Feast Days Of The Blessed Virgin Mary (Part Two).

Text and Illustrations from Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia,
unless otherwise stated.

English: Michelangelo's Pietà in Saint Peter's Basilica in the Vatican, Italy.

Français: La Pietà de Michel-Ange située dans la Basilique Saint-Pierre, au Vatican.

(Cropped and cleaned version of Image:Michelangelo's Pieta 5450.jpg). 

Photo: Stanislav Traykov).

This File: 19 December 2005.

User: Glimz.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Other differences in Feasts relate to specific events that occurred in history. For instance, the Feast of Our Lady of Victory (late renamed Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary) was based on the 1571 victory of the Papal States against the Muslims in the Battle of Lepanto, and is unique to Roman Catholics. Note that the Protestant Reformation had already started several decades before the Battle of Lepanto.

During the month of May, May Devotions to the Blessed Virgin Mary take place in many Catholic regions. There is no firm structure as to the content of a May Devotion. It includes, usually, the singing of Marian Anthems, Readings from the Scriptures, a Sermon, and/or a Presentation by local Choirs. The whole Rosary is prayed separately and is usually not a part of a Marian Devotion, although Hail Marys are included. 

The Devotions in May were promoted by the Jesuits and spread to Jesuit Colleges, and to the entire Latin Church, and since that time it has been a regular feature of Catholic life. Marian Devotions may be held within the family, around a "May Altar", consisting of a table, with a Marian picture, decorated with many May flowers. The family would then pray together the Rosary. May Devotions exist in the entire Latin Church and, since that time, have been a regular feature of Catholic life.

Inmaculada Concepción (La Colosal) (The Immaculate Conception).

Artist: Bartolomé Esteban Murillo (1617–1682).

Date: 1650.

Source: http://www.juntadeandalucia.es/cultura/museos/MBASE/index.jsp?redirect=S2_3_1_1.jsp&idpieza=25&pagina=3.

Author: Bartolomé Esteban Murillo (1617–1682).

(Wikimedia Commons)

Traditionally, the month of October is "Rosary month" in the Catholic Church, when the Faithful are encouraged to Pray the Rosary, if possible. Since 1571, Mary, Queen of the Holy Rosary, is venerated on 7 October. Pope Benedict XVI, (now Pope Emeritus), following all his predecessors, also encouraged the Rosary during the month of October: The month of October is dedicated to the Holy Rosary, the unique contemplative Prayer, through which, guided by the Lord's Heavenly Mother, we fix our gaze on the Face of the Redeemer, in order to be conformed to his Joyful, Light-Filled (introduced by Pope John Paul II), Sorrowful and Glorious Mysteries. 

This ancient Prayer is having a providential revival, thanks also to the example and teaching of the beloved Pope John Paul II. The reader is invited to re-read his Apostolic Letter, Rosarium Virginis Mariae, and to put into practice its directions on the personal, family and community levels.

The following Italic Text is taken from The Feast Days of  Our Lady, appearing in The Saint Andrew Daily Missal (1945 Edition): 

2 February The Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

11 February The Apparitions of the Immaculate at Lourdes.

25 March The Annunciation.

26 April Our Lady of Good Counsel.

(Friday in Passion Week) The Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

31 May The Blessed Virgin Mary, Mediatrix Of All Graces.

27 June Our Lady of Perpetual Succour.

16 July Our Lady of Mount Carmel.

2 July The Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

5 August Dedication of the Church of Our Lady Of The Snow.

14 August The Vigil of the Assumption.

15 August The Assumption.

22 August The Octave Day of the Assumption.

(Saturday within the Octave of the Sacred Heart) The Most Pure Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

8 September The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

12 September The Most Holy Name of Mary.

15 September The Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

24 September Our Lady of Ransom.

7 October The Holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

11 October The Maternity of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

21 November The Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

27 November Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal.

1 December Our Lady of Guadalupe.

7 December The Vigil of the Immaculate Conception.

8 December The Immaculate Conception.

15 December The Octave Day of the Immaculate Conception.

English: The Immaculate Conception.

Deutsch: Unbefleckte Empfängnis, Szene: Maria und Heilige: Hl. Katharina, Hl. Margaretha, Hl. Evangelist Johannes, Hl. Petrus, Hl. Philippus Benitius und Hl. Antoninus von Florenz (Antoninus Pierozzi, Bischof von Florenz)

Artist: Piero di Cosimo (1462–1521).

Date: Circa 1505.

Current location: Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence, Italy.

Note: Deutsch: Urspr. für die Tedaldi-Kapelle der Santissima Annunciata in Florenz.

Source/Photographer: The Yorck Project: 10.000 Meisterwerke der Malerei. DVD-ROM, 2002. 

ISBN 3936122202. Distributed by DIRECTMEDIA Publishing GmbH.

