Religion and Sciene

     Yesterday we had the pleasure of traveling to Castelgandolfo where the Pope's summer house is located.  It is a quaint little town right on a gorgeous lake and inactive volcano.  We met Brother Guy Consolmagno who was a Jesuit brother who is an astronomer at the Vatican Observatory.  He explained to us some of the history of the Catholic church and science and debunked the myth that Catholic Popes did not support science.  He told us the majority of Catholic Popes do indeed support the research of science and have hopes that science and religion can coexist and bring us closer to God.  

He mentioned Pope Urban the 8th who we've learned about previously and how he was a liberal Pope who changed the way the Catholics viewed science in the world.  Brother Guy explained that the widely held view that Catholics opposed religion was created by Anglo-Saxon Americans during the age of immigrants of Catholics into America.  This was an interesting fact because previously I had thought that Catholics truly did not want science to impose on the religious values presently held. 

     Brother Guy was a living example of a Jesuit in the present day.  He was both a brother and astronomer, out in the world actively seeking knowledge and spreading faith and education.  In the past he was a professor at an American university and in the peace corps teaching science to young people in Kenya.  It is no surprise that he became a Jesuit because he clearly loves teaching and spreading knowledge to everyone.  I really liked his presentation he gave to us and all of the misconceptions he cleared up that in the past have been troubling to people when pondering religion and science.  

Panoramic view of the lake and volcano at Castelgandolfo

Outside of the Vatican Observatory

Audience With the Pope

   Yesterday we had the privilege of sitting right next to the stage during the Audience With the Pope.  This was my second time seeing the Pope in person, but being so close to him made it that much more exciting.  Crowds of people gathered from all over the world to hear what the Pope had to say this Wednesday.  Cardinals and Bishops who spoke various languages welcomed all of the groups who pilgrimed to the Vatican to see the Pope.  We cheered loudly when they welcomed our group from DePaul University.  The Pope sat on a small white stage in a big white chair.  A large wooden crucifix was placed next to him and large white pillars blocked my view just a bit.  I was eager to hear what the Pope would say, in the midst of Advent I predicted it would be something along the lines of reflecting on Jesus' birth and life, or about giving and selflessness.  Much to my surprise, Pope Francis' talked about the Last Judgement.  He said to not be afraid of the Last Judgement, in a nutshell.  He also said that anyone who believes in Christ will not be condemned.

    I thought this was an interesting topic, seeing as we had many lectures and on site visits that displayed the Last Judgement mostly in artistic ways.  For example, at the Chiesa di Sant'Ignazio the large fresco painted on the nave of the church displayed a detailed Last Judgement portrayal.  As I posted in the earlier blog, the fresco's main idea was to tell us that dying should not be looked at as a scary thing.  If you live well, you will die well.  I believe this is what Pope Francis was telling us at the audience on Wednesday.  If you are a believer in Christ, follow His teachings, and live a good life, you will be accepted into Heaven.  Another interesting connection is that Pope Francis is a Jesuit just like St. Ignatius of Loyola.  His idea of living well and dying well and not fearing the Last Judgement corresponds with the fresco in St. Ignatius's church here in Rome.

Caravaggio Day

     Yesterday we learned a great deal about the famous artist Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio who lived from 1571-1610.  He was born in Milan but painted all over Italy including Rome and Naples.  He was extremely famous during his time and had a group of followers and admirers of his work.  He painted many still life paintings that expressed the beauty and dignity of things observed in daily life.  He had an attraction for classic art and painted what was going on in ordinary life on the streets.  Caravaggio eventually moved on to painting sacred subjects which caught the attention of important religious figures.

     I covered the painting "The Martyrdom of St. Matthew" done in the years 1599-1600.  This is a captivating scene of St. Matthew just moments before being killed by a soldier sent from the King of Ethiopia.  The story goes that the King was upset by St. Matthew telling him that he cannot marry his own niece who was a nun.  The King sent out a soldier to kill St. Matthew and it happened while the saint was celebrating mass at the altar.  You can see that Matthew appears to be holding off the soldier by raising his hand up to protect himself, but actually, he is grabbing a palm branch extended by an angel, allowing himself to be martyred.  This is interesting because in a lecture here in Rome we learned that palm branches are used to symbolize life because the branches never die.  Like palm trees, we will never die if we believe in Christ and ascend into heaven for eternal life.

     This particular painting is now in the Contarelli Chapel of San Luigi dei Francesi and hangs opposite of another Caravaggio painting, "The Calling of St. Matthew".  The painting is impressively large in person.  You can clearly see how Caravaggio put the spotlight on St. Matthew and the soldier while the witnesses in the background are much darker and display looks of varying emotion and horror on their faces.  Caravaggio purposely did this to further dramatize the scene of St. Matthew being martyred.  I truly enjoyed being able to view this amazing painting in person.  It gave me a better sense of what Caravaggio wanted to display because I was able to study the emotion on the figures faces, the ferocity of the soldier killing St. Matthew, and St. Matthew's willingness to give up his life for Jesus in that very moment.  It was a moving painting both artistically and religiously.

