Saturday, February 22, 2014 - Litany Lane Blog:
Empathy, Psalms 23:1-6 , First Peter 5:1-4, Matthew 16, 13-19 , Pope Francis Daily ,Saint Margaret of Cortona, Feast of the Chair of Saint Peter , Saint Peter's Basilica, Catholic Catechism Part Three: Life in Christ Section Two: The Ten Commandment Chapter Two: Third Commandment Article 3:1 The Sabbath Day
From Our Family to Yours, We Wish you a Happy New Year
From Our Family to Yours, We Wish you a Happy New Year
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, reason and free will,
make the most of these gifts. Life on earth is a stepping stone to our eternal home in
Heaven. The Seven Gifts of
the Holy Spirit: wisdom, understanding, wonder and awe (fear of the
Lord) , counsel, knowledge, fortitude, and piety (reverence) and shun
the seven Deadly sins: wrath, greed, sloth, pride, lust, envy, and
gluttony...Its your choice whether to embrace the Gifts of the Holy Spirit rising towards eternal light or succumb to the Seven deadly sins and 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 the Darkness, Purgatory or Heaven is our Soul...it's God's perpetual
gift to us...Embrace it, treasure it, nurture it, protect it...~ Zarya Parx 2013
"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: Saturday in Ordinary Time
Rosary - Joyful Mysteries
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Papam Franciscus
(Pope Francis)
Pope Francis February 22 Daily:
Jesus is known more by following Him than by studying Him...
(2014-02-22 Vatican Radio)
(Vatican Radio) Jesus is known more by following Him than by studying Him. That was the message of Pope Francis at his homily during the Mass celebrated Thursday morning at Casa Santa Marta. Every day, he explained, Christ asks “who” He is for us, but it is only possible to answer by living as disciples.
It is the life of a disciple, more than a life of study, that allows a Christian to really know who Jesus is for him. A journey in the footsteps of the Master, where clear witness and even betrayals, falls and new impulses, can intersect. But it is not only an intellectual approach. Pope Francis took the example of Peter, who in the Gospel of the day portrays at the same time both as a “courageous” witness — who responded to Jesus’ question to the Apostles, “Who do you say I am for you?” by saying, “You are the Christ” — and immediately afterwards as an adversary, when he feels he has to reproach Jesus, who had just announced that he had to suffer and die, and then to rise. “Many times,” the Pope said, “Jesus turns to us and asks us: “But who am I for you?” and getting “the same response that Peter gave, the one we learned in the catechism.” But that is not enough:
“It seems that to respond to that question that we have heard in our hearts — ‘Who is Jesus for us?’ — what we have learned, what we have studied is not enough. It is important to study and to understand, but it is not enough. To know Jesus it is necessary to take the journey that Peter took: after that humiliation, Peter went forward with Jesus, he saw the miracles Jesus did, he saw his power. Then he paid the tax as Jesus had told him, he caught a fish, removed a coin, he saw many miracles like that. But, at a certain point, Peter denied Jesus, he betrayed Jesus, and he learned that most difficult knowledge — more than knowledge, wisdom — of tears, of weeping.”
Peter, Pope Francis continued, asks forgiveness from Jesus — and yet, after the Resurrection, he is questioned three times by Jesus on the beach of Tiberias: “Do you love me?” Probably, the Pope said, in his reaffirming his total love for his Master, he wept, and was ashamed at the memory of his triple denial:
“This first question for Peter — ‘Who am I for you?’ — can only be understood along a path, after a long path, a path of grace and of sin, a path of a disciple. Jesus did not say to Peter and to His Apostles “Know me”; He said, “Follow me!” And this following of Jesus makes us know Jesus. Following Jesus with our strength, but also with our sins, but always following Jesus. It is not a study of things that is necessary, but a life of a disciple.”
It takes “a daily encounter with the Lord, every day, with our triumphs and our weaknesses.” But, the Pope added, it is “a journey that we can’t make on our own.” The intervention of the Holy Spirit is necessary:
“To know Jesus is a gift of the Father; it is He who makes us know Jesus. It is a work of the Holy Spirit, who is a great worker. Not a trade unionist — He is a great worker and He works in us always. He does this work of explaining the mystery of Jesus, and of giving us this sense of Jesus. We look at Jesus, Peter, the Apostles, and we hear in our hearts the question: ‘Who am I for you?’ And as disciples let us ask the Father that He would grant to us to know Christ in the Holy Spirit, that He would explain this mystery.”
(Vatican Radio) Jesus is known more by following Him than by studying Him. That was the message of Pope Francis at his homily during the Mass celebrated Thursday morning at Casa Santa Marta. Every day, he explained, Christ asks “who” He is for us, but it is only possible to answer by living as disciples.
It is the life of a disciple, more than a life of study, that allows a Christian to really know who Jesus is for him. A journey in the footsteps of the Master, where clear witness and even betrayals, falls and new impulses, can intersect. But it is not only an intellectual approach. Pope Francis took the example of Peter, who in the Gospel of the day portrays at the same time both as a “courageous” witness — who responded to Jesus’ question to the Apostles, “Who do you say I am for you?” by saying, “You are the Christ” — and immediately afterwards as an adversary, when he feels he has to reproach Jesus, who had just announced that he had to suffer and die, and then to rise. “Many times,” the Pope said, “Jesus turns to us and asks us: “But who am I for you?” and getting “the same response that Peter gave, the one we learned in the catechism.” But that is not enough:
“It seems that to respond to that question that we have heard in our hearts — ‘Who is Jesus for us?’ — what we have learned, what we have studied is not enough. It is important to study and to understand, but it is not enough. To know Jesus it is necessary to take the journey that Peter took: after that humiliation, Peter went forward with Jesus, he saw the miracles Jesus did, he saw his power. Then he paid the tax as Jesus had told him, he caught a fish, removed a coin, he saw many miracles like that. But, at a certain point, Peter denied Jesus, he betrayed Jesus, and he learned that most difficult knowledge — more than knowledge, wisdom — of tears, of weeping.”
Peter, Pope Francis continued, asks forgiveness from Jesus — and yet, after the Resurrection, he is questioned three times by Jesus on the beach of Tiberias: “Do you love me?” Probably, the Pope said, in his reaffirming his total love for his Master, he wept, and was ashamed at the memory of his triple denial:
“This first question for Peter — ‘Who am I for you?’ — can only be understood along a path, after a long path, a path of grace and of sin, a path of a disciple. Jesus did not say to Peter and to His Apostles “Know me”; He said, “Follow me!” And this following of Jesus makes us know Jesus. Following Jesus with our strength, but also with our sins, but always following Jesus. It is not a study of things that is necessary, but a life of a disciple.”
It takes “a daily encounter with the Lord, every day, with our triumphs and our weaknesses.” But, the Pope added, it is “a journey that we can’t make on our own.” The intervention of the Holy Spirit is necessary:
“To know Jesus is a gift of the Father; it is He who makes us know Jesus. It is a work of the Holy Spirit, who is a great worker. Not a trade unionist — He is a great worker and He works in us always. He does this work of explaining the mystery of Jesus, and of giving us this sense of Jesus. We look at Jesus, Peter, the Apostles, and we hear in our hearts the question: ‘Who am I for you?’ And as disciples let us ask the Father that He would grant to us to know Christ in the Holy Spirit, that He would explain this mystery.”
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Liturgical Celebrations to be presided over by Pope: Winter
Vatican City, Winter 2014 (VIS)
The Pope's universal prayer intention is “that all may promote authentic economic development that respects the dignity of all peoples”.
The Pope's prayer intention for evangelization is “that Christians of diverse denominations may walk toward the unity desired by Christ”.
Reference:
- Vatican News. From the Pope. © Copyright 2013 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana. Accessed 02/22/2014.
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November 2, 2013 Our Lady of Medjugorje Message to the World: "Dear children; Anew, in a motherly way, I am calling you to love; to
continually pray for the gift of love; to love the Heavenly Father above
everything. When you love Him you will love yourself and your neighbor.
This cannot be separated. The Heavenly Father is in each person. He
loves each person and calls each person by his name. Therefore, my
children, through prayer hearken to the will of the Heavenly Father.
Converse with Him. Have a personal relationship with the Father which
will deepen even more your relationship as a community of my children –
of my apostles. As a mother I desire that, through the love for the
Heavenly Father, you may be raised above earthly vanities and may help
others to gradually come to know and come closer to the Heavenly Father.
My children, pray, pray, pray for the gift of love because 'love' is my
Son. Pray for your shepherds that they may always have love for you as
my Son had and showed by giving His life for your salvation. Thank you."
October 25, 2013 Our Lady of Medjugorje Message to the World: “Dear children! Today I call you to open yourselves to prayer. Prayer works miracles in you and through you. Therefore, little children, in the simplicity of heart seek of the Most High to give you the strength to be God’s children and for Satan not to shake you like the wind shakes the branches. Little children, decide for God anew and seek only His will – and then you will find joy and peace in Him. Thank you for having responded to my call.”
