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The Disputation over the Blessed Sacrament (or more appropriately, The Triumph of Religion), painted by Raphael between 1508 and 1511, represents Christianity’s victory over and the transformation of the multiple philosophical tendencies shown in the School of Athens fresco on the opposite wall. The theologians of the Disputation are not gathered in a vaulted temple like the philosophers of the School. Instead, their bodies make up the Church’s architecture. They form one body, united in an ethereal apse flanking the Trinity and the Eucharist, that when consecrated becomes the body of Christ.

    “Raphael’s ability surpasses even his legend,” says Prof. Arnold Nesselrath, Director of the Department of Byzantine, Medieval and Modern Art, who has led the restorations of the School of Athens and the Parnassus frescoes. These frescoes are located in the Stanza della Segnatura, the library of the Julius II in the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace. Raphael’s quick and confident execution is a sign of his mature style, which departs from that of his teacher, Perugino.  Like Michelangelo, he creates lights and shadows within the tones of a single color, and combines color in a dramatic manner.  His mastery of the brush is now evident in the idealized portraits that represent key figures from the Old and New Testaments, saints, Doctors of the Church, theologians and literary personages,

    The Vatican Museums restorers found the fresco in good condition with no over-paintings and have thus limited their efforts to cleaning and repairing structural damage. The wall behind the fresco had originally supported a fireplace, which was later removed and placed in the Stanza with the fresco.  The heat created many cracks and caused the wall to swell.  Raphael’s colors were not lost but the wall expanded slightly causing damage, such as two fissures in St. Thomas Aquinas’ portrait. The restorers filled the fissures with lighter tones to make them less apparent.  The new restoration has been made possible thanks to the generosity of a patron of the New York Chapter.

    They also discovered damage to the portraits of Sixtus IV and St. Gregory the Great, done by the mercenaries of Charles V during the sack of Rome in 1527.  The names of Martin Luther and Charles V are etched on the fresco and provide a testimony of this sad event that decimated half of the Roman population.

    A chronological issue was resolved with this restoration, as well.  There had been a debate among art historians as to whether Raphael first painted The School of Athens or The Disputation when he began to work in the Stanza. According to Professor Nesselrath it now seems more likely Raphael began with The School of Athens. The restorers were also able to determine that portions of the decorations in the Stanza, such as the two monochrome chiaroscuri under the Parnassus were painted during the reign of Julius II, and not under his successor Leo X, as was previously believed.