"The Martyrdom of St. Matthew" in the Contarelli Chapel

The nave of San Luigi dei Francesi 

The Church of Saint Ignatius of Loyola

     I was really excited to be able to see the church of Saint Ignatius of Loyola today because I've heard so much about Saint Ignatius himself.  Ignatius was a Spanish knight who underwent a conversion while resting after being badly wounded in battle.  This occurred in the 1520's right around the counter-reformation of the Catholic church.  He went on to found the religious order called the Jesuits which stands for the Society of Jesus.  Ignatius and his followers vowed themselves to poverty, chastity, and obedience.  Saint Ignatius is also the patron saint of soldiers.

     The Church of Saint Ignatius is a baroque style church with artwork inside reflecting that period of time.  What is unique about this church is the large fresco painted on the ceiling of the nave.  It is a colorful representation of Ignatius of Loyola's ascension into heaven.  Other saints surround him in the sky as if they are all ascending together, however, people lower to the ground are seeing as being rejected from heaven.  This judgement scene is commonly depicted in Baroque art because it represents the need to understand what salvation means and what could happen if you do not live your life following Jesus.  However, this scene isn't as dark or scary as other last judgement artworks.  It was common in the Baroque period to capture a happy death, meaning one must live well to die well.  Death will not be tragic and miserable knowing you lived a good life and will be accepted into heaven.

    The fresco itself has a lot going on Ignatius is shown going up into Heaven with Jesus shining a beam of light that reflect into Jesus' heart.  The idea is that Jesus' light reflecting into Ignatius is spread from Ignatius to others.  Also on the fresco there are different representations of the continents of the world.  The purpose is to show that Jesuits went to the four corners of the earth to spread the gospel.  We learned in class Jesuits truly valued knowledge and education and wanted to share that with others. Their mission trips to Asia were most successful with Matteo Ricci who tried to assimilate and educate those inhabitants without imposing on their culture and present beliefs.  This church overall represents the active spirit of Jesuits in the world striving to make it a better place by helping and educating people.

     

The Vatican Museum

     The Vatican Museum was a special place to visit because it isn't an ordinary museum.  It is described as a collection of collections.  A museum that does not only represent the past but reflects on the future as well.  The Vatican Museum was created by Pope Julius the Second in order to educate people about the Catholic faith as opposed to being a tourist hot spot.  It's main purpose is to showcase the unity between faith and human reason.

     A painting that struck me as being very unique was Raphael's "Transfiguration".  Raphael's large painting hung at the center of a large room where people could crowd around and study the grand image.  The painting shows Jesus coming down from the sky highlighted with bright colors, below him a crowd of people amazed at his appearance.  The painting was created to emphasize a glimpse of hope for what's to come, for God's great plan.  This painting was associated with death in early Christian art. Two men are floating in the sky at both of Jesus' sides.  They are the prophets Elijiah and Moses.  Moses represents the law while Elijiah represents the prophets, the meaning of their presence is that Jesus incorporates the law and the prophets in his life, works, and message.  An interesting point in the painting is a young boy who is possessed and is pointing up at Jesus.  This figure shows that Jesus is his only hope in curing his own demons and that ultimately Jesus has power over evil.

     This painting embodies many of the key points that we've studied in Catholic theology.  The belief in Jesus as the son of God, the faith in Jesus to help us rid ourselves of sin and evil, and the promise of His return to Earth.

St. Peter's Basilica

     This morning we returned to St. Peter's Square for the third time and got to explore the grand basilica.  We spent a few minutes out on the square and took a closer look at the structure of the square itself.  The impressive sized basilica is centered in the middle with a tall obelisk directly in front of it.  Rows of columns on either side of the basilica direct out forward, and then curve in a rounded figure.  A large opening welcomes in visitors to the square.  These columns are representative as two arms opened up encouraging pilgrims and other people to enter into the home of Catholicism.  It is a nice universal way of welcoming all kinds of people into the church without using words or language that would exclude any type of person.

