09 July 2021

Praying in Ordinary Time 2021:
41, the Chiesa Nuova, Rome

The Chiesa Nuova or the Church of Santa Maria in Vallicella is closely associated with the life of Saint Philip Neri (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Patrick Comerford

During this time in the Church Calendar known as Ordinary Time, I am taking some time each morning to reflect in these ways:

1, photographs of a church or place of worship;

2, the day’s Gospel reading;

3, a prayer from the prayer diary of the Anglican mission agency USPG (United Society Partners in the Gospel).

This week my photographs are from seven churches in Rome, and my photographs this morning (9 July 2021) are from the Chiesa Nuova or the Church of Santa Maria in Vallicella.

Saint Philip Neri intended to have a church with a plain interior and with whitewashed walls (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

The problem of homelessness and the number of people sleeping rough on the streets of Rome seems to be as proportionately high if not higher than in Dublin. It is interesting to see that homeless people felt welcome in the Via della Chiesa Nuova on the steps of the Chiesa Nuova and the Oratory next door, for if the Church can find no place for the homeless where are they going to find a welcome?

The Chiesa Nuova (New Church), known formally as Santa Maria in Vallicella, is closely associated with the life of Saint Philip Neri, and inside I have received a warm welcome and heard the story of both the church and the saint, his emphasis on love and his priorities for the poor and the marginalised in 16th century Rome.

The Chiesa Nuova faces onto the main thoroughfare of the Corso Vittorio Emanuele and the corner of Via della Chiesa Nuova. The first church on this site was built by Saint Gregory the Great, and by the 12th century the church was dedicated to Santa Maria in Vallicella (Our Lady in the Little Valley).

Since the 16th century, this has been the main church of the Oratorians, a congregation of secular priests founded by Saint Philip Neri in 1561. At that time in the Counter-Reformation, a number of similar new religious organisations were founded, including the Society of Jesus or Jesuits. In 1575, Pope Gregory XIII recognised Saint Philip Neri’s priests as a religious congregation and gave them this church and the small convent next door.

With the help of Cardinal Pier Donato Cesi and Pope Gregory XIII, Saint Philip Neri rebuilt the church. When Cardinal Cesi died, his brother Angelo Cesi, Bishop of Todi, continued to support the project. The first architect, Matteo di Città di Castello, was replaced later by Martino Longhi the Elder. The nave was completed in 1577, the church was consecrated in 1599, and the façade, designed by Fausto Rughesi, was completed in 1605 or 1606.

The ground plan of the church follows the Counter-Reformation design of churches established by the Jesuits in the 1550s at the nearby Gesù (Chiesa del Santissimo Nome di Gesù all’Argentina) on the Piazza del Gesù. The church has a single main nave with transepts and side chapels, leading towards the High Altar.

Saint Philip Neri intended to have a plain interior with whitewashed walls but after his death, mainly in the period from 1620 to 1690, it was filled by patrons with works of art, including masterpieces by some of the great artists of the day in Rome. Today, the church is renowned for its altarpieces by Barocci, Pietro its ceilings by Pietro da Cortona, and the slate and copper altarpiece by Peter Paul Rubens.

Pietro da Cortona’s decorations include the Trinity in the dome (painted 1647–1651), the prophets Isiah, Jeremiah, Daniel and Ezekiel in the four pendentives (1655-1656 and 1659-1660), and his fresco of ‘The Assumption of the Virgin Mary,’ adorning the apse. The visual continuum between frescoes in the dome and in the apse frescoes is aided by the fact that there is no dome drum. The Virgin of the Assumption in the apse raises her eyes towards Heaven while God the Father in the dome extends his hand as if he is bestowing his blessings on her.

Cortona’s nave vault fresco of the ‘The Miracle of the Madonna della Vallicella’ was completed in 1664-1665. It is set within an elaborate gold frame, a quadro riportato, and is painted with a Venetian-influenced view from below to above (di sotto in su). His designs for the vault decoration around the painting, with elaborate white and gilt stucco work, incorporating figurative, geometrical and naturalistic elements, were carried out by Cosimo Fancelli and Ercole Ferrata.

The walls of the nave and transept, as well as the sanctuary or presbytery ceiling, have canvases of Episodes of the Old and New Testament by Lazzaro Baldi, Giuseppe Ghezzi, Daniele Seiter, Giuseppe Passeri, and Domenico Parodi.