October 2, 2013 Our Lady of Medjugorje Message to the World: "Dear children, I love you with a motherly love and with a motherly patience I wait for your love and unity. I pray that you may be a community of God’s children, of my children. I pray that as a community you may joyfully come back to life in the faith and in the love of my Son. My children, I am gathering you as my apostles and am teaching you how to bring others to come to know the love of my Son; how to bring to them the Good News, which is my Son. Give me your open, purified hearts and I will fill them with the love for my Son. His love will give meaning to your life and I will walk with you. I will be with you until the meeting with the Heavenly Father. My children, it is those who walk towards the Heavenly Father with love and faith who will be saved. Do not be afraid, I am with you. Put your trust in your shepherds as my Son trusted when he chose them, and pray that they may have the strength and the love to lead you. Thank you." - See more at: http://litanylane.blogspot.com/2013/11/tuesday-november-12-2013-litany-lane.html#sthash.1QAVruYo.bk3E9rXR.dpuf
October 25, 2013 Our Lady of Medjugorje Message to the World: “Dear children! Today I call you to open yourselves to prayer. Prayer works miracles in you and through you. Therefore, little children, in the simplicity of heart seek of the Most High to give you the strength to be God’s children and for Satan not to shake you like the wind shakes the branches. Little children, decide for God anew and seek only His will – and then you will find joy and peace in Him. Thank you for having responded to my call.”
October 2, 2013 Our Lady of Medjugorje Message to the World: "Dear children, I love you with a motherly love and with a motherly patience I wait for your love and unity. I pray that you may be a community of God’s children, of my children. I pray that as a community you may joyfully come back to life in the faith and in the love of my Son. My children, I am gathering you as my apostles and am teaching you how to bring others to come to know the love of my Son; how to bring to them the Good News, which is my Son. Give me your open, purified hearts and I will fill them with the love for my Son. His love will give meaning to your life and I will walk with you. I will be with you until the meeting with the Heavenly Father. My children, it is those who walk towards the Heavenly Father with love and faith who will be saved. Do not be afraid, I am with you. Put your trust in your shepherds as my Son trusted when he chose them, and pray that they may have the strength and the love to lead you. Thank you." - See more at: http://litanylane.blogspot.com/2013/11/tuesday-november-12-2013-litany-lane.html#sthash.1QAVruYo.bk3E9rXR.dpuf
Today's Word: empathy em·pa·thy [em-puh-thee]
Origin: 1900–05; < Greek empátheia affection, equivalent to em- em-2 + path- (base of páschein to suffer) + -eia -ia; present meaning translates German Einfühlung
noun
1. the intellectual identification with or vicarious experiencing of the feelings, thoughts, or attitudes of another.
2. the imaginative ascribing to an object, as a natural object or work of art, feelings or attitudes present in oneself: By means of empathy, a great painting becomes a mirror of the self.
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Today's Old Testament Reading - Psalms 23:1-6
1 [Psalm Of David] Yahweh is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
2 In grassy meadows he lets me lie. By tranquil streams he leads me
3 to restore my spirit. He guides me in paths of saving justice as befits his name.
4 Even were I to walk in a ravine as dark as death I should fear no danger, for you are at my side. Your staff and your crook are there to soothe me.
5 You prepare a table for me under the eyes of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup brims over.
6 Kindness and faithful love pursue me every day of my life. I make my home in the house of Yahweh for all time to come.
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Today's Epistle - First Peter 5:1-4
1 I urge the elders among you, as a fellow-elder myself and a witness to the sufferings of Christ, and as one who is to have a share in the glory that is to be revealed:2 give a shepherd's care to the flock of God that is entrusted to you: watch over it, not simply as a duty but gladly, as God wants; not for sordid money, but because you are eager to do it.
3 Do not lord it over the group which is in your charge, but be an example for the flock.
4 When the chief shepherd appears, you will be given the unfading crown of glory.
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Today's Gospel Reading - Matthew 16: 13-19
When Jesus came to the
region of Caesarea Philippi he put this question to his
disciples, 'Who do people say the Son of man is?' And they
said, 'Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others
Jeremiah or one of the prophets.' 'But you,' he said, 'who do you say I
am?' Then Simon Peter spoke up and said, 'You are the
Christ, the Son of the living God.' Jesus replied, 'Simon
son of Jonah, you are a blessed man! Because it was no
human agency that revealed this to you but my Father in heaven. So I
now say to you: You are Peter and on this rock I will build
my community. And the gates of the underworld can never
overpower it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of
Heaven: whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven;
whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.'
Reflection
• Today’s
Gospel presents us three points: the opinion of the people concerning
Jesus (Mt 16, 13-14), the opinion of Peter regarding Jesus
(Mt 16, 15-16) and the response of Jesus to Peter (Mt 16,
17-19).
• Matthew 16, 13-14: The opinion of the people regarding Jesus. Jesus asks for the opinion of the people regarding his person. The responses are diverse: John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets. Not one of them gives the right answer. Today, also, the opinion of the people regarding Jesus is very varied.
• Matthew 16, 15-16: The opinion of Peter regarding Jesus. Immediately, he asks the opinion of the disciples. Peter becomes the spokesperson and says: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God!” The response is not new. Before, the disciples had already said the same thing (Mt 14, 33). In the Gospel of John, the same profession of faith is made by Martha (Jn 11, 27). It means that in Jesus the prophecies of the Old Testament are fulfilled.
• Matthew 16, 17-19: The response of Jesus to Peter. The responses come from several places: “Blessed are you, Simon. Jesus proclaims Peter “Blessed!” because he had received the revelation from the Father. Here, also, the response of Jesus is not new. Previously, he had praised the Father for having revealed the Son to little ones and not to the wise (Mt 11, 25-27) and had made the same proclamation of blessed to the disciples because they were seeing and hearing things that before nobody knew (Mt 13, 16).
- Peter is Rock (Pietra). Peter has to be Rock, that is, should be the stable foundation for the Church in such a way that it can resist against the gates of hell. With these words of Jesus, Matthew encourages the communities which were persecuted by Syria and Palestine. Even if weak and persecuted, the communities have a stable foundation, guaranteed by the words of Jesus. The rock as the basis of faith reminds the people the words of God to the People in exile: “Listen to me, you who pursue saving justice, you who seek Yahweh. Consider the rock from which you were hewn, the quarry from which you were dug. Consider Abraham your father and Sarah who gave you birth. When I called him he was the only one but I blessed him and made him numerous. (Is 51, 1-2). It indicates a new beginning.
- Peter, Rock. Jesus gives a name to Simon and calls him Rock (Peter). In two ways, Peter and Rock (Pietra), in two ways: he is rock-foundation, (Mt 16, 18) and is rock (pietra) a stumbling obstacle, (Mt 16, 23). In our Catholic Church we insist very much on Peter – rock-foundation and we forget Peter- stumbling rock or obstacle. On the one hand Peter was weak in his faith, doubtful, and tries to deviate or withdraw Jesus, he was afraid in the garden, he fell asleep and fled, he did not understood what Jesus was saying. On the other side, he was like the little ones whom Jesus called Blessed. Being one of the twelve, he became their spokesman. Later, after the death and resurrection of Jesus, his image grew and he became a symbol of the Community. Peter is firm in faith not because of his own merits, but because Jesus prays for him, in order that his faith would not fail (Lk 22, 31-34).
- Church, Assembly. The word Church, in Greek eklésia, appears 105 times in the New Testament, almost exclusively in the Acts of the Apostles and in the Epistles. In the Gospels it appears three times, only in Matthew. The word literally means “convoked” or “chosen”. It indicates the people who gather together, convoked by the Word of God and, who try to live the message of the Kingdom which Jesus brings. The Church or the community is not the Kingdom, but it is an instrument and a sign or indication of the Kingdom. The Kingdom is greater. In the Church, in the community, it should appear in the eyes of all what happens when a human group allows God to reign and allows him to take possession of our life.
- The keys of the Kingdom. Peter receives the keys of the Kingdom. This same power of uniting or binding and of separating or loosening is also given to the communities (Mt 18, 18) and to the other disciples (Jn 20, 23). One of the points in which the Gospel of Matthew insists the most is reconciliation and pardon or forgiveness. It is one of the more important tasks of the coordinators of the communities. Imitating Peter, they should bind and loose, that is, do in such a way that there be reconciliation, reciprocal acceptance, construction of the fraternal spirit.
• Matthew 16, 13-14: The opinion of the people regarding Jesus. Jesus asks for the opinion of the people regarding his person. The responses are diverse: John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets. Not one of them gives the right answer. Today, also, the opinion of the people regarding Jesus is very varied.
• Matthew 16, 15-16: The opinion of Peter regarding Jesus. Immediately, he asks the opinion of the disciples. Peter becomes the spokesperson and says: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God!” The response is not new. Before, the disciples had already said the same thing (Mt 14, 33). In the Gospel of John, the same profession of faith is made by Martha (Jn 11, 27). It means that in Jesus the prophecies of the Old Testament are fulfilled.
