06 February 2022

With Giotto and Dante
in Padua, a city with
an old university and
the legacy of a ghetto

The Piazza dei Frutti in the heart of Padua … the city is a dense network of arcaded streets opening into large communal squares (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Patrick Comerford

One recent morning, I took an early morning train from Venice to Padua, which is said to be one of the oldest cities in northern Italy. Padua is listed by Unesco, and has one of the oldest universities in Europe.

Padua is less than an hour from Venice. It is a picturesque city, with a dense network of arcaded streets opening into large communal piazze or squares, and many bridges crossing the branches of the River Bacciglione, which once surrounded the city’s ancient walls like a moat.

But I was visiting Padua primarily to see Giotto’s decoration of the Scrovegni Chapel, which is undoubtedly his masterpiece. It is also one of the supreme masterpieces of the Early Renaissance and one of the most important, self-contained works of art in Western Europe.

Inside the Scrovegni Chapel in Padua … Giotto’s frescoes form one of the supreme masterpieces of the Early Renaissance (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Giotto’s frescoes in
the Scrovegni Chapel


Giotto’s frescoes in the Arena Chapel or the Scrovegni Chapel form one complete cycle. The Italian painter and architect Giotto di Bondone (ca 1267-1337), known generally as Giotto, has been described as ‘the most sovereign master of painting in his time.’

Giotto was born in Florence in the Late Middle Ages, and worked in the Gothic and early Renaissance period. His work marks a decisive break with the Byzantine style, and he initiated the Western art of painting as we know it today.

Giotto completed his decoration of the Scrovegni Chapel between 1303 and 1305 with a fresco cycle depicting the Life of the Virgin and the Life of Christ. This work is regarded as one of the supreme masterpieces of the Early Renaissance.

These frescoes are works of great narrative force and the have had a powerful influence on the development of European art. They mark the beginning of a revolution in mural painting and influenced fresco technique, style, and content for a whole century.

Giotto later designed the campanile or bell tower of Florence Cathedral in 1334. But there are few certainties about his life, although it is generally agreed he painted the frescoes in the Upper Basilica of Saint Francis in Assisi.

The Deposition of Christ from the Cross in Giotto’s Scrovegni Chapel in Padua (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

***

The Scrovegni Chapel or Cappella degli Scrovegni is close to the Augustinian monastery or Monastero degli Eremitani in Padua, and both are now part of the complex of the Museo Civico of Padua
.
It is said the affluent banker Enrico Scrovegni of Padua commissioned the Scrovegni Chapel in 1303, hoping this would spare his dead father, Reginaldo, a usurer, from the eternal damnation that had been wished on him by Dante in his Inferno.

There are strict limits on the number of visitors allowed inside the chapel at any one time, and I had to spend 15 minutes before my visit in a ‘decontamination chamber.’ Once inside the chapel, my visit was also limited to 15 minutes.

Giotto and his team covered all the internal surfaces of the chapel with frescoes, including the walls and the ceiling. The nave is 20.88 metres long, 8.41 metres wide, and 12.65 metres high. The apse area is composed of a square area (4.49 meters deep and 4.31 meters wide) and a pentagonal area (2.57 meters deep).

The largest element is the extensive cycles showing the Life of Christ and the Life of the Virgin Mary. The ‘Doom Wall’ at the east end or rear of the church has a large depiction of the Last Judgment. There are also monochrome panels in grisaille showing the Vices and Virtues.

The church was dedicated to Santa Maria della Carità on 25 March 1303 and consecrated on 25 March 1305.

A mural of Dante and Beatrice in the University of Padua … Dante and Giotto were born within two years of each other in Florence (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Dante in Padua and
in love with Beatrice


Giotto and Dante are the two great creative forces in the early 14th century Italy. Both were born within two years of each other in Florence; Giotto’s chapel in Padua and Dante’s Divine Comedy remain major influences in shaping European culture.

Did Dante inspire Giotto? Giotto included a portrait of Dante in the Paradise section of the chapel frescoes.

Did Scrovegni insist that Giotto excluded any references to usury in the frescoes? Dante condemns Scrovegni’s father Reginaldo as a usurer in Canto 17 of the Inferno, but this was a few years after Giotto completed the chapel.

The poet and philosopher Dante Alighieri (1265-1321) lived for a time in Padua in a medieval house, and parts of the house, including the balcony, survive on Via San Francesco. Dante’s Divine Comedy is regarded as one of the most important poems of the Middle Ages and the greatest literary work in the Italian language.