The first altarpiece on the right is ‘The Crucifixion’ by Pulzone with a ceiling fresco painted by Lanfranco; the third altarpiece is ‘The Ascension’ by Girolamo Muziano; the fourth is ‘The Pentecost’ by Giovanni Maria Morandi; the fifth is ‘The Assumption’ by Cerrini. In the transept, ‘The Coronation of the Virgin Mary’ is by d’Arpino, who also painted the first altarpiece, ‘The Presentation in the Temple,’ on the right.

In the right sanctuary or presbytery, the Spada family chapel was completed by Rainaldi in 1593 by Rainaldi. Inside, Maratta painted the Madonna with Child and Saint Charles Borromeo and Saint Ignatius Loyola (1675).

In the central sanctuary or presbytery, the bronze ciborium was designed by Ciro Ferri (1681). The Virgin and Child and two paintings to the side, Saints Domitilla, Nereo and Achilleo, and Saints Gregorio Magno, Mauro and Papia (1606-1608) are among the few works painted by Rubens that were created specifically for a Roman commission. When they were installed, the three slate panels caused a stir in Rome, which was not used to seeing the Flemish style of painting. The Rubens altarpiece was commissioned by Monsignor Jacopo Serra.

In the left transept, ‘The Presentation of Mary in the Temple’ (1593-1594) is by Federico Barocci, who also completed two altarpieces, including one in the Chapel of the Visitation (1583–1586).

The sacristy was begun in 1621 based on plans by Mario Arconio and completed by Paolo Maruscelli in 1629. In the sacristy is a marble sculptural group of Saint Philip Neri with an Angel by Alessandro Algardi. The wall frescoes are by Francesco Trevisani, ‘The Benediction by Christ’ is by Cerrini, and the frescoes in the ceiling, with angels carrying the instruments of the Passion (1633-1634), are by Pietro da Cortona.

The fifth altarpiece on the left is ‘The Annunciation’ by Passignano. The fourth is ‘The Visitation’ by Barocci, and the ceiling frescoes with saints are by Saraceni. The third is ‘The Adoration by the Shepherds’ by Durante Alberti and the vault frescoes with a saint are by by Cristofano Roncalli. The second altarpiece is ‘The Adoration by the Magi’ by Cesare Nebbia. The first is ‘The Presentation in the Temple’ by d’Arpino.

Alessandro Salucci worked on decorations in the Chapel of the Presentation of Our Lady in 1635. He painted frescoes on the vault, depicting the story of Hannah, Elkanah and the young Samuel, painting over earlier decorations by Domenico de Coldie in 1590.

Perhaps the best-known painting in the church is Caravaggio’s altarpiece, ‘The Entombment of Christ,’ although this has not remained in the chapel it was intended for. Caravaggio was commissioned by Alessandro Vittrice, a nephew of one of the friends of Saint Philip Neri, and depicted the entombment in a radically naturalistic format, foreign to the grand manner found in the remaining altarpieces. The original is in the Vatican Pinacoteca.

Saint Philip Neri is buried in the chapel to the left of the choir, in a tomb decorated with mother-of-pearl. The chapel was designed by Onorio Longhi in 1600. The first octagonal part of the chapel has a central vault painting of Saint Philip by Roncalli, and the altarpiece is a mosaic copy of ‘The Virgin Appearing to Saint Philip Neri’ by Guido Reni. In the inner and more removed part of the chapel, Cortona added a lantern to let in more light and the dome was redecorated, perhaps by Ciro Ferri.

Beside the church, the Casa dei Filippini or the House of the Oratorians includes the Oratory designed by the baroque architect Francesco Borromini.

Once again, in this church I received a warm but unobtrusive welcome. I was quietly offered headphones, directed to the main pieces of art, and the values of Saint Philip Neri and his Oratorians were explained gently, as well as being visible outside on the steps of the church and the oratory.

But two other fleeting thoughts passed through my mind as I sat in a pew at the back of the church thinking about its story and its beauty.

The first was the long line of stucco artists in Rome who handed on their art from one generation to the next, and was there something similar to a line of apostolic succession that eventually brought the art of the stuccodore to my ancestors in Co Wexford in the mid-18th century.