• Matthew 16, 17-19: The response of Jesus to Peter. The responses come from several places: “Blessed are you, Simon. Jesus proclaims Peter “Blessed!” because he had received the revelation from the Father. Here, also, the response of Jesus is not new. Previously, he had praised the Father for having revealed the Son to little ones and not to the wise (Mt 11, 25-27) and had made the same proclamation of blessed to the disciples because they were seeing and hearing things that before nobody knew (Mt 13, 16).
- Peter is Rock (Pietra). Peter has to be Rock, that is, should be the stable foundation for the Church in such a way that it can resist against the gates of hell. With these words of Jesus, Matthew encourages the communities which were persecuted by Syria and Palestine. Even if weak and persecuted, the communities have a stable foundation, guaranteed by the words of Jesus. The rock as the basis of faith reminds the people the words of God to the People in exile: “Listen to me, you who pursue saving justice, you who seek Yahweh. Consider the rock from which you were hewn, the quarry from which you were dug. Consider Abraham your father and Sarah who gave you birth. When I called him he was the only one but I blessed him and made him numerous. (Is 51, 1-2). It indicates a new beginning.
- Peter, Rock. Jesus gives a name to Simon and calls him Rock (Peter). In two ways, Peter and Rock (Pietra), in two ways: he is rock-foundation, (Mt 16, 18) and is rock (pietra) a stumbling obstacle, (Mt 16, 23). In our Catholic Church we insist very much on Peter – rock-foundation and we forget Peter- stumbling rock or obstacle. On the one hand Peter was weak in his faith, doubtful, and tries to deviate or withdraw Jesus, he was afraid in the garden, he fell asleep and fled, he did not understood what Jesus was saying. On the other side, he was like the little ones whom Jesus called Blessed. Being one of the twelve, he became their spokesman. Later, after the death and resurrection of Jesus, his image grew and he became a symbol of the Community. Peter is firm in faith not because of his own merits, but because Jesus prays for him, in order that his faith would not fail (Lk 22, 31-34).
- Church, Assembly. The word Church, in Greek eklésia, appears 105 times in the New Testament, almost exclusively in the Acts of the Apostles and in the Epistles. In the Gospels it appears three times, only in Matthew. The word literally means “convoked” or “chosen”. It indicates the people who gather together, convoked by the Word of God and, who try to live the message of the Kingdom which Jesus brings. The Church or the community is not the Kingdom, but it is an instrument and a sign or indication of the Kingdom. The Kingdom is greater. In the Church, in the community, it should appear in the eyes of all what happens when a human group allows God to reign and allows him to take possession of our life.
- The keys of the Kingdom. Peter receives the keys of the Kingdom. This same power of uniting or binding and of separating or loosening is also given to the communities (Mt 18, 18) and to the other disciples (Jn 20, 23). One of the points in which the Gospel of Matthew insists the most is reconciliation and pardon or forgiveness. It is one of the more important tasks of the coordinators of the communities. Imitating Peter, they should bind and loose, that is, do in such a way that there be reconciliation, reciprocal acceptance, construction of the fraternal spirit.
Personal questions
• Which are
the opinions in our community regarding Jesus? These differences in
the way of living and of expressing faith, do they enrich the
community or do they make the journey and communion more
difficult? Why?
• Who is Jesus for me? Who am I for Jesus?
• Who is Jesus for me? Who am I for Jesus?
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 Margaret of Cortona
Feast Day: February 22
Patron Saint: falsely accused; hoboes; homeless; insane; orphaned; mentally ill;
midwives; penitents; single mothers; reformed prostitutes; stepchildren;
tramps.
Attributes: n/a
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| Saint Margaret of Cortona |
Saint Margaret of Cortona, T.O.S.F.,
(1247 – February 22, 1297) was an Italian penitent of the Third Order
of St. Francis. She was born in Laviano, near Perugia, and died in
Cortona. She was canonized in 1728.
She
is the patron saint of the falsely accused; hoboes; homeless; insane;
orphaned; mentally ill; midwives; penitents; single mothers; reformed
prostitutes; stepchildren; tramps.
At the age of seven, Margaret's mother died and her father remarried.
Little love was shared between stepmother and stepdaughter.
At the age of 17 she met a young man, named Arsenio according to some
accounts, the son of Gugliemo di Pecora, lord of Valiano. She ran away
with him. For ten years she lived with him in his house near
Montepulciano and bore him a son. She wanted to marry him as he had
promised, but he refused.
When Arsenio failed to return home from a journey
one day, Margaret became worried. The unaccompanied return of his
favourite hound alarmed Margaret, and the hound led her to his murdered
body which was located deep in a forest. This crime shocked Margaret
into a life of prayer and penance, and Margaret returned all the gifts
he had given her and left his home. With her child, she returned to her
father's house but her stepmother would not have her. Margaret and son
then went to the Franciscan friars at Cortona, where she put herself in
their care at the Church of Saint Francis in the city. She fasted,
avoided meat, and subsisted on bread and vegetables.
After three years, Saint Margaret joined the Third Order of Saint Francis
(not without some resistance by the members of the Order, due to her
past) and chose to live in poverty. Following the example of St. Francis of Assisi, she begged for sustenance and bread.
In
1277, while in prayer, she heard the words: "What is your wish,
poverella (little poor one)?" and she replied: "I neither seek nor wish
for anything but You, my Lord Jesus." She began regular communications
with God.
She asked the city of Cortona to found a hospital for the sick,
homeless and impoverished. To secure nurses for the hospital, she
instituted a congregation of Tertiary Sisters, known as "le poverelle".
She also established a link to Our Lady of Mercy and the members bound
themselves to support the hospital and to help the needy.
On
several occasions, St. Margaret participated in public affairs. Twice
following Divine command, she challenged the Bishop of Arezzo, Guglielmo
Ubertini Pazzi, in whose diocese Cortona lay, because he lived like a
prince. She moved to the ruined Church of St. Basil
and spent her remaining years there and it is there that she was
buried. After her death, the Church was rebuilt in her honor. St.
Margaret was canonized by Pope Benedict XIII on May 16, 1728.
References
- Catholic encyclopedia: St. Margaret of Cortona
- Eternal Word Television Network, excerpt from "Saints for Sinners"
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Today's Snippet I: Chair of Saint Peter
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| Chair of St Peter |
The Chair of Saint Peter
is a relic conserved in St. Peter's Basilica, enclosed in a gilt bronze
casing that was designed by Gian Lorenzo Bernini and executed 1647-53.
The chair of a bishop is a cathedra. The cathedra
in Saint Peter's Basilica was once used by the popes. It was therefore
often thought to have been used by Saint Peter himself, but was in fact a
gift from Charles the Bald to the Pope in 875.
Like
many medieval reliquaries
it takes the form of the relic it protects, in this case a chair.
Symbolically, the chair Bernini designed had no earthly counterpart in
actual contemporary furnishings: it is formed entirely of scrolling
members, enclosing a coved panel where the upholstery pattern is
rendered as a low relief of Christ giving the keys to Peter. Large
angelic figures flank an openwork panel beneath a highly realistic
bronze seat cushion, vividly empty: the relic is encased within.[2]
The cathedra is lofted on splayed scrolling bars that appear to be
effortlessly supported by four over-lifesize bronze Doctors of the
Church.
The cathedra appears to hover over the altar in the basilica's apse,
lit by a central tinted window through which light streams, illuminating
the gilded glory of sunrays and sculpted clouds that surrounds the
window. Like Bernini's Ecstasy of St Theresa, this is a definitive fusion[3] of the Baroque arts, unifying sculpture and richly polychrome architecture and manipulating effects of light.
Above, on the golden background of the frieze, is the Latin
inscription: "O Pastor Ecclesiae, tu omnes Christi pascis agnos et oves"
(O pastor of the Church, you feed all Christ's lambs and sheep). On the
right is the same writing in Greek.[4]
Behind the altar is placed Bernini's monument enclosing the wooden
chair, both of which are seen as symbolic of the authority of the Bishop
of Rome as Vicar of Christ and successor of Saint Peter.
Early martyrologies indicate that two liturgical feasts were
celebrated in Rome, centuries before the time of Charles the Bald, in
honour of earlier chairs associated with Saint Peter, one of which was
kept in the baptismal chapel of Saint Peter's Basilica, the other at the
catacomb of Priscilla.[5]
The dates of these celebrations were January 18 and February 22. No
surviving chair has been identified with either of these chairs. The
feasts thus became associated with an abstract understanding of the
"Chair of Peter", which by synecdoche signifies the episcopal office of
the Pope as Bishop of Rome, an office considered to have been first held
by Saint Peter, and thus extended to the diocese, the See of Rome.
Though both feasts were originally associated with Saint Peter's stay in
Rome, the ninth-century form of the Martyrologium Hieronymianum associated the January 18 feast with his stay in Rome, and the February 22 feast with his stay at Antioch.