The University of Padua was founded in 1222 by a group of students and teachers from Bologna. It is the second-oldest university in Italy and the world’s fifth-oldest surviving university. Faculty members in the past have included Galileo Galilei (1592-1610). A mural in the university is a reminder of the story of Dante and Beatrice, one of the great mediaeval romances.

The University of Padua was founded in 1222 and is the world’s fifth-oldest surviving university (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

***

Dante said he first met Beatrice Portinari when she was nine, and claimed he had fallen in love with her at first sight, apparently without even talking with her. When he was 12, however, he was promised in marriage to Gemma di Manetto Donati, daughter of Manetto Donati, member of the powerful Donati family.

Contracting marriages for children at such an early age was quite common and involved a formal ceremony, including contracts signed before a notary. Dante claimed to have seen Beatrice again frequently after he turned 18, exchanging greetings with her in the streets of Florence, though he never knew her well.

Years after his marriage to Gemma, he claims to have met Beatrice again; he wrote several sonnets to Beatrice but never mentioned Gemma in any of his poems. The exact date of his marriage is not known: the only certain information is that, before his exile in 1301, he had fathered three children with Gemma.

Beatrice died in 1290 and Dante’s unrequited love for her would set an example of ‘courtly love.’ It was in the name of this love that Dante left his imprint on the dolce stil novo (‘sweet new style’) and he would join other contemporary poets and writers in exploring never-before-emphasised aspects of love (amore).

Dante’s love for Beatrice became his reason for poetry and for living. In many of his poems, she is depicted as semi-divine, watching over him constantly and providing spiritual instruction, sometimes harshly. When Beatrice died in 1290, Dante turned to writing and literature.

The Divine Comedy describes Dante’s journey through Hell (Inferno), Purgatory (Purgatorio), and Paradise (Paradiso). He is first guided by the Roman poet Virgil and then by Beatrice.

The Venetians confined the Jews of Padua to the ghetto from 1603 (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Visiting the Ghetto and
synagogues of Padua


Before leaving Padua, I visited the former Ghetto and the Italian Synagogue, now the only remaining, functioning synagogue in a city where several synagogues had flourished from the Renaissance until World War II.

There was a stable Jewish presence in Padua from the late 13th century, and the Jews of Padua lived in relatively peaceful conditions, working mainly as merchants and bankers. Padua became one of the great centres of mediaeval Judaism learning in the 14th century, with a celebrated rabbinical academy, and Jewish students were admitted to the medical school in Padua.

However, when the Venice captured the city in 1405, conditions gradually worsened for the Jews of Padua. They were forced to sell their homes and lands, and business and trading conditions became increasingly restrictive. Jews could still graduate from the university, but had to pay additional fees.

The Jewish quarter was sacked in 1509 and from 1603 the Jews of Padua were confined to a ghetto in the area of Via San Martino e Solferino, Via delle Piazze and Via dell’Arco. Guarded gates isolated the ghetto at night, rents were high, and living conditions were cramped and unsanitary.

In these cramped conditions, the only way families could find additional accommodation was to build up. Buildings became taller, ceilings became lower on each floor, and many families built tall residential towers.

The entrance to the Italian Synagogue, dating from 1548 (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

***

When Napoleon’s forces captured Padua in 1797, segregation was abolished, Jews were able once again to live outside the ghetto, and the Jews of Padua achieved full equality with Italian unification in 1866.

The Scola Todesca or Great German or Ashkenazic synagogue opened in 1525, and became the main synagogue of the city. It was damaged by fire in 1927 and then in 1943 it was torched by local Fascists. It remained in ruins until the end of the 1990s, when it was restored, and it now houses the Jewish Heritage Museum of Padua.

The Italian Synagogue in the historic ghetto was built in 1548. It was closed in 1892 when the community built a modern synagogue. But the modern synagogue was burned by the Fascists in 1943, and the community returned to the Italian synagogue after World War II.

The synagogue is in the same building as the offices of the Jewish Community of Padua, and they provide a lasting testimony to the enduring and continuing Jewish presence in Padua.

This feature was first published in the February 2022 edition of the Church Review (Dublin and Glendalough)



Sunday intercessions, 6 February 2022,
the Fourth Sunday before Lent

‘The fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets’ (Luke 5: 2) … fishing boats and nets in the harbour in Rethymnon, Crete (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Let us pray:

‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory’ (Isaiah 6: 3):

Heavenly Father,
we pray for the nations of the world and for own country…
we pray for all who make decisions about our health …
we pray for the poor, the captives,
the blind, and all who need freedom …
for all who feel at sea and adrift …
may they know God’s favour and God’s blessing.

