The building in the background, upper right, is Castel Sant'Angelo. The painting was executed by an artist of the Bologna School on the occasion of the Saint's beatification by Pope Paul V; he was canonized by Pope Benedict XIII in 1726. This masterpiece, which hangs in the Vatican Museum, has undergone quite a lot of deterioration, staining primarily with discoloration on both sides and at the bottom. We worked diligently to restore as much of it as was possible. Only the Virgin and the Young Christ have halos, both of which were very faint, so we took the liberty of making our own, the precise shape as the original. Saint Luigi [Aloysius Gonzaga] was born on March 9, 1568 in Lombardy, Italy; he was at the Court of Philip II of Spain from 1581-1583 serving as a page to the heir apparent, Don Diego. Two years later he entered the Jesuits in Rome, receiving minor orders in 1587. A plague was sweeping the country and the Order erected a hospital to care for the sick and dying; St. Aloysius was one of those who ministered to the ailing, catching the plague himself and died a holy death on the Eve of the Feast of Corpus Christi, June 21, 1591, a date he predicted would be his death. Angels fill this image, which is most fitting because the Saint had a tender devotion to his Guardian Angel and all the Angels as well. His special patron was Our Lady, ever since he was a small child. All graphic accessories on this page copyrighted by Catholic Tradition.  Contact
Us- TRADITION---------------------------------------THE PAPACY www.catholictradition.org/Papacy/papal-artifact54.htm |