The
two feasts were included in the Tridentine Calendar with the rank of
Double, which Pope Clement VIII raised in 1604 to the newly invented
rank of Greater Double. In 1960 Pope John XXIII
removed from the General Roman Calendar eight feast days that were
second feasts of a single saint or mystery: one of them was the January
18 feast of the Chair of Peter.[7]
The February 22 celebration became a Second-Class Feast. This calendar
was incorporated in the 1962 Roman Missal of Pope John XXIII, whose
continued use as an extraordinary form of the Roman Rite is authorized
under the conditions indicated in the motu proprio Summorum Pontificum
In the new classification introduced in 1969 the February 22
celebration appears in the Roman Calendar with the rank of Feast. Those traditionalist Catholics
who do not accept the changes made by Pope John XXIII continue to
celebrate both feast days: "St Peter's Chair at Rome" on January 18 and
the "Chair of St Peter at Antioch" on February 22.
References
- ^ Interior of St Peter's Basilica.
- ^ In late seventeenth-century Venice, Andrea Brustolon constructed a few grandiose armchairs that employ similar sculptural figures doing duty as front legs and armrest supports.
- ^ See Gesamtkunstwerk
- ^ The Tribune: Altar of the Chair of St. Peter
- ^ Catholic Encyclopedia: "Chair of Peter"
- ^ "Bernini's Cathedra Petri (Chair of St. Peter)". Smarthistory at Khan Academy. Retrieved December 20, 2012.
- ^ Variationes in Breviario et Missali Romano ad normam novi Codicis Rubricarum, I — Variationes in calendario, 8.
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Today's Snippet II: Saint Peter's Basilica
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| St. Peter's Basilica from ponte Umberto I, on River Tiber. The iconic dome dominates the skyline of Rome. |
Designed principally by Donato Bramante, Michelangelo, Carlo Maderno and Gian Lorenzo Bernini, St. Peter's is the most renowned work of Renaissance architecture and remains one of the largest churches in the world. While it is neither the mother church of the Roman Catholic Church nor the cathedral of the Bishop of Rome, St. Peter's is regarded as one of the holiest Catholic sites. It has been described as "holding a unique position in the Christian world" and as "the greatest of all churches of Christendom".
By Roman Catholic tradition, the basilica is the burial site of its namesake Saint Peter, one of the twelve apostles of Jesus and, also according to tradition, the first Bishop of Rome and therefore first in the line of the papal succession. Tradition and some historical evidence hold that Saint Peter's tomb is directly below the altar of the basilica. For this reason, many Popes have been interred at St. Peter's since the Early Christian period. There has been a church on this site since the time of Constantine the Great. Construction of the present basilica, replacing the Old St. Peter's Basilica of the 4th century, began on 18 April 1506 and was completed on 18 November 1626.
St. Peter's is famous as a place of pilgrimage, for its liturgical functions. Because of its location in the Vatican, the Pope presides at a number of services throughout the year, drawing audiences of 15,000 to over 80,000 people, either within the Vatican Basilica, or in St. Peter's Square.[5] St. Peter's has many strong historical associations, with the Early Christian church, the papacy, the Protestant Reformation and Counter-reformation, and with numerous artists, most significantly Michelangelo. As a work of architecture, it is regarded as the greatest building of its age.[6] St. Peter's is one of the four churches of Rome that hold the rank of Major Basilica. Contrary to popular misconception, it is not a cathedral as it is not the seat of a bishop; the cathedra of the Pope (as Bishop of Rome) is located in the Archbasilica of St. John Lateran.
Overview
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| St Peter's, Bernini's colonnade and Maderno's fountain |
The basilica is cruciform in shape, with an elongated nave in the Latin cross form but the early designs were for a centrally planned structure and this is still in evidence in the architecture. The central space is dominated both externally and internally by one of the largest domes in the world. The entrance is through a narthex, or entrance hall, which stretches across the building. One of the decorated bronze doors leading from the narthex is the Holy Door, only opened in Holy Years.
The interior is of vast dimensions when compared with other churches. One author wrote: "Only gradually does it dawn upon us – as we watch people draw near to this or that monument, strangely they appear to shrink; they are, of course, dwarfed by the scale of everything in the building. This in its turn overwhelms us."
The nave which leads to the central dome is in three bays, with piers supporting a barrel-vault, the highest of any church. The nave is framed by wide aisles which have a number of chapels off them. There are also chapels surrounding the dome. Moving around the basilica in a clockwise direction they are: The Baptistery, the Chapel of the Presentation of the Virgin, the larger Choir Chapel, the Clementine Chapel with the altar of St Gregory, the Sacristy Entrance, the left transept with altars to the Crucifixion of St Peter, St Joseph and St Thomas, the altar of the Sacred Heart, the Chapel of the Madonna of Colonna, the altar of St. Peter and the Paralytic, the apse with St. Peter's Cathedra, the altar of St. Peter raising Tabitha, the altar of the Archangel Michael, the altar of the Navicella, the right transept with altars of St Erasmus, Saints Processo and Martiniano, and St Wenceslas, the altar of St Basil, the Gregorian Chapel with the altar of the Madonna of Succour, the larger Chapel of the Holy Sacrament, the Chapel of St Sebastian and the Chapel of the Pietà. At the heart of the basilica, beneath the high altar, is the Confessio or Chapel of the Confession, in reference to the confession of faith by St. Peter, which led to his martyrdom. Two curving marble staircases lead to this underground chapel at the level of the Constantinian church and immediately above the burial place of Saint Peter.
The entire interior of St. Peter's is lavishly decorated with marble, reliefs, architectural sculpture and gilding. The basilica contains a large number of tombs of popes and other notable people, many of which are considered outstanding artworks. There are also a number of sculptures in niches and chapels, including Michelangelo's Pietà. The central feature is a baldachin, or canopy over the Papal Altar, designed by Gian Lorenzo Bernini. The sanctuary culminates in a sculptural ensemble, also by Bernini, and containing the symbolic Chair of Saint Peter.
One observer wrote: "St Peter's Basilica is the reason why Rome is still the center of the civilized world. For religious, historical, and architectural reasons it by itself justifies a journey to Rome, and its interior offers a palimpsest of artistic styles at their best..."
The American philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson described St. Peter's as "an ornament of the earth ... the sublime of the beautiful."
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| Panorama of St. Peter's Square |
Status
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| Bishops at Vatican Council II in 1961 |
St. Peter's Basilica is neither the Pope's official seat nor first in rank among the Major Basilicas of Rome. This honour is held by the Pope's cathedral, the Archbasilica of St. John Lateran which is the mother church of all churches and parishes in communion with the Roman Catholic Church. However, St. Peter's is most certainly the Pope's principal church, as most Papal ceremonies take place there due to its size, proximity to the Papal residence, and location within the Vatican City walls. The "Chair of Saint Peter" or cathedra, an ancient chair sometimes presumed to have been used by Saint Peter himself, but which was a gift from Charles the Bald and used by various popes, symbolises the continuing line of apostolic succession from Saint Peter to the present pope. It occupies an elevated position in the apse, supported symbolically by the Doctors of the Church, and enlightened symbolically by the Holy Spirit.
History
Saint Peter's burial site
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| Crepuscular rays are regularly seen in St. Peter's Basilica at certain times each day. |
It is believed by a long tradition that Peter, after a ministry of about thirty years, travelled to Rome and met his martyrdom there in the year 64 AD during the reign of the Roman Emperor Nero. His execution was one of the many martyrdoms of Christians following the Great Fire of Rome. According to Origen, Peter was crucified head downwards, by his own request because he considered himself unworthy to die in the same manner as Jesus. The crucifixion took place near an ancient Egyptian obelisk in the Circus of Nero. The obelisk now stands in Saint Peter's Square and is revered as a "witness" to Peter's death. It is one of several ancient Obelisks of Rome.
According to tradition, Peter's remains were buried just outside the Circus, on the Mons Vaticanus across the Via Cornelia from the Circus, less than 150 metres (490 ft) from his place of death. The Via Cornelia (which may have been known by another name to the ancient Romans) was a road which ran east-to-west along the north wall of the Circus on land now covered by the southern portions of the Basilica and Saint Peter's Square. Peter's grave was initially marked simply by a red rock, symbolic of his name. A shrine was built on this site some years later. Almost three hundred years later, Old St. Peter's Basilica was constructed over this site.
In 1939, in the reign of Pope Pius XII, 10 years of archaeological research began, under the crypt of the basilica, an area inaccessible since the 9th century. Indeed, the area now covered by the Vatican City had been a cemetery for some years before the Circus of Nero was built. It was a burial ground for the numerous executions in the Circus and contained many Christian burials, perhaps because for many years after the burial of Saint Peter many Christians chose to be buried near him. The excavations revealed the remains of shrines of different periods at different levels, from Clement VIII (1594) to Callixtus II (1123) and Gregory I (590–604), built over an aedicula containing fragments of bones that were folded in a tissue with gold decorations, tinted with the precious murex purple. Although it could not be determined with certainty that the bones were those of Peter, the rare vestments suggested a burial of great importance. On 23 December 1950, in his pre-Christmas radio broadcast to the world, Pope Pius XII announced the discovery of Saint Peter's tomb.
