Wall and a portion of North Wall |
As with most buildings measured internally, absolute measurement is
hard to ascertain. However, the general proportions of the chapel are
clear to within a few centimeters. The length is the measurement and has
been divided by three to get the width and by two to get the height.
Maintaining the ratio, there were six windows down each side and two at
either end. The screen that divides the chapel was originally placed
halfway from the altar wall, but this has changed. Clearly defined
proportions were a feature of Renaissance architecture and reflected the growing interest in the Classical heritage of Rome.
The ceiling of the chapel is a flattened barrel vault springing from a
course that encircles the walls at the level of the springing of the
window arches. This barrel vault is cut transversely by smaller vaults
over each window, which divide the barrel vault at its lowest level into
a series of large pendentives rising from shallow pilasters between
each window. The barrel vault was originally painted brilliant-blue and
dotted with gold stars, to the design of Piermatteo Lauro de' Manfredi da Amelia.[6] The pavement is in opus alexandrinum,
a decorative style using marble and coloured stone in a pattern that
reflects the earlier proportion in the division of the interior and also
marks the processional way from the main door, used by the Pope on
important occasions such as Palm Sunday.
The screen or transenna in marble by Mino da Fiesole, Andrea Bregno, and Giovanni Dalmata divides the chapel into two parts.[12] Originally these made equal space for the members of the Papal Chapel within the sanctuary near the altar
and the pilgrims and townsfolk without. However, with growth in the
number of those attending the Pope, the screen was moved giving a
reduced area for the faithful laity. The transenna is surmounted
by a row of ornate candlesticks, once gilt, and has a wooden door, where
once there was an ornate door of gilded wrought iron. The sculptors of
the transenna also provided the cantoria or projecting choir gallery.
Raphael's tapestries
During occasional ceremonies of particular importance, the side walls
are covered with a series of tapestries, the originals of which were
designed for the chapel by Raphael and depict events from the Life of St. Peter and the Life of St. Paul as described in the Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles: the full-size preparatory cartoons for seven of the ten tapestries are known as the Raphael Cartoons and are in London.[13] Raphael's tapestries were looted during the Sack of Rome
in 1527 and were either burnt for their precious metal content or were
scattered around Europe. In the late 20th century, a set was reassembled
(several further sets had been made) and displayed again in the Sistine
Chapel in 1983.
Decoration
 |
| Diagram of the fresco decoration of the walls and ceiling of the Sistine Chapel comprises frescoes and a set of tapestries. They are the work of different artists and are part of a number of different commissions, some of which were in conflict with each other. |
The walls are divided into three main tiers. The lower is decorated
with frescoed wall hangings in silver and gold. The central tier of the
walls has two cycles of paintings, which complement each other, The Life of Moses and The Life of Christ. They were commissioned in 1480 by Pope Sixtus IV and executed by Domenico Ghirlandaio, Sandro Botticelli, Pietro Perugino, Cosimo Roselli
and their workshops. The Florentine painters, who were to join
Perugino, who was already there and was perhaps the superintendent of
the whole decoration, left Florence on 27 October 1480: their call was
part of a reconciliation project between Lorenzo de' Medici, the de facto ruler of Florence, and Pope Sixtus IV. The Florentines started to work in the Sistine Chapel as early as the Spring of 1481.
The upper tier is divided into two zones. At the lower level of the windows is a Gallery of Popes painted at the same time as the Lives. Around the arched tops of the windows are areas known as the lunettes which contain the Ancestors of Christ, painted by Michelangelo as part of the scheme for the ceiling.
The ceiling, commissioned by Pope Julius II and painted by Michelangelo between 1508 to 1512, has a series of nine paintings showing God's Creation of the World, God's Relationship with Mankind, and Mankind's Fall from God's Grace. On the large pendentives
that support the vault are painted twelve Biblical and Classical men
and women who prophesied that God would send Jesus Christ for the
salvation of mankind.
In 1515, Raphael was commissioned by Pope Leo X to design a series of ten tapestries to hang around the lower tier of the walls.[14]
Raphael was at the time twenty-five and an established artist in
Florence, with a number of wealthy patrons, yet he was ambitious, and
keen to make an entry into the patronage of the papacy.[15] Raphael was attracted by the ambition and energy of Rome.