Permission: [1].

(Wikimedia Commons)

Among the most prominent Marian Feast Days, in the Ordinary Rite of the Roman Catholic Calendar, as distinct from the Extraordinary Rite of the Roman Catholic Calendar, are:

1 January Mary, Mother of God.
8 January Our Lady of Prompt Succor.
2 February Purification of the Virgin.
11 February Our Lady of Lourdes.
25 March Annunciation by Archangel Gabriel (it may be either moved to the day before Palm Sunday,  should this date be on Holy Week; or to the Monday after the Second Sunday of Easter, if this date falls on either Friday or Saturday of Holy Week or during Easter Week).
26 April Our Lady of Good Counsel.
1 May Queen of Heaven.
13 May Our Lady of Fatima.
24 May Mary Help of Christians.
31 May Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
27 June Our Lady of Perpetual Help.
16 July Our Lady of Mount Carmel.
2 August Our Lady of Angels.
5 August Dedication of the Basilica of Saint Mary Major.
15 August Assumption into Heaven.
21 August Our Lady of Knock.
22 August Queenship of Mary.
22 August Black Madonna of Częstochowa.
31 August The Virgin Mary, Mediatrix.
8 September Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
12 September The Most Holy Name of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
15 September Our Lady of Sorrows.
19 September Our Lady of La Salette.
24 September Our Lady of Walsingham, Feast of Our Lady of Ransom.
7 October Most Holy Rosary.
16 November Our Lady of Mercy.
21 November Presentation of Mary.
8 December Immaculate Conception.
12 December Our Lady of Guadalupe.
1 day after Ascension of Jesus - Our Lady of the Apostles.
1 day after Pentecost - Our Lady of Holy Church.
9 days after Corpus Christi - Immaculate Heart of Mary.

English: Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception.

Espanol: Inmaculada Concepción.

Artist: Diego Velázquez (1599–1660).

Date: Circa 1618.

Source: Web Gallery of Art: Image Info about artwork.

Author: Diego Velázquez (1599–1660).

(Wikimedia Commons)

In the General Roman Calendar of 1962, the Visitation is on 2 July (31 May in the present General Roman Calendar); the Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary on 31 May (22 August in the present General Roman Calendar); the Immaculate Heart of Mary on 22 August; the Seven Dolours of the Blessed Virgin Mary on Friday in Passion Week (the week prior to Holy Week) and on 15 September; and the Motherhood of the Blessed Virgin Mary on 11 October. The General Roman Calendar of 1954 differs from that of 1962 in not having the Feast of the Queenship of Mary, which was instituted in the following year.

Among the most prominent Marian Feast Days in the Eastern Orthodox and Greek-Catholic Liturgical Calendars are:

2 February Purification of the Most Holy Theotokos.
25 March Annunciation of the Theotokos.
15 August Dormition of the Theotokos.
8 September Nativity of the Theotokos.
1 October Protection of Our Most Holy Lady Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary.
21 November The Entry of the Most Holy Theotokos into the Temple.
9 December Feast of the Conception of the Most Holy Theotokos.
26 December Synaxis of the Theotokos.

Note: Feasts ranked among the twelve Great Feasts are in BOLD TYPE. Minor Feasts are in ROMAN TYPE.

English: The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Deutsch: Maria Himmelfahrt, Hochaltar für Sta. Maria Gloriosa die Fari in Venedig.

Français: L'Assomption de la Vierge.

Artist: Titian (1490–1576).

Current location: Institution:Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari, Venice, Italy.

Source/Photographer: The Yorck Project: 10.000 Meisterwerke der Malerei. DVD-ROM, 2002. 

ISBN 3936122202. Distributed by DIRECTMEDIA Publishing GmbH.

Permission: [1].

(Wikimedia Commons)

In Calendars throughout the Anglican Communion and Continuing Anglican Churches, the following Marian Feasts are observed:

2 February Purification of the Blessed Virgin.
11 February Our Lady of Lourdes.
25 March Annunciation of Our Saviour to the Blessed Virgin Mary (Lady Day).
1 May Queen of Heaven.
31 May Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
15 August Falling Asleep of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
8 September Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
15 October Our Lady of Walsingham (Catholic Feast on 24 September, as of 2001).
8 December Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

THIS CONCLUDES THE ARTICLE ON THE FEAST DAYS OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY.

The Second Mystery Of Paschaltide: The Feast Of The Ascension Of Our Lord. Liturgical Note For The Ascension.

Roman Text taken from The Saint Andrew Daily Missal.

Illustrations and Captions taken from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia,
unless otherwise stated.

English: Woodcut for "Die Bibel in Bildern", 1860.

Deutsch: Holzschnitt aus "Die Bibel in Bildern", 1860.