Old St. Peter's Basilica
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| A conjectural view of the Old St. Peter's Basilica by H. W. Brewer, 1891 |
The plan to rebuild
By the end of the 15th century, having been neglected during the period of the Avignon Papacy, the old basilica was in bad repair. It appears that the first pope to consider rebuilding, or at least making radical changes was Pope Nicholas V (1447–55). He commissioned work on the old building from Leone Battista Alberti and Bernardo Rossellino and also had Rossellino design a plan for an entirely new basilica, or an extreme modification of the old. His reign was frustrated by political problems and when he died, little had been achieved. He had, however, ordered the demolition of the Colosseum and by the time of his death, 2,522 cartloads of stone had been transported for use in the new building.Pope Julius II planned far more for St Peter's than Nicholas V's program of repair or modification. Julius was at that time planning his own tomb, which was to be designed and adorned with sculpture by Michelangelo and placed within St Peter's. In 1505 Julius made a decision to demolish the ancient basilica and replace it with a monumental structure to house his enormous tomb and "aggrandize himself in the popular imagination". A competition was held, and a number of the designs have survived at the Uffizi Gallery. A succession of popes and architects followed in the next 120 years, their combined efforts resulting in the present building. The scheme begun by Julius II continued through the reigns of Leo X (1513–1521), Hadrian VI (1522–1523). Clement VII (1523–1534), Paul III (1534–1549), Julius III (1550–1555), Marcellus II (1555), Paul IV (1555–1559), Pius IV (1559–1565), Pius V (saint) (1565–1572), Gregory XIII (1572–1585), Sixtus V (1585–1590), Urban VII (1590), Gregory XIV (1590–1591), Innocent IX (1591), Clement VIII (1592–1605), Leo XI (1605), Paul V (1605–1621), Gregory XV (1621–1623), Urban VIII (1623–1644) and Innocent X (1644–1655).
Financing with indulgences
One method employed to finance the building of St. Peter's Basilica was the granting of indulgences in return for contributions. A major promoter of this method of fund-raising was Albrecht, Archbishop of Mainz and Magdeburg, who had to clear debts owed to the Roman Curia by contributing to the rebuilding program. To facilitate this, he appointed the German Dominican preacher Johann Tetzel, whose salesmanship provoked a scandal.A German Augustinian priest, Martin Luther, wrote to Archbishop Albrecht arguing against this "selling of indulgences". He also included his "Disputation of Martin Luther on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences", which came to be known as The 95 Theses. This became a factor in starting the Reformation, the birth of Protestantism.
Architecture
Successive plans
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| Bramante's plan |
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| Raphael's plan |
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| Michelangelo's plan, extended with Maderno's nave and façade |
Bramante had envisioned that the central dome be surrounded by four lower domes at the diagonal axes. The equal chancel, nave and transept arms were each to be of two bays ending in an apse. At each corner of the building was to stand a tower, so that the overall plan was square, with the apses projecting at the cardinal points. Each apse had two large radial buttresses, which squared off its semi-circular shape.
When Pope Julius died in 1513, Bramante was replaced with Giuliano da Sangallo, Fra Giocondo and Raphael. Sangallo and Fra Giocondo both died in 1515, Bramante himself having died the previous year. The main change in Raphael's plan is the nave of five bays, with a row of complex apsidal chapels off the aisles on either side. Raphael's plan for the chancel and transepts made the squareness of the exterior walls more definite by reducing the size of the towers, and the semi-circular apses more clearly defined by encircling each with an ambulatory.
In 1520 Raphael also died, aged 37, and his successor Baldassare Peruzzi maintained changes that Raphael had proposed to the internal arrangement of the three main apses, but otherwise reverted to the Greek Cross plan and other features of Bramante. This plan did not go ahead because of various difficulties of both Church and state. In 1527 Rome was sacked and plundered by Emperor Charles V. Peruzzi died in 1536 without his plan being realized.
At this point Antonio da Sangallo the Younger submitted a plan which combines features of Peruzzi, Raphael and Bramante in its design and extends the building into a short nave with a wide façade and portico of dynamic projection. His proposal for the dome was much more elaborate of both structure and decoration than that of Bramante and included ribs on the exterior. Like Bramante, Sangallo proposed that the dome be surmounted by a lantern which he redesigned to a larger and much more elaborate form. Sangallo's main practical contribution was to strengthen Bramante's piers which had begun to crack.
On 1 January 1547 in the reign of Pope Paul III, Michelangelo, then in his seventies, succeeded Sangallo the Younger as "Capomaestro", the superintendent of the building program at St Peter's. He is to be regarded as the principal designer of a large part of the building as it stands today, and as bringing the construction to a point where it could be carried through. He did not take on the job with pleasure; it was forced upon him by Pope Paul, frustrated at the death of his chosen candidate, Giulio Romano and the refusal of Jacopo Sansovino to leave Venice. Michelangelo wrote "I undertake this only for the love of God and in honour of the Apostle." He insisted that he should be given a free hand to achieve the ultimate aim by whatever means he saw fit.
Michelangelo's contribution
Michelangelo took over a building site at which four piers, enormous beyond any constructed since ancient Roman times, were rising behind the remaining nave of the old basilica. He also inherited the numerous schemes designed and redesigned by some of the greatest architectural and engineering minds of the 16th century. There were certain common elements in these schemes. They all called for a dome to equal that engineered by Brunelleschi a century earlier and which has since dominated the skyline of Renaissance Florence, and they all called for a strongly symmetrical plan of either Greek Cross form, like the iconic St. Mark's Basilica in Venice, or of a Latin Cross with the transepts of identical form to the chancel, as at Florence Cathedral.Even though the work had progressed only a little in 40 years, Michelangelo did not simply dismiss the ideas of the previous architects. He drew on them in developing a grand vision. Above all, Michelangelo recognized the essential quality of Bramante's original design. He reverted to the Greek Cross and, as Helen Gardner expresses it: "Without destroying the centralising features of Bramante's plan, Michelangelo, with a few strokes of the pen converted its snowflake complexity into massive, cohesive unity."
As it stands today, St. Peter's has been extended with a nave by Carlo Maderno. It is the chancel end (the ecclesiastical "Eastern end") with its huge centrally placed dome that is the work of Michelangelo. Because of its location within the Vatican State and because the projection of the nave screens the dome from sight when the building is approached from the square in front of it, the work of Michelangelo is best appreciated from a distance. What becomes apparent is that the architect has greatly reduced the clearly defined geometric forms of Bramante's plan of a square with square projections, and also of Raphael's plan of a square with semi-circular projections. Michelangelo has blurred the definition of the geometry by making the external masonry of massive proportions and filling in every corner with a small vestry or stairwell. The effect created is of a continuous wall-surface that is folded or fractured at different angles, but lacks the right-angles which usually define change of direction at the corners of a building. This exterior is surrounded by a giant order of Corinthian pilasters all set at slightly different angles to each other, in keeping with the ever-changing angles of the wall's surface. Above them the huge cornice ripples in a continuous band, giving the appearance of keeping the whole building in a state of compression.
Dome – successive and final designs
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| Bramante's dome |
Bramante and Sangallo, 1506 and 1513
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| Sangallo's design |
Bramante's plan for the dome of St. Peter's (1506) follows that of the Pantheon very closely, and like that of the Pantheon, was designed to be constructed in tufa concrete for which he had rediscovered a formula. With the exception of the lantern that surmounts it, the profile is very similar, except that in this case the supporting wall becomes a drum raised high above ground level on four massive piers. The solid wall, as used at the Pantheon, is lightened at St. Peter's by Bramante piercing it with windows and encircling it with a peristyle.
In the case of Florence Cathedral, the desired visual appearance of the pointed dome existed for many years before Brunelleschi made its construction feasible. Its double-shell construction of bricks locked together in herringbone pattern (re-introduced from Byzantine architecture), and the gentle upward slope of its eight stone ribs made it possible for the construction to take place without the massive wooden formwork necessary to construct hemispherical arches. While its appearance, with the exception of the details of the lantern, is entirely Gothic, its engineering was highly innovative, and the product of a mind that had studied the huge vaults and remaining dome of Ancient Rome.
Sangallo's plan (1513), of which a large wooden model still exists, looks to both these predecessors. He realised the value of both the coffering at the Pantheon and the outer stone ribs at Florence Cathedral. He strengthened and extended the peristyle of Bramante into a series of arched and ordered openings around the base, with a second such arcade set back in a tier above the first. In his hands, the rather delicate form of the lantern, based closely on that in Florence, became a massive structure, surrounded by a projecting base, a peristyle and surmounted by a spire of conic form. According to James Lees-Milne the design was "too eclectic, too pernickety and too tasteless to have been a success".
