Madonna Della Strada

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The original painting of Madonna Della Strada hangs in the Church of the Gesu in Rome, prior to restoration.

Madonna Della Strada or Santa Maria Della Strada — the Italian for Our Lady of the Way, or Our Lady of the Road — is the name of a late 15th or 16th century image of the Blessed Virgin Mary, enshrined at the Church of the Gesu in Rome, motherchurch of the Society of Jesus religious order of the Roman Catholic Church.^[1]

The Madonna Della Strada is the patroness of the Society of Jesus. Its founder, Ignatius of Loyola, claimed to have been protected by the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary during battle in his service as a soldier.^[2]

[edit] History

The name goes back to a shrine established in Rome in th 5th century by the Astalli family, originally known as the Madonna degli Astalli. In 1568, Cardinal Alessandro Farnese erected the Gesu Church of Rome, the mother church of the Jesuits, in place of the former church of Santa Maria della Strada. The icon is located between two altars, the first dedicated to St. Ignatius, the second, the main altar of the Church, dedicated to the Holy Name of Jesus.^[3]

The icon was restored in 2006, revealing at least two layers of previous paint, the original art being a fresco on canvas.^[4]

[edit] Notes

[edit] References

• Almagno, R. Stephen, O.F.M. Editor. Mary Our Hope: A Selection from the Sermons, Addresses, and Papers of Cardinal John J. Wright. San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1984. 158f.

[edit] See also

• Roman Catholic Marian art
• Madonna (art)
• Patronage of the Blessed Virgin Mary
• Madonna Della Strada Chapel

[edit] External links

• Creighton University [4]
• CompanySJ Magazine [5]
• http://contemplatioadamorem.blogspot.com/2006/12/restored-image-of-madonna-della-strada.html