The second was an amusing thought about the way the word presbytery is used in architecture. The chancel is the space around the altar, and includes the choir and the sanctuary, and in architecture this area is sometimes called the presbytery. The word chancel derives from the French use of the Late Latin word cancellus (‘lattice’), referring to the latticed form of a rood screen. The word presbytery, on the other hand, designates the area in a church reserved for the priests. I wondered whether the link between the Roman Presbyteries, the priests and the Mass was ever to the fore of the minds of Calvinist Reformers in Scotland and Ireland in the 16th and 17th centuries as they decided to name their churches.

Cortona’s nave vault fresco of the ‘Miracle of the Madonna della Vallicella’ was completed in 1664-1665 (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Matthew 10: 16-23 (NRSVA):

[Jesus said:] 16 ‘See, I am sending you out like sheep into the midst of wolves; so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. 17 Beware of them, for they will hand you over to councils and flog you in their synagogues; 18 and you will be dragged before governors and kings because of me, as a testimony to them and the Gentiles. 19 When they hand you over, do not worry about how you are to speak or what you are to say; for what you are to say will be given to you at that time; 20 for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. 21 Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death; 22 and you will be hated by all because of my name. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. 23 When they persecute you in one town, flee to the next; for truly I tell you, you will not have gone through all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.’

Caravaggio’s altarpiece, ‘The Entombment of Christ,’ was commissioned by Alessandro Vittrice (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Prayer in the USPG Prayer Diary:

The Prayer in the USPG Prayer Diary today (9 July 2021) invites us to pray:

Lord, we pray for the wisdom and strength to be good disciples. May we spread the Gospel with conviction and confidence.

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

Church of the Sacred Heart
is the most striking building
in Castletownbere

The Church of the Sacred Heart, the most striking building in Castletownbere, Co Cork, was designed by RM Butler (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2021)

Patrick Comerford

During our visit to Castletownbere, Co Cork, on last month’s road trip or staycation in West Cork and Co Kerry, two of us visited the Church of the Sacred Heart, the Roman Catholic parish church, and Saint Peter’s Church, the former Church of Ireland parish church.

The Church of the Sacred Heart is the most striking building in the town. It was built in an imposing Gothic Revival style in 1907-1911 on the site of an earlier 19th century chapel. It stands on an elevated site set back from the Main Street and is approached by an imposing flights of steps, making it an important focal point in the town.

This imposing Gothic Revival church was designed by the Dublin-based architect Rudolf Maximilian Butler (1872-1943). The granite came from the Mountains of Mourne in Co Down and was brought by sea. Much of the funding was donated by British naval personnel based in Berehaven and by Irish emigrants in the US, and the foundation stone was laid on 22 August 1907.

The well-crafted stone workmanship, particularly the portal and rose windows, make an imposing façade. Inside, the church is a rich display of craftsmanship in stone, wood and stained glass.

Inside the Church of the Sacred Heart … funded by British naval personnel in Berehaven and Irish emigrants in the US (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2021)

Rudolf Maximilian Butler was born in Dublin on 20 September 1872. His father, John Butler, was a barrister from Carlow; his mother, Augusta Brassart, was from Schleswig-Holstein. At the time his father died, Rudolf was 10 and was on a Christmas holiday with his mother in Germany. He finished his education in Germany, and returned to Dublin at the age of 16.

After a brief spell in the wine business, he became a pupil of the architect James Joseph Farrall (1856-1911) from 1889, and then, from 1891, of Walter Glynn Doolin (1850-1902).

Butler stayed on as Doolin’s assistant from 1896 to 1899, when he became his junior partner. When Doolin died in 1902, Butler carried on the practice in partnership with James Louis Donnelly as Doolin Butler & Donnelly.

Inside the Church of the Sacred Heart facing the liturgical west (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2021)

As the architect and engineer to Rathdown Rural District Council, Butler designed 500 cottages in Co Dublin and Co Wicklow.

Butler revived the Architectural Association of Ireland in 1896, with William Richard Gleave, Alfred Ignatius McGloughlin and Harry Allberry, and was an active member of the Royal Institute of Architects of Ireland.

Butler was brought up a Moravian, but was largely engaged in Roman Catholic church work, first through his association with Doolin.

When Butler was 23, a chance encounter with an Irish Passionist, Father McMullen, on a train in France resulted in the commission to design part of the Passionist chapel in the Avenue Hoche, Paris. This probably led to his commissions for the Passionists in Ireland, including the church and monastery at Ardoyne, Belfast (1900-1902) and a new college in Enniskillen (1917).