SOURCE: http://www.vatican-patrons.org/recent.htm

 
Getting to know Our Patron Saint, Saint Bonaventure Feast: July 15
‘A man of eminent learning and eloquence, and of outstanding holiness, he was known for his kindness, approachableness, gentleness and compassion.’  Pope Gregory X on hearing of the death of Bonaventure.    A compilation of his story from various sources by Heather Knox Saint Bonaventure was born in the central Italian town of Bagnoregio about the year 1220 and was named Giovanni after his father.  How he came to be known as Bonaventure is a mystery.  Fact:  Bonaventure himself wrote that, as a young boy, his life was saved through the intercession of Saint Francis.  Fiction(?) Saint Francis prayed for the boy’s recovery and upon foreseeing his future greatness, called out “O buona ventura”, O good fortune!  Whether or not this second part is true, he did take on the name Bonaventure, which also means Welcome.     The old city of Bagnoregio   Nothing is known of Bonaventure’s early life until the age of 18 when he entered the newly founded followers of St. Francis, the Order of Friars Minor.  (The OFM is celebrating its 800thanniversary this year!).  Four years later, in 1242, he was sent to continue his education at the University of Parisunder the English theologian and Franciscan, Alexander of Hales.  Here he became friends with future saint Thomas Aquinas.  The two friends received their degrees of theology together in 1248.  Bonaventure stayed on at the U of P and lectured theology.    Bonaventure takes his vows with the Franciscans   The same year Bonaventure received his license to lecture, his great mentor Alexander of Hales died.  Within just 3 years, Alexander’s position of chair of Theology was given to our Saint, a position he would occupy for 12 years.  While Bonaventure felt he was too young for such an honor, being merely 24, his superiors were confident in their choice.  It was said of him, “This Brother Bonaventure was a most eloquent man, wonderful in his understanding of the Sacred Page and of the whole of Theology.  He was also an excellent lecturer, a very fine preacher and in his presence every tongue was hushed.”   In Bonaventure’s times, teachers at the University of Paris were paid by the Church, and the main subject offered was . . .  theology.  While the mendicant orders (the Franciscans and Dominicans) held the minority of teaching positions, they had the greatest followings, due largely to the enthusiasm and devotion of Bonaventure and his peers.  This created huge tension between them and the more secular professors and culminated in the mendicants being forced out of the University.  Pope Alexander IV reinstated them and sent the leader of their opposition, William of St. Amour, into a 10-year exile, but tensions still ran high for several more years.  These were difficult times for our saint.   At the age of 37, Bonaventure was elected Minister-General of the Franciscan Order.  At that time, the Order was passing through a serious crisis.  While one group felt that the Franciscan ideals could only be met by a life of rigor, their opponents felt that more relaxation was required.  As a remedy, Bonaventure drew up a new constitution for the Order, his own interpretation of the original “Rule”.   It advocates a middle of the road lifestyle while still placing Jesus first, and has not changed much to this day.  Bonaventure was stern in his expectations that all would take heed, and condemned all extremist behavior.  For his success, he is known as the Second Founder of the Franciscans.    Bonaventure showing Thomas Aquinas his inspiration.   In 1260, Bonaventure was asked to write the life of St. Francis.  Although several legends of the Saint already existed, they had various biases and the Franciscans wanted one biography to pass down through the ages. Also, it was hoped that one official biography would help to create unity among the various Franciscan chapters. Bonaventure’s feeling of unworthiness was overcome by his love for St. Francis.  He traveled to Italy and was able to gather information from Francis’s disciples who were still living.  Returning to Paris, he wrote up the life story, choosing to stress more the spiritual side of the man.  This became St. Francis’s OFFICIAL life story and all others were ordered destroyed.  PS In 1993, Time Magazine named St. Francis as one of the ten most influential people of the millennium.   Millennium Top Ten By TIME''S STAFF, AFTER MUCH DEBATE, MAKES ITS CONTRIBUTION TO THE GAME OF LISTMAKING Thursday, Oct. 15, 1992 GREATEST PEOPLE LISTED IN THE ORDER OF THEIR BITH:  The millennium St. Francis of Assisi Johannes Gutenberg Michelangelo Martin Luther Galileo William Shakespeare Thomas Jefferson Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Albert Einstein   As Bonaventure’s “Life of Francis” dwelled mainly on Francis’s spiritual life, no biography, even this mini one, is complete without mention of Bonaventure’s great spirituality.  There is a quote I like – “I am a soul, I have a body” and while it applies to us all it is very fitting here.  As well as being an excellent administrator, Bonaventure made time to grow in his closeness to God, approaching this journey in a very scientific way.  It begins with knowing yourself, faults and all and replacing pride with humility and charity.  Bonaventure’s Godliness was well recognized among his peers, and he was given the title of Seraphic Doctor.  