May the gift of joy and the blessings of peace be yours this Christmas and in the New Year You and your loved ones will be remembered at Holy Mass on Christmas Day His Eminence Cardinal Fernando Vérgez Alzaga, L.C. President of the Governorate of Vatican City State Sister Raffaella Petrini, F.S.E. Secretary General of Vatican City State Reverend Monsignor Terence E. Hogan International Chaplain The Staff of the Office of Relations with The Patrons of the Arts in the Vatican Museums In the picture GHERARDO DELLE NOTTI: «ADORAZIONE DEL BAMBINO»; FLORENCE, UFFIZI

Dear Patrons and Friends,

Although digital meetings and initiatives have become a big part of how we keep in contact with you, meeting in person and interacting on a more personal level allows us to build trust and the foundation for the relationship moving forward. That’s why your visits mean so much.

Together with Monsignor Nalty and Professor Elizabeth Lev, Louisiana Patrons enjoyed exclusive Patrons’ reception and events and view some of the beautiful works that their chapter helped restore.

The tour started with a small group on the Etruscan Terrace joined by Museums Director Barbara Jatta and our International Director, Fr Kevin Lixey, L.C.

On October 28 Lousiana Chapter experienced an exclusive visit to the restoration laboratory of the Ethnological Museum Anima Mundi along with Fr. Mapelli. The Chapter partially funded the restoration of two Rwanda shields with the help of several chapters as a retirement gift for Cardinal Bertello.

These two shields, once restored, will be on display in the new Africa section of the Anima Mundi Ethnological Museum. A portion of the restoration costs will fund part of the new display cases.

This shield is decorated with red and black geometric patterns, symbolic of the entrance door to the chieftain’s house. The main structure consists of wooden sticks supporting a rigid fabric of woven plant fibers.

Here the whole group is pictured in front of the Pinecone that decorates the Bramante Courtyard. Lousiana Chapter funded part of the monumental retoration project of the courtyard.

Special mass in the chapel of Governatorate

Dear Patrons and Friends,

Lent is a period of prayer, fasting, abstinence and good ‎works, in preparation for Christianity’s most solemn feast of Easter, celebrating Jesus’ glorious ‎resurrection following his passion and death on the cross.

This year we walk with Jesus in a series of stations, the Way of the Cross, accompanied by Monsignor Hogan and his meditations on this special time of the liturgical year. For those who are in Rome, Cardinal Mauro Gambetti, Archpriest of St. Peter’s Basilica invites the faithful to partecipate in the Stations of the Cross (Via Crucis) through the “Passion of Christ” artworks by the Italian artist Gaetano Previati (1852 – 1920).

Let’s find out more!

 

ARTWORKS ON DISPLAY
The Via Crucis by Gaetano Previati in St. Peter’s Basilica

 

The Via Crucis by Previati was painted between 1901-1902. The Vatican series is a gift from the industrialist Fabio Ponti during the formation of the Collection of Modern Religious Art commissioned by Paul VI and inaugurated in 1973.

The Via Crucis at the Museo Diocesano Carlo Maria Martini di Milano in 2018

It is the first time that these paintings are displayed for popular devotion inside a sacred building. “Previati had created ‘the Passion’ to stimulate people to pray through art,” said Cardinal Gambetti.  “We are happy that this purpose found the place of fulfillment in St. Peter’s Basilica 120 years after he created it in 1902”.

 

Thanks to an accurate and careful restoration carried out by the Vatican Museums, the images and the vivid colors brought ‘Christ Jesus Crucified’ to light.

The 14 Stations of the Cross underwent a restoration intervention in the 1980s. In 2020, under the responsibility of Francesca Persegati, the Painting Restoration Laboratory restored the original and recently found frames. Special thanks to the Minnesota and North Dakota Chapter of the Patrons of the Arts in the Vatican Museums who generously supported these works.

The Via Crucis in Saint Peter’s

Dear Patrons and Friends,

After a two-year pandemic, the news about the war in Ukraine are a lot to absorb, but as Lent begins we find in our faith the strenght to endure this difficult time.

Pope Francis appealed for an end to the war in Ukraine, for “the silencing of the guns” and the opening of humanitarian corridors to those fleeing the war. “God is with those who work for peace, not with those who use violence,” he said.
The pope’s words were directed to hundreds of pilgrims from many countries gathered in St. Peter’s Square.

 

“I invite everyone to make March 2, Ash Wednesday, a day of prayer and of fasting for peace in Ukraine, a day to be close to the suffering of the people of the Ukraine, a day to feel that we are all brothers and sisters and to implore God for the end of the war.”

