Pope Francis on Friday celebrated Mass for the maintenance staff of Vatican City State, reminding them that our joy and our salvation lies in the fact that Jesus came so that we can all be forgiven our sins. Speaking to a group of Vatican employees who take care of maintenance and general services, the Pope reflected [...]
Portrait of Cardinal Baronio by Caravaggio’s School on loan from the Ufffizi Galleriesin Florence. Like his 17th-century predecessors, Pope Francis is seeking to reform the Church by eliminating privilege and corruption, imploring peace in the world, and “giving voice to the cry of the poor.” Thus appropriately on display in Castel Sant’Angelo until November [...]
It becomes clear in a close reading of the Pope’s new interview that Pope Francis is not changing anything at all about Catholic teaching. This teaching is centered on the reality of Christ’s redeeming, saving love for sinners — and we are all sinners, most especially so when we think we are no longer so. The [...]
Caravaggio’s The Madonna of Loreto. Unfortunately, the Italian Ministry of Culture did not grant permission to publish the photo of a related work, Carracci’s Madonna of Loreto Although he was born on September 29, 1571, near Milan, Caravaggio’s most productive years, from 1600 to 1606, were spent in Rome, where most of his paintings [...]