Raphael saw the commission as an opportunity to be compared with Michelangelo, while Leo saw tapestries as his answer to the ceiling of Julius.[16] The subjects he chose were based on the text of the Acts of the Apostles.
Work began in mid-1515. Due to their large size, manufacture of the
hangings was carried out in Brussels, and took four years under the
hands of the weavers in the shop of Pieter van Aelst.[17]
Although Michelangelo's complex design for the ceiling was not quite what his patron, Pope Julius II, had in mind when he commissioned Michelangelo to paint the Twelve Apostles,
the scheme displayed a consistent iconographical pattern. However, this
was disrupted by a further commission to Michelangelo to decorate the
wall above the altar with The Last Judgement, 1537–1541. The painting of this scene necessitated the obliteration of two episodes from the Lives, several of the Popes and two sets of Ancestors. Two of the windows were blocked and two of Raphael's tapestries became redundant.
Frescoes
Southern wall
The southern wall is decorated with the Stories of Moses, painted in 1481–1482. Starting from the altar, they include:
- Moses Leaving to Egypt by Pietro Perugino and assistants
- The Trials of Moses by Sandro Botticelli and his workshop
- The Crossing of the Red Sea by Cosimo Rosselli, Domenico Ghirlandaio or Biagio di Antonio Tucci
- Descent from Mount Sinai by Cosimo Rosselli or Piero di Cosimo
- Punishment of the Rebels by Sandro Botticelli
- Testament and Death of Moses by Luca Signorelli or Bartolomeo della Gatta
Northern wall
The northern wall houses the Stories of Jesus, dating to 1481–1482. They include:
- Baptism of Christ by Pietro Perugino and assistants
- Temptation of Christ by Sandro Botticelli
- Vocation of the Apostles by Domenico Ghirlandaio
- The Sermon on the Mount, attributed to Cosimo Rosselli
- The Delivery of the Keys by Pietro Perugino
- The Last Supper by Cosimo Rosselli
Eastern wall
- Resurrection of Christ by Hendrik Van den Broeck (1572) over Domenico Ghirlandaio's original
- Disputation over Moses' Body by Matteo da Lecce (1574) over Luca Signorelli's original
Michelangelo's frescoes
 |
| Left half of the ceiling, after restoration |
Michelangelo Buonarroti was commissioned by Pope Julius II
in 1508 to repaint the vault, or ceiling, of the Chapel. It was
originally painted as golden stars on a blue sky. The work was completed
between 1508 and 2 November 1512.[18] He painted the Last Judgment over the altar, between 1535 and 1541, on commission from Pope Paul III Farnese.[19]
Michelangelo was intimidated by the scale of the commission, and made it known from the outset of Julius II's approach that he would prefer to decline. He felt he was more of a sculptor than a painter, and was suspicious that such a large-scale project was being offered to him by enemies as a set-up for an inevitable fall. For Michelangelo, the project was a distraction from the major marble sculpture that had preoccupied him for the previous few years.[20]
Michelangelo was intimidated by the scale of the commission, and made it known from the outset of Julius II's approach that he would prefer to decline. He felt he was more of a sculptor than a painter, and was suspicious that such a large-scale project was being offered to him by enemies as a set-up for an inevitable fall. For Michelangelo, the project was a distraction from the major marble sculpture that had preoccupied him for the previous few years.[20]
The sources of Michelangelo's inspiration are not easily determined; both Joachite and Augustinian
theologians were within the sphere of Julius influence. Nor is known
the extent to which his own hand physically contributed to the actual
physical painting of any of the particular images attributed to him.[21]
Ceiling
 |
| The iconic image of the Hand of God giving life to Adam |
To be able to reach the ceiling, Michelangelo needed a support; the first idea was by Julius' favoured architect Donato Bramante, who wanted to build for him a scaffold
to be suspended in the air with ropes. However, Bramante did not
successfully complete the task, and the structure he built was flawed.
He had perforated the vault in order to lower strings to secure the
scaffold. Michelangelo laughed when he saw the structure, and believed
it would leave holes in the ceiling once the work was ended. He asked
Bramante what was to happen when the painter reached the perforations,
but the architect had no answer.