Michelangelo and Giacomo della Porta, 1547 and 1585
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| St. Peter's Basilica from Castel Sant'Angelo showing the dome rising behind Maderno's façade. |
The ovoid profile of the dome has been the subject of much speculation and scholarship over the past century. Michelangelo died in 1564, leaving the drum of the dome complete, and Bramante's piers much bulkier than originally designed, each 18 metres (59 ft) across. Following his death, the work continued under his assistant Jacopo Barozzi da Vignola with Giorgio Vasari appointed by Pope Pius V as a watchdog to make sure that Michelangelo's plans were carried out exactly. Despite Vignola's knowledge of Michelangelo's intentions, little happened in this period. In 1585 the energetic Pope Sixtus appointed Giacomo della Porta who was to be assisted by Domenico Fontana. The five-year reign of Sixtus was to see the building advance at a great rate.
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| The engraving by Stefan du Pérac was published in 1569, five years after the death of Michelangelo |
A drawing by Michelangelo indicates that his early intentions were towards an ovoid dome, rather than a hemispherical one. In an engraving in Galasso Alghisi' treatise (1563), the dome may be represented as ovoid, but the perspective is ambiguous. Stefan du Pérac's engraving (1569) shows a hemispherical dome, but this was perhaps an inaccuracy of the engraver. The profile of the wooden model is more ovoid than that of the engravings, but less so than the finished product. It has been suggested that Michelangelo on his death bed reverted to the more pointed shape. However Lees-Milne cites Giacomo della Porta as taking full responsibility for the change and as indicating to Pope Sixtus that Michelangelo was lacking in the scientific understanding of which he himself was capable.
Helen Gardner suggests that Michelangelo made the change to the hemispherical dome of lower profile in order to establish a balance between the dynamic vertical elements of the encircling giant order of pilasters and a more static and reposeful dome. Gardner also comments "The sculpturing of architecture [by Michelangelo]... here extends itself up from the ground through the attic stories and moves on into the drum and dome, the whole building being pulled together into a unity from base to summit."
It is this sense of the building being sculptured, unified and "pulled together" by the encircling band of the deep cornice that led Eneide Mignacca to conclude that the ovoid profile, seen now in the end product, was an essential part of Michelangelo's first (and last) concept. The sculptor/architect has, figuratively speaking, taken all the previous designs in hand and compressed their contours as if the building were a lump of clay. The dome must appear to thrust upwards because of the apparent pressure created by flattening the building's angles and restraining its projections. If this explanation is the correct one, then the profile of the dome is not merely a structural solution, as perceived by Giacomo della Porta; it is part of the integrated design solution that is about visual tension and compression. In one sense, Michelangelo's dome may appear to look backward to the Gothic profile of Florence Cathedral and ignore the Classicism of the Renaissance, but on the other hand, perhaps more than any other building of the 16th century, it prefigures the architecture of the Baroque.
Completion
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| The dome was brought to completion by Giacomo della Porta and Fontana. |
In the mid-18th century, cracks appeared in the dome, so four iron chains were installed between the two shells to bind it, like the rings that keep a barrel from bursting. As many as ten chains have been installed at various times, the earliest possibly planned by Michelangelo himself as a precaution, as Brunelleschi did at Florence Cathedral.
Around the inside of the dome is written, in letters 2 metres (6.6 ft) high:
TV ES PETRVS ET SVPER HANC PETRAM AEDIFICABO ECCLESIAM MEAM. TIBI DABO CLAVES REGNI CAELORVM
(...you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church. ... I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven... Vulgate, Matthew 16:18–19.)
Beneath the lantern is the inscription:
S. PETRI GLORIAE SIXTVS PP. V. A. M. D. XC. PONTIF. V.
(To the glory of St Peter; Sixtus V, pope, in the year 1590 and the fifth year of his pontificate.)
The change of plan
Discovery of Michelangelo draft
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| The nave looking towards the entrance |
The drawing shows a small precisely drafted section of the plan of the entabulature above two of the radial columns of the cupola drum. Michelangelo is known to have destroyed thousands of his drawings before his death. The rare survival of this example is probably due to its fragmentary state and the fact that detailed mathematical calculations had been made over the top of the drawing.
On 18 February 1606, under Pope Paul V, the dismantling of the remaining parts of the Constantinian basilica began. The marble cross that had been set at the top of the pediment by Pope Sylvester and Constantine the Great was lowered to the ground. The timbers were salvaged for the roof of the Borghese Palace and two rare black marble columns, the largest of their kind, were carefully stored and later used in the narthex. The tombs of various popes were opened, treasures removed and plans made for reinterment in the new basilica.
The Pope had appointed Carlo Maderno in 1602. He was a nephew of Domenico Fontana and had demonstrated himself as a dynamic architect. Maderno's idea was to ring Michelangelo's building with chapels, but the Pope was hesitant about deviating from the master's plan, even though he had been dead for forty years. The Fabbrica or building committee, a group drawn from various nationalities and generally despised by the Curia who viewed the basilica as belonging to Rome rather than Christendom, were in a quandary as to how the building should proceed. One of the matters that influenced their thinking was the Counter-Reformation which increasingly associated a Greek Cross plan with paganism and saw the Latin Cross as truly symbolic of Christianity.[15]
Another influence on the thinking of both the Fabbrica and the Curia was a certain guilt at the demolition of the ancient building. The ground on which it and its various associated chapels, vestries and sacristies had stood for so long was hallowed. The only solution was to build a nave that encompassed the whole space. In 1607 a committee of ten architects was called together, and a decision was made to extend Michelangelo's building into a nave. Maderno's plans for both the nave and the façade were accepted. The building began on 7 May 1607, and proceeded at a great rate, with an army of 700 labourers being employed. The following year, the façade was begun, in December 1614 the final touches were added to the stucco decoration of the vault and early in 1615 the partition wall between the two sections was pulled down. All the rubble was carted away, and the nave was ready for use by Palm Sunday.
Maderno's façade
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| Maderno’s façade, with the statues of Sts Peter (left) & Paul (right) flanking the entrance stairs |
Christ flanked by eleven of the Apostles (except Peter, whose statue is left of the stairs) and John the Baptist. [39] The inscription below the cornice on the 1 metre (3.3 ft) tall frieze reads:
IN HONOREM PRINCIPIS APOST PAVLVS V BVRGHESIVS ROMANVS PONT MAX AN MDCXII PONT VIIThe façade is often cited as the least satisfactory part of the design of St. Peter's. The reasons for this, according to James Lees-Milne, are that it was not given enough consideration by the Pope and committee because of the desire to get the building completed quickly, coupled with the fact that Maderno was hesitant to deviate from the pattern set by Michelangelo at the other end of the building. Lees-Milne describes the problems of the façade as being too broad for its height, too cramped in its details and too heavy in the attic storey. The breadth is caused by modifying the plan to have towers on either side. These towers were never executed above the line of the façade because it was discovered that the ground was not sufficiently stable to bear the weight. One effect of the façade and lengthened nave is to screen the view of the dome, so that the building, from the front, has no vertical feature, except from a distance.
(In honour of the Prince of Apostles, Paul V Borghese, a Roman, Supreme Pontiff, in the year 1612, the seventh of his pontificate)
Narthex and portals
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| The narthex |
At each end of the narthex is a theatrical space framed by ionic columns and within each is set a statue, an equestrian figure of Charlemagne by Cornacchini (18th century) in the south end and Constantine the Great by Bernini (1670) in the north end.
Five portals, of which three are framed by huge salvaged antique columns, lead into the basilica. The central portal has a bronze door created by Antonio Averulino in 1455 for the old basilica and somewhat enlarged to fit the new space.
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| Maderno's nave, looking towards the chancel |
The nave has huge paired pilasters, in keeping with Michelangelo's work. The size of the interior is so "stupendously large" that it is hard to get a sense of scale within the building. The four cherubs who flutter against the first piers of the nave, carrying between them two Holy Water basins, appear of quite normal cherubic size, until approached. Then it becomes apparent that each one is over 2 metres high and that real children cannot reach the basins unless they scramble up the marble draperies. The aisles each have two smaller chapels and a larger rectangular chapel, the Chapel of the Sacrament and the Choir Chapel. These are lavishly decorated with marble, stucco, gilt, sculpture and mosaic. Remarkably, there are very few paintings, although some, such as Raphael's "Sistine Madonna" have been reproduced in mosaic. The most precious painting is a small icon of the Madonna, removed from the old basilica.
Maderno's last work at St. Peter's was to design a crypt-like space or "Confessio" under the dome, where the Cardinals and other privileged persons could descend in order to be nearer the burial place of the apostle. Its marble steps are remnants of the old basilica and around its balustrade are 95 bronze lamps.
Influence on church architecture
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| St. Peter's Basilica beyond the River Tiber at dusk |
The 19th- and early 20th-century architectural revivals brought about the building of a great number of churches that imitate elements of St Peter's to a greater or lesser degree, including St. Mary of the Angels in Chicago, St. Josaphat's Basilica in Milwaukee, Immaculate Heart of Mary in Pittsburgh and Mary, Queen of the World Cathedral in Montreal, which replicates many aspects of St Peter's on a smaller scale. Post-Modernism has seen free adaptations of St Peter's in the Basilica of Our Lady of Licheń, and the Basilica of Our Lady of Peace of Yamoussoukro.