 

Let us all welcome these words and celebrate the beginning of Lent to start our journey towards Easter focusing on Christ’s life, ministry, sacrifice, and resurrection.

Monsignor Terence E. Hogan, the chaplain of our North American Chapters will guide us through Lent with a one minute reflection on this important passage of the Catholic liturgy. Each video will feature art from the Vatican collection to keep testifying that Art, aside from being a credible witness to the beauty of creation, is also a tool of evangelisation.

A VATICAN MINUTE

Ash Wednesday

Watch the video

Dear Patrons and Friends,

As some of you may know, once a month, our Patrons have the chance to ask Vatican Museums curators their questions during the Coffee with Curators segment. Each month we are accompanied by the Vatican Museums Director, Barbara Jatta.

She is passionate about showing her appreciation for the Patrons who supported the research and restoration during the difficult times of the pandemic. This week, Dr. Jatta shared during the Coffee with Curators a recent and special exchange with the Holy Father.

Below you can watch her recount her experience with Pope Francis. It is exceptional proof of how your contribution to a centuries-long tradition follows the achievements of those who contributed to the Church’s history through art.

Watch the Video

Throughout history, art has been second only to life in bearing witness to the Lord. It was, and remains, a majestic road allowing us more than by words and ideas to approach the faith, because it follows the same path of faith, that of beauty. The beauty of art enriches life and creates communion, because it unites God, man and creation in a single symphony. It connects the past, the present and the future, and it attracts – in the same place and with the same gaze – different and far-off peoples.

-POPE FRANCIS
Address to the Patrons of the Arts
in the Vatican Museums, September, 2018

 

GOING BACK TO NORMALITY
Italian & International Chapter

Our Italian & International Chapter has been able to host and engage with our Patrons in many different ways. They have an upcoming special and exclusive tour of a Roman domus under the convent of Santa Susanna in Rome.

The Italian & International Chapter have made contributions to many major projects. They assisted in securing the Bank of America grant to help finance the restoration of the Apollo del Belvedere, one of the most admired among the ancient statues of Rome.

Dear Patrons and Friends,

What we like the most is to show how your support makes the magic of restoration possible. In the ongoing project we are covering today you will see how delicate the restoration of an Attic vase is and how many skills are behind the work of our restorers. We will also cover the Pope meeting with Vatican Museums Director Barbara Jattta, an encounter that testifies how strong is the bond between the Vatican and its museums.

Thank you  for making all of this possible.

 

8 VASES FROM THE ASTARITA COLLECTION
Ongoing project

 

The eight Attic vases come from two showcases in Room XX of the Gregorian Etruscan Museum, which is a collection with more than 400 artifacts pertinent to the Astarita Collection. Mario Astarita, the name of the collector, donated the artifacts to Pope Paul VI in 1967.

Since 2014 the artifacts have undergone a systematic review of their state of preservation and their previous restoration interventions, which had become obsolete over time.

The majority of the problems concerned the materials that integrate the gaps often degradated because of cracks and detachments. Where the integrations still have a structural function, it is necessary to review the aesthetic criteria of presentation, which have evolved. In some cases, it was also necessary to disassemble the glued fragments because they did not match. In the worst of cases, there was no adequate seal because the adhesive no longer worked. Restorers used a method which reestablished a more uniform reading of the entire artifact. They finally treated integrations chromatically and adapted them to the general background color of the vases.

Dear Patrons and Friends,

Advent is a time to make oneself ready for the coming of the Lord, Jesus Christ. This week we celebrate it throught the words and prayers of Monsignor Terence E. Hogan.

After serving at St. Ignatius Loyola in Palm Beach Gardens and teaching at the minor seminary, he was sent to Rome, where he obtained his doctorate in liturgy. Currently Msgr. Hogan is Pastor at Mary Help of Christians Church. In addition to his archdiocesan duties, Father Hogan serves as North American director of the Patrons of the Arts of the Vatican Museums, a group dedicated to preserving the artistic and historical treasures of the Vatican.

Celebrating Advent

 

Click on the image below to watch the video.

A special Advent message recorder for the Patrons of the Arts.

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Dear Patrons and Friends,

As we keep waiting for Christmas to come we would like to share with you the beautiful result of yet another restoration project funded by your generosity. Your support means so much to us and to the Vatican Museums and there are still so many projects waiting for your help, that is why we will bring up to your attention a pick from our Wishbook 2021, a focus driven by our last Insiders Course episode on the mysteries of Etruscan Art.

 

Neolithic relief  RESTORATION PROJECT COMPLETED