Français: Gravure en bois pour «Die Bibel in Bildern», 1860.

Date: 1851-1860.

Source: Die Bibel in Bildern.

Author: Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld (1794–1872).

Permission: Reproduction of a painting that is in the public domain because of its age.

This File: 13 December 2008.

User: McLeod.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The Feast of the Ascension was formerly not distinguished from Pentecost, because Paschaltide was regarded as a single Feast Day, beginning at Easter and ending with the descent of the Holy Ghost on the Apostles.

Before long, the Ascension was kept on the fortieth day after the Resurrection, having its own Vigil and Octave. It is now a Holy Day of Obligation (this Edition of The Saint Andrew Daily Missal is dated 1945)  [the Holy Day of Obligation was removed by the Bishops of England and Wales, when they transferred the Feast Day to the following Sunday].

While they looked on, He was raised up.

Illustration and Caption available at the web-site of
Una Voce of Orange County,  
980 Dorothea Rd., La Habra Hts. CA 90631, 
California, United States of America.
Phone: (562) 691-5246. E-mail: president@uvoc.org
Website: www. uvoc.org
and taken from The Saint Andrew Daily Missal, 1952 Edition,
and reproduced with the kind permission of St. Bonaventure Press

The symbolic ceremony, peculiar to this Feast, is the final extinction of the Paschal Candle, whose light, during these Holy Forty Days, has represented the presence of Our Lord in the midst of His disciples. It is extinguished after the reading of the Ascension Gospel, which speaks to us of Our Blessed Lord's departure into Heaven.

The White Vestments and the Alleluia, "that drop of the supreme rejoicing," says Rupert [Benedictine Monk,  originally from Liege, Belgium, Abbot of Deutz Monastery, near Cologne, Germany, died in 1135], "which thrills through Jerusalem, above," betrays the joy felt by the Church at the memory of Our Lord's triumph , at the thought of the happiness of the Angels and the Just Men of the Old Law, who share it, and of the expectation of the Holy Ghost, who will make her to join in it, herself.

The spirit of this Feast is emphasised in the Collect, which shows us that having, with the Liturgical Cycle, followed Our Lord through the whole course of His life, we must lift our gaze towards Heaven, and dwell there by Faith and Hope, for it is the true fatherland of God's children.

Feast Days Of The Blessed Virgin Mary (Part One).

Text and Illustrations from Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia,
unless otherwise stated.

The Virgin at Prayer.

Artist: Giovanni Battista Salvi da Sassoferrato (1609–1685).

Description: Giovanni Battista Salvi "Il Sassoferrato", Jungfrun i bön (1640-1650). 

National Gallery, London.

Date: Between 1640 and 1650.

Current location: National Gallery, London.

Source: Web Gallery of Art: Image Info about artwork.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Marian Feast Days are specific Holy Days of the Liturgical Year, celebrated by Christians as significant Marian Days for the Celebration of events in the life of the Blessed Virgin Mary and her veneration. The number of Marian Feasts celebrated, their names (and, at times, dates) can vary among Christian denominations.

The earliest Feasts, that relate to Mary, grew out of the Cycle of Feasts that celebrated the Nativity of Jesus. Given that according to the Gospel of Luke (Luke 2:22–40), forty days after the birth of Jesus, along with the Presentation of Jesus at the Temple, Mary was purified according to Jewish customs, the Feast of the Purification began to be celebrated by the 5th-Century, and became the Feast of Simeon in Byzantium.

A separate Feast for Mary, connected with the "Nativity of Jesus" Cycle of Feasts, originated in the 5th-Century, even perhaps before the First Council of Ephesus took place in 431 A.D. It seems certain that the Sermon, by Proclus, before Nestorius (the Archbishop of Constantinople, whose Nestorianism rejected the title of Theotokos), which began the controversy that lead to the 431 A.D. Council, was about a Feast for the Virgin Mary.

Our Lady of Sorrows, by Moreno,Warfhuizen, Holland.

The venerated image of Our Lady of Warfhuizen.

Photo: 10-08-2007.

Source: Own work.

Author: Broederhugo.

(Wikimedia Commons)

In the 7th- and 8th-Centuries, four more Marian Feasts were established in the Eastern Church. Byzantine Emperor, Maurice, selected 15 August as the date of the Feast of Dormition and Assumption. The Feast of the Nativity of Mary was perhaps started in the first half of the 7th-Century in the Eastern Church.

In the Western Church, a Feast dedicated to Mary, just before Christmas, was celebrated in the Churches of Milan and Ravenna, in Italy, in the 7th-Century. The four Roman Marian feasts of Purification, Annunciation, Assumption, and Nativity of Mary, were gradually and sporadically introduced into England and, by the 11th-Century, were being celebrated there.