Lord have mercy,
Lord have mercy.

By the grace of God we are what we are, and his grace towards me has not been in vain (see I Corinthians 15: 10):

We pray for the Church,
that we may find God’s grace towards us
in ordinary lives, in ordinary places, in ordinary time…

In the Church of Ireland this month,
we pray for the Diocese of Clogher and Bishop Ian Ellis …

We pray too for the Diocese of Tuam, Limerick and Killaloe,
and the new bishop, Bishop Michael Burrows …

In the Anglican Cycle of Prayer,
we pray this week for the Church of Ireland.

In the Diocesan Cycle of Prayer,
we pray for all in our dioceses suffering
from despair, depression and addiction.

In our community,
we pray for our parishes and people …
we pray for our neighbouring churches and parishes …
and people of faith everywhere,
that we may be blessed in our variety and diversity.

Christ have mercy,
Christ have mercy.

‘Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you will preserve me; your loving-kindness, O Lord, endures for ever’ (Psalm 138: 7-8):

Holy Spirit, help us to bring good news to all who suffer …

We pray for all who are sick or isolated,
at home, in hospital …
Ruby … Daphne … Sylvia … Ajay …
Cecil … Pat … Mary … Ann … Vanessa …

We pray for all who feel pain and loss …
We pray for all we love and all who love us …
We pray for our families, friends and neighbours …

We remember all who have died recently …
and all whose anniversaries are at this time,
including Kevin Doyle, Lynda Smith, Maurice and Pamela Hewson …

May their memories be a blessing to us.

Lord have mercy,
Lord have mercy.

The Prayer in the USPG Prayer Diary today (6 February 2022, the Fourth Sunday before Lent) invites us to pray:

King of Kings,
May you guide us in our calling.
Stir us to go where you send us,
With hope and faith in our hearts.

Merciful Father …

The fish or Ichthus symbol is a symbol of Christ … this one remains discreetly unnoticed in the pebble mosaic of the former church courtyard in Kaş in Turkey (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Ordinary people, in
ordinary time, doing
extraordinary things

‘He saw two boats there at the shore’ … two boats at the Pier in Kinvara, Co Galway, at the weekend (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2022)

Patrick Comerford

Sunday 6 February 2022,

The Fourth Sunday before Lent


9.30 a.m. Saint Mary’s Church, Askeaton, Co Limerick, the Parish Eucharist (Holy Communion 2)

11.30 a.m. Saint Brendan’s Church, Tarbert, Co Kerry, Morning Prayer

Readings: Isaiah 6: 1-8; Psalm 138; I Corinthians 15: 1-11; Luke 5: 1-11

There is a link to the readings HERE.

‘The fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets’ (Luke 5: 2) … fishing boats and nets in the harbour in Loughshinny, Co Dublin (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

May I speak to you in the name of God, + Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Amen

The Season of Christmas came to an end on Wednesday (2 February 2022) with the Feast of the Presentation or Candlemas, which we celebrated in Holy Trinity Church, Rathkeale, last Sunday morning (30 January 2022).

Between now and Ash Wednesday (2 March 2022), we are in what the Church Calendar calls ‘Ordinary Time.’

So often, our celebrations in Church ask us to identify with the great saints and martyrs, in contrast to the ordinary people who are so often the focus of Christ’s ministry in the Gospels: ordinary people who are poor or on the margins in society; ordinary people with everyday jobs like fishermen and tax collectors, or publicans and farmers; ordinary people in the villages and towns; ordinary people with a need for healing or who are hurt and broken by loss and grief.

Ordinary people like you and me, living ordinary lives in ordinary time. Not sinless people, but ordinary people, conscious of our weaknesses and our failings, humbled in and all too aware of our own sinfulness and flaws.

In our readings this morning, we hear the call of Isaiah, a renewed call to David the Psalmist, the response of Saint Paul to his call, and the renewed call to some of the disciples, including Peter, James and John. These calls come not to people who feel they are worthy of this call, that the deserve this, that they have inherited a call, or who think they are entitled to speak on God’s behalf. They start off as very ordinary people, like you and me.

Isaiah is in the Temple, feeling he is lost and ‘a man of unclean lips’ when he hears and responds to God’s call, only to find he becomes isolated from his own people.