The matter was taken before the Pope, who ordered Michelangelo to
build a scaffold of his own. Michelangelo created a flat wooden platform
on brackets built out from holes in the wall, high up near the top of
the windows. He lay on this scaffolding while he painted.[22]
Michelangelo used bright colours, easily visible from the floor. On
the lowest part of the ceiling he painted the ancestors of Christ. Above
this he alternated male and female prophets, with Jonah over the altar. On the highest section, Michelangelo painted nine stories from the Book of Genesis. He was originally commissioned to paint only 12 figures, the Apostles.
He turned down the commission because he saw himself as a sculptor, not
a painter. The Pope offered to allow Michelangelo to paint biblical
scenes of his own choice as a compromise. After the work was finished,
there were more than 300. His figures showed the creation, Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, and the Great Flood.
The painted area is about 40 m (131 ft) long by 13 m (43 ft) wide.
This means that Michelangelo painted well over 5,000 square feet (460 m2) of frescoes.[23]
Last Judgment
The Last Judgment was painted by Michelangelo between 1535–1541, after the Sack of Rome of 1527 by mercenary forces from the Holy Roman Empire, which effectively ended the Roman Renaissance, just before the Council of Trent. The work was constructed on a grand scale, and spans the entire wall behind the altar of the Sistine Chapel. The Last Judgment is a depiction of the second coming of Christ and the Apocalypse. The souls of humanity rise and descend to their fates as judged by Christ and his saintly entourage. The wall on which The Last Judgment
is painted looms out slightly over the viewer as it rises, and is meant
to be somewhat fearful and to instill piety and respect for God's
power. In contrast to the other frescoes in the Chapel, the figures are
heavily muscled and appear somewhat tortured—even the Virgin Mary at the
center seems to be cowering before God.
The Last Judgment was an object of a bitter dispute between Cardinal Carafa
and Michelangelo. Because he depicted naked figures, the artist was
accused of immorality and obscenity. A censorship campaign (known as the
"Fig-Leaf Campaign") was organized by Carafa and Monsignor Sernini (Mantua's
ambassador) to remove the frescoes. When the Pope's own Master of
Ceremonies Biagio da Cesena said "it was mostly disgraceful that in so
sacred a place there should have been depicted all those nude figures,
exposing themselves so shamefully, and that it was no work for a papal
chapel but rather for the public baths and taverns,"[24] Michelangelo worked da Cesena's semblance into the scene as Minos,
judge of the underworld. It is said that when he complained to the
Pope, the pontiff responded that his jurisdiction did not extend to
hell, so the portrait would have to remain.
The genitalia in the fresco were later covered by the artist Daniele da Volterra,[25] whom history remembers by the derogatory nickname "Il Braghettone" ("the breeches-painter").
Restoration and controversy
 |
| Daniel, before and after restoration. |
The Sistine Chapel's ceiling restoration began on 7 November 1984.
The restoration complete, the chapel was re-opened to the public on 8
April 1994. The part of the restoration in the Sistine Chapel that has
caused the most concern is the ceiling, painted by Michelangelo. The emergence of the brightly coloured Ancestors of Christ
from the gloom sparked a reaction of fear that the processes being
employed in the cleaning were too severe and removed the original intent
of the artist.
The problem lies in the analysis and understanding of the techniques
utilised by Michelangelo, and the technical response of the restorers to
that understanding. A close examination of the frescoes of the lunettes convinced the restorers that Michelangelo worked exclusively in "buon fresco";
that is, the artist worked only on freshly laid plaster and each
section of work was completed while the plaster was still in its fresh
state. In other words, Michelangelo did not work "a secco"; he did not come back later and add details onto the dry plaster.
The restorers, by assuming that the artist took a universal approach
to the painting, took a universal approach to the restoration. A
decision was made that all of the shadowy layer of animal glue and "lamp
black", all of the wax, and all of the overpainted areas were
contamination of one sort or another: smoke deposits, earlier
restoration attempts, and painted definition by later restorers in an
attempt to enliven the appearance of the work. Based on this decision,
according to Arguimbau's critical reading of the restoration data that
has been provided, the chemists of the restoration team decided upon a
solvent that would effectively strip the ceiling down to its
paint-impregnated plaster. After treatment, only that which was painted
"buon fresco" would remain.