Bernini's furnishings
Pope Urban VIII and Bernini
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| The apse with St. Peter's Cathedra supported by four Doctors of the Church |
Appointed as Maderno's successor in 1629, he was to become regarded as the greatest architect and sculptor of the Baroque period. Bernini's works at St. Peter's include the baldacchino, the Chapel of the Sacrament, the plan for the niches and loggias in the piers of the dome and the chair of St. Peter.
Baldacchino and niches
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| The altar with Bernini's baldacchino |
The baldacchino is surmounted not with an architectural pediment, like most baldacchini, but with curved Baroque brackets supporting a draped canopy, like the brocade canopies carried in processions above precious iconic images. In this case, the draped canopy is of bronze, and all the details, including the olive leaves, bees, and the portrait heads of Urban's niece in childbirth and her newborn son, are picked out in gold leaf. The baldacchino stands as a vast free-standing sculptural object, central to and framed by the largest space within the building. It is so large that the visual effect is to create a link between the enormous dome which appears to float above it, and the congregation at floor level of the basilica. It is penetrated visually from every direction, and is visually linked to the Cathedra Petri in the apse behind it and to the four piers containing large statues that are at each diagonal.
As part of the scheme for the central space of the church, Bernini had the huge piers, begun by Bramante and completed by Michelangelo, hollowed out into niches, and had staircases made inside them, leading to four balconies. There was much dismay from those who thought that the dome might fall, but it did not. On the balconies Bernini created showcases, framed by the eight ancient twisted columns, to display the four most precious relics of the basilica: the spear of Longinus, said to have pierced the side of Christ, the veil of Veronica, with the miraculous image of the face of Christ, a fragment of the True Cross discovered in Jerusalem by Constantine's mother, Helena, and a relic of St. Andrew, the brother of St. Peter. In each of the niches that surround the central space of the basilica was placed a huge statue of the saint associated with the relic above. Only St. Longinus is the work of Bernini.
Cathedra Petri and Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament
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| Bernini's "Cathedra Petri" and "Gloria" |
Bernini's final work for St. Peter's, undertaken in 1676, was the decoration of the Chapel of the Sacrament. To hold the sacramental Host, he designed a miniature version in gilt bronze of Bramante's Tempietto, the little chapel that marks the place of the death of St. Peter. On either side is an angel, one gazing in rapt adoration and the other looking towards the viewer in welcome. Bernini died in 1680 in his 82nd year.
Treasures
Tombs and relics
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| Air vents for the crypt in St. Peter's Basilica |
Also buried here are Maria Clementina Sobieska, wife of James Francis Edward Stuart, Queen Christina of Sweden, who abdicated her throne in order to convert to Catholicism, and Countess Matilda of Tuscany, supporter of the Papacy during the Investiture Controversy. The most recent interment was Pope John Paul II, on 8 April 2005. Beneath, near the crypt, is the recently discovered vaulted fourth-century "Tomb of the Julii".
Artworks
The towers and narthex
- In the towers to either side of the façade are two clocks. The clock on the left has been operated electrically since 1931. Its oldest bell dates from 1288.
- One of the most important treasures of the basilica is a mosaic set above the central external door. Called the "Navicella", it is based on a design by Giotto (early 14th century) and represents a ship symbolising the Christian Church. The mosaic is mostly a 17th-century copy of Giotto's original.
- At each end of the narthex is an equestrian figure, to the north Constantine the Great by Bernini (1670) and to the south Charlemagne by Cornacchini (18th century).
- Of the five portals from the narthex to the interior, three contain notable doors. The central portal has the Renaissance bronze door by Antonio Averulino (called Filarete) (1455), enlarged to fit the new space. The southern door, the "Door of the Dead", was designed by 20th-century sculptor Giacomo Manzù and includes a portrait of Pope John XXIII kneeling before the crucified figure of St. Peter.
- The northernmost door is the "Holy Door" which, by tradition, is walled-up with bricks, and opened only for holy years such as the Jubilee year by the Pope. The present door is bronze and was designed by Vico Consorti in 1950. Above it are inscriptions commemorating the opening of the door: PAVLVS V PONT MAX ANNO XIII and GREGORIVS XIII PONT MAX. Recent commemorative plaques read:
PAVLVS VI PONT MAX HVIVS PATRIARCALIS VATICANAE BASILICAE PORTAM SANCTAM APERVIT ET CLAVSIT ANNO IVBILAEI MCMLXXV
Paul VI, Pontifex Maximus, opened and closed the holy door of this patriarchal Vatican basilica in the jubilee year of 1975.
IOANNES PAVLVS II P.M. PORTAM SANCTAM ANNO IVBILAEI MCMLXXVI A PAVLO PP VI RESERVATAM ET CLAVSAM APERVIT ET CLAVSIT ANNO IVB HVMANE REDEMP MCMLXXXIII – MCMLXXXIV
John Paul II, Pontifex Maximus, opened and closed again the holy door closed and set apart by Paul VI in 1976 in the jubilee year of human redemption 1983-4.
IOANNES PAVLVS II P.M. ITERVM PORTAM SANCTAM APERVIT ET CLAVSIT ANNO MAGNI IVBILAEI AB INCARNATIONE DOMINI MM-MMI
John Paul II, Pontifex Maximus, again opened and closed the holy door in the year of the great jubilee, from the incarnation of the Lord 2000–2001.
- On the first piers of the nave are two Holy Water basins held by pairs of cherubs each 2 metres high, commissioned by Pope Benedict XIII from designer Agostino Cornacchini and sculptor Francesco Moderati, (1720s).
- Along the floor of the nave are markers showing the comparative lengths of other churches, starting from the entrance.
- On the decorative pilasters of the piers of the nave are medallions with relief depicting the first 38 popes.
- In niches between the pilasters of the nave are statues depicting 39 founders of religious orders.
- Set against the north east pier of the dome is a statue of St. Peter Enthroned, sometimes attributed to late 13th-century sculptor Arnolfo di Cambio, with some scholars dating it to the 5th century. One foot of the statue is largely worn away by pilgrims kissing it for centuries.
- The sunken Confessio leading to the Vatican Grottoes (see above) contains a large kneeling statue by Canova of Pope Pius VI, who was captured and mistreated by Napoleon's army.
- In the Confessio is the Niche of the Pallium ("Niche of Stoles") which contains a bronze urn, donated by Pope Benedict XIV, to contain white stoles embroidered with black crosses and woven with the wool of lambs blessed on St. Agnes' day.
- The High Altar is surmounted by Bernini's baldachin.
- Set in niches within the four piers supporting the dome are the statues associated with the basilica's holy relics: St. Helena holding the True Cross, by Andrea Bolgi; St. Longinus holding the spear that pierced the side of Jesus, by Bernini (1639); St. Andrew with the St. Andrew's Cross, by Francois Duquesnoy and St. Veronica holding her veil with the image of Jesus' face, by Francesco Mochi.
North aisle
- In the first chapel of the north aisle is Michelangelo's Pietà.
- On the first pier in the right aisle is the monument of Queen Christina of Sweden, who abdicated in 1654 in order to convert to Catholicism.
- The second chapel, dedicated to St. Sebastian, contains the statues of popes Pius XI and Pius XII. The space below the altar used to be the resting place of Pope Innocent XI but his remains were moved to the Altar of the Transfiguration on 8 April 2011. This was done to make way for the body of Pope John Paul II. His remains were placed beneath the altar on 2 May 2011.
- The large chapel on the right aisle is the Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament which contains the tabernacle by Bernini (1664) resembling Bramante's Tempietto at San Pietro in Montorio supported by two kneeling angels and with behind it a painting of the Holy Trinity by Pietro da Cortona.
- Near the altar of Our Lady of Succour are the monuments of popes Gregory XIII by Camillo Rusconi (1723) and Gregory XIV.
- At the end of the aisle is an altar containing the relics of St. Petronilla and with an altarpiece "The Burial of St Petronilla by Guercino (Giovanni Francesco Barbieri), 1623.
South aisle
- The first chapel in the south aisle is the baptistry, commissioned by Pope Innocent XII and designed by Carlo Fontana, (great nephew of Domenico Fontana). The font, which was previously located in the opposite chapel, is the red porphyry sarcophagus of Probus, the 4th century Prefect of Rome. The lid came from a different sarcophagus, which had once held the remains of the Emperor Hadrian and in removing it from the Vatican Grotto where it had been stored, the workmen broke it into ten pieces. Fontana restored it expertly and surmounted it with a gilt-bronze figure of the "Lamb of God".
- Against the first pier of the aisle is the Monument to the Royal Stuarts, James and his sons, Charles Edward, known as "Bonnie Prince Charlie" and Henry, Cardinal and Duke of York. The tomb is a Neo-Classical design by Canova unveiled in 1819. Opposite it is the memorial of James Francis Edward Stuart's wife, Maria Clementina Sobieska.