The Psalmist is in God’s presence in the Temple when he finds God answers his prayer and gives him a new calling or new spiritual gifts. Yet David begins life as a small and weak shepherd boy.

Saint Paul tells us he feels he is ‘the least of the apostles, unfit to be called an apostle.’

The three disciples, Peter, James and John are called not only to speak on Christ’s behalf, but to do what Christ commands and to follow him.

In all these readings, Isaiah, the Psalmist, Saint Paul and then Saint Peter, all express their feelings of inadequacy and unworthiness, yet accept God’s call to speak in God’s name unconditionally and in faith.

In our first reading (Isaiah 6: 1-8), the Prophet Isaiah hears his call from God to be a prophet. Isaiah feels unclean and unworthy in the presence of God, and yet he sees God. He sees the people as unworthy too, but one of the seraphs purifies him, rendering him fit to speak God’s word to his people.

Our Psalm (Psalm 138) thanks God for his steadfast, enduring love and for his care for his faithful followers. When the writer calls upon God, God not only answers him but gives him a new calling or makes him more confident spiritually: ‘you increased my strength of soul’ (verse 3).

In the Epistle reading (I Corinthians 15: 1-11), Saint Paul tells us that the Risen Christ first appeared to Cephas (Peter), then to the twelve, then to 500 at one time, then to James, then to all the apostles, and finally to Paul himself.

Saint Paul realises that he is not the first choice, not the second choice. He is way down the list, not among the first 12, not even in the top 500. Until then, he has been an ordinary Jewish Pharisee of the day, making a living mending tents and sails.

But he now knows that through his Baptism he shares in Christ’s suffering and death and that he has been raised to new life in Christ.

Our Gospel story (Luke 5: 1-11) is a story of commitment to Christ, to his message and to his destiny. Simon is named Peter for the first time in Saint Luke’s Gospel in this reading (verse 8). Christ calls Simon or Simon Peter to be a disciple, promising him he is to be a ‘fisher of men,’ and Peter, James and John leave everything and follow Christ.

Try to imagine the roles or the calls being reversed.

Can you imagine King Uzziah giving up his throne to be a marginalised prophet like Isaiah?

Can you imagine a powerful king accepting God’s call to be a despised shepherd boy?

Can you imagine a Roman Governor accepting the call to work with the disciples in an ordinary fishing boat?

Had Pontius Pilate heard Christ’s call would he have given up privilege, or paid heed to the inevitable obloquy that would follow his extraordinary use of power?

Our Gospel reading opens us to the concept that God does extraordinary things with ordinary people, in ordinary places, in ordinary times.

This episode begins beside the ‘lake of Gennesaret,’ on the south-west shore of the Sea of Galilee. The crowd is pressing in to hear Christ, the Word of God, to hear the Christian message.

Jesus gets into the boat with Simon Peter. There are two boats in this episode, and James and John are also fishing in one of the boats.

Simon acknowledges Jesus as ‘Master’ or teacher. The disciples do what Christ tells them to do, and they are amazed at the consequences. Simon Peter responds by falling down before Christ in humility, pointing to himself as a sinful man, and calling Jesus ‘Lord,’ which becomes an expression of faith.

Peter, James and John are ordinary working men who make an extraordinary and total commitment to Christ; they leave everything, and follow him.

In traditional illustrations, the boat is often used as an image of the Church, while the fish is an image of Christ. In the Early Church, the fish came to symbolise Christ because the Greek word Ichthus (ΙΧΘΥΣ), meaning ‘fish’, is an acrostic for ‘Jesus Christ, Son of God, Saviour’ (Ἰησοῦς Χριστός, Θεοῦ Υἱός, Σωτήρ).

The Church is the boat, Christ is the fish, and God calls us as ordinary people, in ordinary places, in ordinary times, to realise that God sees us – you and me, each and every one of us – to work with him, where he finds us. God sees us in our everyday lives as his partners in the boat. And we are all in this boat together.

It is in being the ordinary people we are, in our ordinary lives, in our ordinary times, that God calls us. And if we chose to respond, then, like Peter, James and John, we may find we are amazed at the catch Christ brings into the Church through us.

Are we brave enough to face this possibility? Or is that ordinary challenge too much for us? If we have any doubts, remember how Christ says to Simon Peter, ‘Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people.’

And so, may all we think, say and do be to the praise honour and glory of God, + Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Amen.