Quotes on Michelangelo's frescoes in the Sistine Chapel
"Without having seen the Sistine Chapel one can form no appreciable idea of what one man is capable of achieving."—Johann Wolfgang Goethe, 23 August 1787,
Bibliography
- Deimling, Barbara (2000), Sandro Botticelli 1444/45-1510, Köln: Taschen, ISBN 3-8228-5992-3
- Earls, Irene (1987), Renaissance Art: A Topical Dictionary, Westport: Greenwood Press, ISBN 0-313-24658-0
- Ekelund, Robert B.; Hébert, Robert F.; Tollison, Robert D. (2006), The Marketplace of Christianity, Cambridge: MIT Press, ISBN 0-262-05082-X
- Graham-Dixon, Andrew (2008), Michelangelo and the Sistine Chapel, London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, ISBN 0-297-85365-1
- Hersey, George (1993), High Renaissance Art in St. Peter's and the Vatican, Chicago: University of Chicago Press, ISBN 0-226-32782-5
- Michelangelo (1999), Bull, George, ed., Michelangelo, Life, Letters, and Poetry, Oxford Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-283770-2
- Pietrangeli, Carlo, ed. (1986), The Sistine Chapel, New York: Harmony Books, ISBN 0-517-56274-X
- Seymour, Charles (1972), Michelangelo, the Sistine Chapel Ceiling: illustrations, introductory essays, backgrounds and sources, critical essay, New York: W. W. Norton, ISBN 0-393-04319-3
- Stinger, Charles (1998), The Renaissance in Rome, Bloomington: Indianapolis, ISBN 0-253-21208-1
- Talvacchia, Bette (2007), Raphael, Oxford Oxfordshire: Phaidon Press, ISBN 978-0-7148-4786-3
- Vasari, Giorgio (1987), The Lives of the Artists, George Bull, New York: Penguin Books, ISBN 0-14-044500-5
- Wright, Lawrence (1983), Perspective in Perspective, London: Routledge & K. Paul, ISBN 0-7100-0791-4
- Ettlinger, Leopold (1965), The Sistine Chapel before Michelangelo: Religious Imagery and Papal Primacy, Oxford: Clarendon Press, OCLC 230168041
- King, Ross (2003), Michelangelo & the Pope's Ceiling, New York: Penguin Books, ISBN 0-14-200369-7
- Lewine, Carol (1993), The Sistine Chapel Walls and the Roman Liturgy, University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press, ISBN 0-271-00792-3
- Hirst, Michael; Colalucci, Gianluigi; Mancinelli, Fabrizio; Shearman, John; Winner, Matthias; Maeder, Edward; De Vecchi, Pierluigi; Nazzareno, Gabrielli et al. (1994), Pietrangeli, Carlo, ed., The Sistine Chapel: A Glorious Restoration, Takashi Okamura (photographer), New York: H.N. Abrams, ISBN 0-8109-3840-5
- Pfeiffer, Heinrich (2007) (in German), Die Sixtinische Kapelle neu entdeckt, Stuttgart: Belser, ISBN 978-0-8109-3840-3
- Stone, Irving (2004), The Agony and the Ecstasy, London: Nal Trade, ISBN 0-451-21323-8. Previously publish by Doubleday in 1961.
- Blech, Benjamin; Doliner, Roy (2008), The Sistine Secrets: Michelangelo's Forbidden Messages in the Heart of the Vatican, New York: HarperOne, ISBN 978-0-06-146904-6
- Efetov, Konstantin (2006), A shocking secret of the Sistine Chapel, Simferopol: CSMU Press, ISBN 966-2969-17-9
References
- ^ Ekelund, Hébert & Tollison 2006, p. 313
- ^ "Vatican City". Whc.unesco.org. Retrieved 9 August 2011.
- ^ Monfasani, John (1983), "A Description of the Sistine Chapel under Pope Sixtus IV", Artibus et Historiae (IRSA s.c.) 4 (7): 9–18, doi:10.2307/1483178, ISSN 0391-9064, JSTOR 1483178.
- ^ Pietrangeli 1986, p. 28
- ^ Pietrangeli 1986, p. 24
- ^ John Shearman, "The Chapel of Sixtus IV". In Pietrangeli 1986
- ^ Stevens, Abel & Floy, James. "Allegri's Miserere". The National Magazine, Carlton & Phillip, 1854. 531.