   

Outside of St. Peter's Basilica

     

     It was quite overwhelming when we first stepped foot into the basilica.  The ceiling seemed to go on forever and the walls were covered in gorgeous statues and mosaics of various saints and religious figures.  We focused our attention on a sculpture of Mary holding the lifeless Jesus done by Michelangelo at only 22 years old.  The image was familiar to me because I had seen it in photographs several times beforehand.  While studying the sculpture you can see clearly that Mary is represented much younger than she would have been when Jesus was crucified.  Her youthful face is that of a young woman around 16 years old.  This is because Michelangelo wanted to depict her as the Virgin Mary and have her in this sculpture as eternally youthful.  Mary is holding Jesus as she would a baby, cradling him.  This further adds to having Mary seen as the young Virgin mother of the Son of God.  Jesus is draped over Mary's lap and appears to be falling onto the altar, which symbolizes his life and work transforming into the gospel for all believers of Christ.  Jesus is also shown with a wound, which was much different from other works of art that show a more gruesome take on Jesus after the crucifixion.  The small wound on his side tells us his death was not just a morbid, dark, and gory occurence but rather a blessing to all who believed in him because of his resurrection.  

Pieta by Michelangelo

Prassedes and Pudenziana

      On Tuesday we visited two old basilicas of saints who I had never heard of, Saint Prassedes and Saint Pudenziana.  The two were sisters who were known for their efforts in gathering the dead bodies of martyrs and burying them in more respectable places.  They also housed Saint Peter when he came to visit Rome.  Both basilicas were beautiful with fanciful artwork using a lot of symbolism and motifs such as the twelve lambs depicting the twelve apostles, and Peter and Paul appearing at Jesus' sides.  We learned that the basilica of Saint Pudenziana was originally a house church where early Christians would gather to hear the gospel and have the eucharist before any true church was established.  In Saint Pudenziana some of the original floor was uncovered and it was quite incredible to be able to walk on the same floor as some of the earliest Christians once did.

     While I truly enjoyed viewing all of the statues, mosaics, and other works of art inside the basilicas I found them to be much more simpler than other basilicas we have visited throughout the week.  They were pleasant, peaceful, and easy to take in.  I was most fascinated by the story of the two sisters and how devoted they were to Christianity to be able to risk their lives just to save the bodies of their Christian brothers and sisters.  Their teamwork in carrying out these missions is a great example of how early Christians practiced their faith together with both blood relatives and brothers and sisters of the church.

     I believe the two saint sisters to be heroine type figures in the early Christian church.  They represented the active role of women in early Christianity, which we discussed eventually led to more and more people converting to Christianity by hearing the gospel from women.

                                                      The Basilica of Saint Pudenziana

Basilica dei Santi Giovanni e Paolo

We returned to the Lay Center this afternoon to explore Case Romane, the home of two famous martyrs, brothers, and soldiers, John and Paul.  It was crazy to tour a home from the third century, I kept trying to picture the brothers who inhabited the home, what went on inside the home, and what it looked like with it's full interior design as opposed to the bits and pieces that were preserved and on display for us.  I was shocked at how the decor of the home had much more Roman influence than Christian, seeing as they were men devoted to their faith and died in the name of Jesus.  Just when I assumed that the room called Ninfeo di Proserpina had artwork depicting Christian themes I was proved wrong when we were told it was a scene of Persophene in the underworld.  I was under the impression that the small men in the scene were angels, but they were actual little men used for comic relief in Greek mythology called putti.  

Moving on to the Basilica, when I first stepped in I was overwhelmed by the beauty and intricacies within this church.  To my left I saw a beautiful altar and shrine type display honoring Santa Gemma Galgani.  It suddenly hit me that this was the Saint I chose to take for my confirmation name back when I was a freshman in high school.  I chose Saint Gemma because of her compassion for the poor and devotion to taking care of her seven brothers and sisters when her parents passed away.  It was a great coincidence that this was the first display I saw when I entered the church.  All of the other statues and works of art were incredible in this basilica, I was mostly impressed with the beautiful chandeliers hanging up.  We were informed that this basilica was unique because no renovations had taken place since it's construction in the 12th century.  

Saint Gemma of Galgani









Inside the Basilica of John and Paul

Fontana di Trevi

This morning I visited the Trevi Fountain before class without knowing much about it.  I was excited to see the tourist attraction that appears in countless movies where actors and actresses make a wish and toss a coin into the pool of water.  I was not expecting the fountain to be so large, expanding across almost an entire building.  After looking at the different statues on the fountain I had many questions.  Who were these people?  What is the significance of this gorgeous fountain?  Can you swim in the water?  Luckily, later today in class we learned that the fountain has no Christian ties, but rather it is an appreciation of the creation of aqueducts in Rome.  The statues represented pagan gods and goddesses but surprisingly were not placed there for worshipping or devotion purposes.  On one side of the fountain there is a smaller statue that represents abundance, as in the abundance of water because of the aqueducts.  The other side features a statue that symbolizes the purity of the water from the spring it was discovered from.  The building that the fountain is backed against is now home to a center for graphics today and houses the largest collection of engravings.  The fountain was much more fascinating than I'd seen in movies and even more so after I learned some background and history about it.  I wouldn't mind going back for a second look!