The altar and carved reredos in the Church of the Sacred Heart (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2021)

Butler’s other works include Saint Patrick’s Church, Newport, Co Mayo; the Carnegie Libraries in Millstreet, Co Cork, Kenmare, Listowel and Tralee, Co Kerry, Enniskerry, Co Wicklow, and Cabinteely, Dundrum and Shankill, Co Dublin; Saint Colman’s Church on Inishbofin; works on the Presentation Convent in Dingle, Co Kerry; the Deluxe Cinema on Camden Street, Dublin; and the University Boat Club House, Islandbridge, Dublin.

Butler won first prize in the competition in 1912 for designing University College Dublin. He was appointed examiner in architecture of the National University of Ireland in 1923 and became the first Professor of Architecture at UCD in 1924. When the RIBA conference took place in Dublin in 1931, he received the honorary degree of Master of Architecture from the NUI.

He was involved in establishing the Georgian Society, and in 1899 he became the editor and, for a few months, co-proprietor, of the Irish Builder. The magazine was sold in 1900, but Butler remained editor until 1935.

Saint Patrick and Saint Brigid … carved details in the reredos (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2021)

Butler retired as Professor of Architecture at UCD in 1942 and died on 3 February 1943.

He was a member of Royal Institute of Architects of Ireland (MRIAI, 1896), and a fellow (FRIAI, 1915), a Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects (FRIBA, 1906), a founding member of the Architectural Association of Ireland (1896), a Member of the Royal Irish Academy (MRIA, 1919), a Fellow of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland (FRSAI, 1920) and an associate of the Royal Hibernian Academy (1927).

He lived at 21 Harcourt Street, 3 Martello Terrace, Bray, 59 Harcourt Street, 11 Wellington Place, Clyde Road, 34 Upper Leeson Street, and 73 Ailesbury Road, Dublin, which he designed for himself.

Butler and his Annie Gibbons from Co Mayo were the parents of a son and three daughters. His son John Geoffrey Butler and his daughter Eleanor Grace Butler carried on his practice after his death.

Christ the Alpha and the Omega … a carving above the main door (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2021)

I knew his daughter, Eleanor Butler (1914-1997), also known as Lady Wicklow, through her role in the Glencree Centre for Reconciliation. She was a Labour member of Dublin Corporation and was a Labour candidate for the Dáil in 1948. She was a Senator from 1948 to 1951.

Throughout her life, she maintained strong links with the trade union movement and her friendship with Denis Larkin.

Through her friendship with the poet John Betjeman she met her future husband, William Howard (1902-1978), then known as Lord Clonmore or Billy Clonmore. He had been a priest in the Church of England and was an active Anglo-Catholic slum priest in the East End of London, working with the Magdalen Mission. When he became a Roman Catholic in 1932, he was disinherited by his father. He succeeded his father as eighth Earl of Wicklow in 1946, and the couple married in Glasthule on 2 September 1959.

The chancel window by AE Child of An Túr Gloine depicts the Risen Christ, Saint John the Evangelist, left, and Saint John the Baptist, right (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2021)

Butler’s church in Castletownbere has an interesting collection of stained-glass windows from the studios of An Túr Gloine, including the chancel window (1909) by AE Childe, and windows by Catherine O’Brien and Ethel Rhind.

The stained-glass chancel window is by Alfred Ernest Child (1875-1939) of An Túr Gloine. The main image depicts the Risen Christ, with Christ’s deposition from the Cross below.

The panels to the left depict Saint John the Evangelist, holding a pen and the poisoned chalice, and below Saint John’s vision or revelation in the cave on Patmos.

The panels to the right depict Saint John the Baptist, and below the Baptism of Christ by Saint John the Baptist.

The Rose Window depicting the Adoration of the Lamb on the Throne (1910) by Catherine O’Brien of An Túr Gloine (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2021)

The Rose Window at the liturgical west end of the church, above the gallery and porch, depicts the Adoration of the Lamb on the Throne (1910).

This colourful window is by Catherine O’Brien (1881-1963) of An Túr Gloine.

Two two-light windows depicting the Sacred Heart and the Annunciation (1910) are by Ethel Rhind (1878-1952) of An Túr Gloine.

The Sacred Heart window (1910) by Ethel Rhind of An Túr Gloine (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2021)

As for Saint Peter’s Church, the former Church of Ireland parish church in Castletownbere, that’s a story for another day.