‘He saw two boats there at the shore’ … two fishing boats at the harbour in Skerries, Co Dublin (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Luke 5: 1-11 (NRSVA):

1 Once while Jesus was standing beside the lake of Gennesaret, and the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, 2 he saw two boats there at the shore of the lake; the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. 3 He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little way from the shore. Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat. 4 When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, ‘Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.’ 5 Simon answered, ‘Master, we have worked all night long but have caught nothing. Yet if you say so, I will let down the nets.’ 6 When they had done this, they caught so many fish that their nets were beginning to break. 7 So they signalled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both boats, so that they began to sink. 8 But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, ‘Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!’ 9 For he and all who were with him were amazed at the catch of fish that they had taken; 10 and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. Then Jesus said to Simon, ‘Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people.’ 11 When they had brought their boats to shore, they left everything and followed him.

An icon of the Church as a boat, including Christ, the Apostles and the Church Fathers (Icon: Deacon Matthew Garrett, www.holy-icons.com)

Liturgical Colour: Green

The Collect:

O God,
you know us to be set
in the midst of so many and great dangers,
that by reason of the frailty of our nature
we cannot always stand upright:
Grant to us such strength and protection
as may support us in all dangers
and carry us through all temptations;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

The Collect of the Word:

Most holy God,
the earth is filled with your glory,
and before you angels and saints serve in awe.
Enlarge our vision to see
your power at work in the world, and by your grace
make us heralds of your Son,
Jesus Christ, our Saviour and Lord.

The Post-Communion Prayer:

God of tender care,
in this Eucharist we celebrate your love for us and for all people.
May we show your love in our lives
and know its fulfilment in your presence.
We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord.

When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, ‘Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch’ (Luke 5: 4) … a fisherman at work at Torcello in the Venetian lagoon (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Hymns:

321, Holy, holy, holy! Lord God almighty (CD 19)
358, King of glory, King of peace (CD 21)
395, When Jesus taught by Galilee (CD 48)

‘When they had brought their boats to shore, they left everything and followed him’ … fishing boats on a shore at Mount Athos (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicised Edition copyright © 1989, 1995, National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. http://nrsvbibles.org

Material from The Book of Common Prayer (the Church of Ireland, 2004) is copyright © Representative Body of the Church of Ireland 2004.



Praying with the Saints in Ordinary Time:
6 February 2022

Plaza Santa Cruz, close to Santa Teresa and Saint Teresa’s convent in Seville (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Patrick Comerford

The countdown to Lent begins today, which is the Fourth Sunday before Lent. Later this morning, I am presiding at preaching at the Parish Eucharist in Saint Mary’s Church, Askeaton, Co Limerick, and preaching at Morning Prayer in Saint Brendan’s Church, Tarbert, Co Kerry.

But, before this busy day begins, I am taking some time early this morning for prayer, reflection and reading.

The Church Calendar is now in Ordinary Time until Ash Wednesday, 2 March 2022. During this month in Ordinary Time, I hope to continue this Prayer Diary on my blog each morning, reflecting in these ways:

1, Short reflections drawing on the writings of a great saint or spiritual writer;

2, the day’s Gospel reading;

3, a prayer from the USPG prayer diary.

At present, I am exploring the writings of the great Carmelite mystic, Saint Teresa of Avila (1515-1582), so my quotations over these few days are from her writings:

‘Prayer is an act of love; words are not needed. Even if sickness distracts from thoughts, all that is needed is the will to love.’

Luke 5: 1-11 (NRSVA):

1 Once while Jesus was standing beside the lake of Gennesaret, and the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, 2 he saw two boats there at the shore of the lake; the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. 3 He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little way from the shore. Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat. 4 When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, ‘Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.’ 5 Simon answered, ‘Master, we have worked all night long but have caught nothing. Yet if you say so, I will let down the nets.’ 6 When they had done this, they caught so many fish that their nets were beginning to break. 7 So they signalled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both boats, so that they began to sink. 8 But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, ‘Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!’ 9 For he and all who were with him were amazed at the catch of fish that they had taken; 10 and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. Then Jesus said to Simon, ‘Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people.’ 11 When they had brought their boats to shore, they left everything and followed him.

The Prayer in the USPG Prayer Diary today (6 February 2022) invites us to pray:

King of Kings,
May you guide us in our calling.
Stir us to go where you send us,
With hope and faith in our hearts.

Yesterday’s reflection

Continued tomorrow

Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicised Edition copyright © 1989, 1995, National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. http://nrsvbibles.org