- ^ Saunders, Fr. William P. "The Path to the Papacy". Arlington Catholic Herald, 17 March 2005. Retrieved on 2 June 2008.
- ^ Chambers, D. S. (1978), "Papal Conclaves and Prophetic Mystery in the Sistine Chapel", Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes (The Warburg Institute) 41: 322–326, doi:10.2307/750878, JSTOR 750878.
- ^ Domus Sanctae Marthae & The New Urns Used in the Election of the Pope from EWTN
- ^ Campbell, Ian (1981), "The New St Peter's: Basilica or Temple?", Oxford Art Journal 4 (1): 3–8, doi:10.1093/oxartj/4.1.3 (inactive 2010-03-19), ISSN 0142-6540.
- ^ Hersey 1993, p. 180
- ^ Cheney, Iris. Review of "Raphael's Cartoons in the Collection of Her Majesty The Queen and the Tapestries for the Sistine Chapel" by John Shearman". The Art Bulletin, Volume 56, No. 4, December 1974. 607–609.
- ^ Talvacchia 2007, p. 150
- ^ Talvacchia 2007, p. 80
- ^ Hall, Marcia B. Rome: Artistic Centers of the Italian Renaissance. London: Cambridge University Press 18 April 2005. 138.
- ^ Talvacchia 2007, p. 152
- ^ Graham-Dixon 2008, p. 2
- ^ Stollhans, Cynthia (1988), "Michelangelo's Nude Saint Catherine of Alexandria", Woman's Art Journal (Woman's Art, Inc.) 19 (1): 26–30, doi:10.2307/1358651, ISSN 02707993, JSTOR 1358651.
- ^ Graham-Dixon 2008, p. 1
- ^ Graham-Dixon 2008, p. xii
- ^ Michelangelo 1999, pp. 64–66
- ^ Michelangelo – The Sistine Chapel Ceiling, "Seven Common Questions About the Frescoes"
- ^ Vasari 1987, p. 379
- ^ Simons, Marlise (19 June 1991), "Vatican Restorers Are Ready for 'Last Judgment", New York Times, retrieved 7 March 2009
- ^ Letter. Original: (German) Ich kann euch nicht ausdrücken, wie sehr ich euch zu mir gewünscht habe, damit ihr nur einen Begriff hättet, was ein einziger und ganzer Mensch machen und ausrichten kann; ohne die Sixtinische Kapelle gesehen zu haben, kann man sich keinen anschauenden Begriff machen, was ein Mensch vermag. Italian Journey, 2nd journey to Rome.Italienische Reise, Teil 21
- ^ Adam Bernstin, The Washington Post (Saturday, March 2, 2013). "Bruce Reynolds, 'Robbery' architect". Newsday: p. A26.
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Catechism of the Catholic Church
Part One: Profession of Faith, Sect 2 The Creeds, Ch 3:11
CHAPTER THREE
I BELIEVE IN THE HOLY SPIRIT
Article 11
"I BELIEVE IN THE RESURRECTION OF THE
BODY"
988
The Christian Creed - the profession of our faith in God, the Father, the Son,
and the Holy Spirit, and in God's creative, saving, and sanctifying action -
culminates in the proclamation of the resurrection of the dead on the last day
and in life everlasting.
989
We firmly believe, and hence we hope that, just as Christ is truly risen from
the dead and lives for ever, so after death the righteous will live for ever
with the risen Christ and he will raise them up on the last day.Jn
6:39-40 Our
resurrection, like his own, will be the work of the Most Holy Trinity:
If the Spirit of him who
raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the
dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit who dwells in
you. Rom 8:11
990
The term "flesh" refers to man in his state of weakness and
mortality.Gen 6:3 The "resurrection of the flesh" (the literal
formulation of the Apostles' Creed) means not only that the immortal soul will
live on after death, but that even our "mortal body" will come to
life again.Rom 8:11
991
Belief in the resurrection of the dead has been an essential element of the
Christian faith from its beginnings. "The confidence of Christians is the
resurrection of the dead; believing this we live."Tertullian, De res, 1,1: PL 2, 841 How can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there
is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised; if Christ has
not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain....
But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who
have fallen asleep.1 Cor 15:12-14
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