- The second chapel is that of the Presentation of the Virgin and contains the memorials of Pope Benedict XV and Pope John XXIII.
- Against the piers are the tombs of Pope Pius X and Pope Innocent VIII.
- The large chapel off the south aisle is the Choir Chapel which contains the altar of the Immaculate Conception.
- At the entrance to the Sacristy is the tomb of Pope Pius VIII
- The south transept contains the altars of St. Thomas, St. Joseph and the Crucifixion of St. Peter.
- The tomb of Fabio Chigi, Pope Alexander VII, towards the end of the aisle, is the work of Bernini and called by Lees-Milne "one of the greatest tombs of the Baroque Age". It occupies an awkward position, being set in a niche above a doorway into a small vestry, but Bernini has utilised the doorway in a symbolic manner. Pope Alexander kneels upon his tomb, facing outward. The tomb is supported on a large draped shroud in patterned red marble, and is supported by four female figures, of whom only the two at the front are fully visible. They represent Charity and Truth. The foot of Truth rests upon a globe of the world, her toe being pierced symbolically by the thorn of Protestant England. Coming forth, seemingly, from the doorway as if it were the entrance to a tomb, is the skeletal winged figure of Death, its head hidden beneath the shroud, but its right hand carrying an hourglass stretched upward towards the kneeling figure of the pope.
Specifications
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| View of the interior shows the transept arms to right and left, and the chancel beyond the baldacchino. |
- Cost of construction of the basilica: more than 46,800,052 ducats[47]
- Geographic orientation: chancel west, nave east
- Total length: 730 ft (220 m)
- Total width: 500 ft (150 m)
- Interior length including vestibule: 693.8 ft (211.5 m), more than 1/8 mile.
- Length of the transepts in interior: 451 ft (137 m)
- Width of nave: 90.2 feet (27.5 m)
- Width at the tribune: 78.7 feet (24.0 m)
- Internal width at transepts: 451 feet (137 m)
- Internal height of nave: 151.5 feet (46.2 m) high
- Total area: 227,070 square feet (21,095 m2), more than 5 acres (20,000 m2).
- Internal area: 163,182.2 square feet (3.75 acres; 15,160.12 m2)
- Height from pavement to top of cross: 452 feet (138 m)
- Façade: 167 feet (51 m) high by 375 feet (114 m) wide
- Vestibule: 232.9 feet (71.0 m) feet wide, 44.2 feet (13.5 m) deep, and 91.8 feet (28.0 m) high
- The internal columns and pilasters: 92 feet (28 m) tall
- The circumference of the central piers: 240 feet (73 m)
- Outer diameter of dome: 137.7 feet (42.0 m)
- The drum of the dome: 630 feet (190 m) in circumference and 65.6 feet (20.0 m) high, rising to 240 feet (73 m) from the ground
- The lantern: 63 feet (19 m) high
- The ball and cross: 8 and 16 feet (2.4 and 4.9 m), respectively
- St. Peter's Square: 1,115 feet (340 m) long, 787.3 feet (240.0 m) wide
- Each arm of the colonnade: 306 feet (93 m) long, and 64 feet (20 m) high
- The colonnades have 284 columns, 88 pilasters, and 140 statues
- Obelisk: 83.6 feet (25.5 m). Total height with base and cross, 132 feet (40 m).
- Weight of obelisk: 360.2 short tons (326,800 kg; 720,400 lb)
References
- Baumgarten, Paul Maria (1913). "Basilica of St. Peter". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
- Bannister, Turpin (1968). "The Constantinian Basilica of Saint Peter at Rome". Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians 27 (1): 3–32. doi:10.2307/988425. JSTOR 988425. OCLC 19640446.(subscription required)
- Boorsch, Suzanne (1982). "The Building of the Vatican: The Papacy and Architecture". The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin (New York) XL (3): 4–64. OCLC 39642638.
- Hintzen-Bohlen, Brigitte; Sorges, Jürgen (2001). Rome and the Vatican City. Köln: Könemann. ISBN 3-8290-3109-2.
- Finch, Margaret (1991). "The Cantharus and Pigna at Old Saint Peter's". Gesta 30 (1): 16–26. doi:10.2307/767006. JSTOR 767006.(subscription required)
- Dzyubanskyy, Taras (2010). The Development of the Cult of St. Peter in the Vatican: from the poor man's grave to the largest basilica in the world. Lviv.
- Fletcher, Banister (2001) [First published 1896]. Sir Banister Fletcher's a History of Architecture (20th ed.). London: Architectural Press. ISBN 0-7506-2267-9.
- Fletcher, Banister (1975). History of Architecture on the Comparative Method for the student, craftsman, and amateur. New York: Macmillan Pub Company. ISBN 9997460553.
- Frommel, Christoph (1986). "Papal Policy: The Planning of Rome during the Renaissance in The Evidence of Art: Images and Meaning in History". Journal of Interdisciplinary History (Cambridge: MIT Press) 17 (1): 39–65. doi:10.2307/204124. ISSN 0022-1953. JSTOR 204124.(subscription required)
- Hartt, Frederick (2006). History of Italian Renaissance Art (6th ed.). Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall. ISBN 0-13-188247-3.
- Korn, Frank J. (2002). Hidden Rome. New York: Paulist Press. ISBN 0-8091-4109-4.
- McClendon, Charles (1989). "The History of the Site of St. Peter's Basilica, Rome". Perspecta: the Yale Architectural Journal (MIT Press) 25: 32–65. doi:10.2307/1567138. ISSN 0079-0958. JSTOR 1567138.
- Lees-Milne, James (1967). "Saint Peter's – the story of Saint Peter's Basilica in Rome". London: Hamish Hamilton. OCLC 1393052.
- Gardner, Helen; Kleiner, Fred S.; Mamiya, Christin J. (2005). Gardner's Art through the Ages: The Western Perspective 2 (12th ed.). Belmont: Wadsworth. pp. 499–500, 571–575. ISBN 0-495-00479-0.
- Lanciani, Rodolfo (1892). "Chapter III: Christian Churches". Pagan and Christian Rome. Boston and New York: Houghton, Mifflin and Company.
- Goldscheider, Ludwig (1996). Michelangelo (6th ed.). Oxford: Phaidon. ISBN 0-7148-3296-0.
- Pevsner, Nikolaus (1963). An Outline of European Architecture (7th ed.). Baltimore: Penguin Books. ISBN 978-0-14-020109-3. OCLC 2208913.
- Pinto, Pio (1975). The Pilgrim's Guide to Rome. San Francisco: Harper & Row. ISBN 0-06-013388-0.
- Scotti, R. A. (2007). Basilica: the Splendor and the Scandal – Building of St. Peter's. New York: Plume. ISBN 0-452-28860-6.
- "Inside the Vatican". National Geographic News. National Geographic Society. 28 October 2010 [2004]. Retrieved 30 December 2008.
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Catholic Catechism
Part Three: Life in Christ
Section Two: The Ten Commandments
Chapter Two: Third Commandment
Article 3:1 "The Sabbath Day"
Article 3
THE THIRD COMMANDMENT
Remember the sabbath day, to
keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work; but the seventh
day is a sabbath to the Lord your God; in it you shall not do any
work.90Ex 20:8-10
The sabbath was made for man,
not man for the sabbath; so the Son of Man is lord even of the
sabbath.91Mk 2:27-28
I. The Sabbath Day
2168
The third commandment of the Decalogue recalls the holiness of the sabbath:
"The seventh day is a sabbath of solemn rest, holy to the
LORD."92
2169
In speaking of the sabbath Scripture recalls creation: "For in six days
the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested
the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day and hallowed
it."93
2170
Scripture also reveals in the Lord's day a memorial of Israel's liberation from
bondage in Egypt: "You shall remember that you were a servant in the land
of Egypt, and the LORD your God brought you out thence with mighty hand and
outstretched arm; therefore the LORD your God commanded you to keep the sabbath
day."94
2171
God entrusted the sabbath to Israel to keep as a sign of the irrevocable
covenant.95 The sabbath is for the Lord, holy and set apart for the
praise of God, his work of creation, and his saving actions on behalf of
Israel.
2172
God's action is the model for human action. If God "rested and was
refreshed" on the seventh day, man too ought to "rest" and
should let others, especially the poor, "be refreshed."96 The
sabbath brings everyday work to a halt and provides a respite. It is a day of
protest against the servitude of work and the worship of money.97
2173
The Gospel reports many incidents when Jesus was accused of violating the
sabbath law. But Jesus never fails to respect the holiness of this
day.98 He gives this law its authentic and authoritative
interpretation: "The sabbath was made for man, not man for the
sabbath."99 With compassion, Christ declares the sabbath for doing
good rather than harm, for saving life rather than killing.100 The
sabbath is the day of the Lord of mercies and a day to honor God.101
"The Son of Man is lord even of the sabbath."102
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