The seraphim are the highest rank of angels, those closest to God and who at all times contemplate God’s goodness.    A scene from Dante’s Paradiso   The next few years of Bonaventure’s life reads like a suspense thriller…. England, 1265:  Civil war is rampant, the state is interfering with the Church, and the Archbishop of York has just died.  Pope Urban sends Cardinal Guido to sort things out but Guido is threatened with death, dare he set foot on English soil.  Guido retreats toRome, Urban dies and Guido becomes the next Pope, Clement.  Clement, well understanding the need for a skillful negotiator, assigns Bonaventure as Archbishop of York.  Bonaventure pleads to stay back, and being held in such high regard, Clement revokes the order.  Rome, 1268:  Clement dies and for 3 years(!!) there is no pope as the cardinals cannot agree on his replacement.  In desperation, they empower Bonaventure to make a decision among six candidates.  Bonaventure chooses the man who would become Gregory X.  Gregory is so full of admiration for our saint, he summons him to Rome to be his advisor in many important matters.   Soon after becoming Pope, Gregory X decided to hold a General Council.  He also decided that if his council was to be a success he needed the best help available.  Setting his sights on Bonaventure, he discharged our saint from his duties with the Franciscans, made him Bishop of Albano and Cardinal of the Roman Church, and ordered him to leave Paris at once and make haste for Florence, the Papal residence at that time.  With great reluctance, Bonaventure set out.  While staying overnight at a small Franciscan convent outside of Florence the Pope’s envoys arrived with his official regalia to escort him the rest of the way.  They found Bonaventure outside, washing the dishes.  As the story goes, Bonaventure ordered the pope’s representatives to hang the cardinal’s hat on the branch of a nearby tree until he was finished.    The General Council of Lyons that Bonaventure had organized began in May 1274.  Our Saint’s coup de grace was the reconciling of the Greeks with the Latin element of the Church, a cause on which he had spent considerable effort.  Although the reconciliation was not lasting, it is a credit to Bonaventure’s sincerity and amiability that a union was even considered.  The union was accepted on July 6th.  Within days, our Saint fell ill. He died on Sunday, July 15, 1274, and was buried that evening in the church of the Friars Minor at Lyons.  Hewas honored with a splendid funeral attended by the Pope, the King of Aragon, the cardinals and the other members of the council.  To show the Church’s deep sense of gratitude for Bonaventure’s efforts over the years, Pope Gregory ordered all the priests of the Catholic world to offer up Holy Mass for the repose of Bonaventure’s soul.     Bonaventure’s funeral procession   In 1434, 160 years after Bonaventure’s death, a new church dedicated to Saint Francis was built in Lyons.  Seen as a more suitable resting place for our Saint, his body was moved.  To everyone’s awe, it was found that Bonaventure’s head remained in perfect condition, without even the slightest sign of decay.  This miracle brought on a renewed reverence for our Saint, both within the Church and without.  The people of Lyons were so profoundly affected that they chose Bonaventure to be the patron of their city.  Relics were requested by kings and churches, and the movement for our Saint’s canonization, which had been long bogged down, took on a renewed urgency.   In 1494, King Charles of France erected a magnificent side chapel to the church of Saint Francis in Lyons for the remains of Bonaventure.  Our Saint’s body was put into a silver plated urn, and his head was put into another. Here, they rested peacefully until 1562 when Lyons fell to the hands of the Hugenots.  The church was ransackedof its many treasures, but luckily, the head priest had the foresight to bury the urns, and send his accomplices to other convents to preserve their secret.  Unluckily, the Hugenots did manage to find one urn, the one containing Bonaventure’s body, which they burned in public.  Peace prevailed once more, Bonaventure’s remaining urn was brought back to Lyons, and his shrine regained its former glory.  During the French Revolution, however, (1790’s) the church was burned completely to the ground.  Once again the urn containing the head of our Saint was buried in a secret place.  This time the priests took their secret to the grave and all subsequent searches to find the urn have been to no avail.    The Hugenots in France In our Parish...     Saint Bonaventure, Pray for Us.http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,976745,00.htmlhttp://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,976745,00.htmlshapeimage_5_link_0shapeimage_5_link_1

We produced prayer cards this year to celebrate the Feast of St. Bonaventure.


The prayer was inspired by the writings of our Saint himself.

In the narthex of our church, by the baptismal font.  We have a framed reproduction of the Tree of Life.  Read the description below.

Thanks...


Our heartfelt thanks go to the

Discovering St. Bonaventure group:

   

            Leslie Padula           Jane Isakeit

            John McCarthy        Heather Knox

            Shawn Kingston      Virginia Battiste

            Dan McLaughlin     Kristine Klukas

Image: in the church, close to the pastor’s confessional,

by Al Gerritsen