Over time, the number and nature of Feasts (and the associated Titles of Mary), and the venerative practices that accompany them, have varied a great deal among diverse Christian traditions. Overall, there are significantly more Titles, Feasts and venerative Marian practices among Roman Catholics than any other Christian tradition.

English: Blessed Virgin Mary with the Infant, Jesus, with Pope Sixtus II and Saint Barbara.

Deutsch: Sixtinische Madonna, Szene: Maria mit Christuskind, Hl. Papst Sixtus II. und Hl. Barbara.

Artist: Raphael (1483–1520).

Date: 1513 - 1514.

Current location: Gemäldegalerie, Dresden, Germany.

Note: Deutsch: Urspr. Hochaltar von San Sisto in Piacenza.

Source/Photographer: The Yorck Project: 10.000 Meisterwerke der Malerei. DVD-ROM, 2002. 

ISBN 3936122202. Distributed by DIRECTMEDIA Publishing GmbH.

Permission: [1].

(Wikimedia Commons)

Some differences in Feasts originate from Doctrinal issues - the Feast of the Assumption is such an example. Given that there is no agreement among all Christians on the circumstances of the death, Dormition or Assumption of Mary, the Feast of Assumption is celebrated among some denominations and not others. In his early years, Martin Luther used to celebrate the Feast of the Assumption, but, towards the end of his life,  he stopped celebrating it.

While the Western Catholics celebrate the Feast of the Assumption on 15 August, some Eastern Catholics celebrate it as Dormition of the Theotokos, and may do so on 28 August, if they follow the Julian Calendar. The Eastern Orthodox also celebrate it as the Dormition of the Theotokos, one of their 12 Great Feasts. The Armenian Apostolic Church celebrates the Feast of Dormition not on a fixed date, but on the Sunday nearest 15 August. Moreover, the practices that go beyond Doctrinal differences also vary, e.g. for the Eastern Orthodox, the Feast is preceded by the fourteen-day Dormition Fast.

Feasts continue to be developed, e.g. the Feast of the Queenship of Mary was declared in 1954 in the Papal Encyclical "Ad Caeli Reginam" by Pope Pius XII. The initial Ceremony for this Feast involved the Crowning of the Salus Populi Romani icon of the Virgin Mary, in Rome, by Pope Pius XII, as part of a Procession in Rome, and is unique to Roman Catholics.

PART TWO FOLLOWS.

The Second Mystery Of Paschaltide: The Feast Of The Ascension Of Our Lord. Historical Note For The Ascension.

Roman Text taken from The Saint Andrew Daily Missal.

Illustrations and Captions taken from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia,
unless otherwise stated.

English: Woodcut for "Die Bibel in Bildern", 1860.

Deutsch: Holzschnitt aus "Die Bibel in Bildern", 1860.

Français: Gravure en bois pour «Die Bibel in Bildern», 1860.

Date: 1851-1860.

Source: Die Bibel in Bildern.

Author: Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld (1794–1872).

Permission: Reproduction of a painting that is in the public domain because of its age.

This File: 13 December 2008.

User: McLeod.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Forty days after Our Lord's Resurrection, still in the Paschal Cycle, is kept the anniversary of the day that marked the end of His visible reign on Earth.

The Apostles, who had come to Jerusalem at the approach of Pentecost, were assembled in the Cenacle (Upper Room) when Our Lord appeared and took a last meal with them. Afterwards, He led them outside the City, on the Bethany side, to the Mount of Olives, the highest of the mountains which surround the capital. Then, Jesus, blessing His Apostles, raised Himself towards the sky.

This was at mid-day. Then a cloud hid Him from sight and two Angels came and told the disciples that: "This same Jesus", who had ascended  into Heaven, would thence return to Earth at the end of the world.

Painting of the Ascension by Vincenzo da Pavia, 

dating from 1533, above the Altar of La Martorana, Palermo, Sicily, Italy.

Photo: July 2008.

Source: Own work.

Author: Sibeaster.

(Wikimedia Commons).

The interior of Martorana Church, Palermo, Sicily, Italy.

Photo: August 2005.

Source: Own work.

Author: Urban.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The Church of Santa Maria dell'Ammiraglio or San Nicolò dei Greci, commonly called the Martorana, overlooking the renowned Piazza Bellini in Palermo, Sicily, Southern Italy. 

Co-Cathedral of Eparchy of Eastern Rite, is part of the Italo-Albanian Catholic Church, 

Diocese Byzantine-Greek Rite of Piana degli Albanesi.

As a reminder of this last walk of Our Lord and His Apostles from the Cenacle to the Mount of Olives, it was the custom at Rome to have a Solemn Procession at the Hour of Sext (mid-day), when, after Pontifical Mass at Saint Peter's, the Pope went with the Cardinals and Bishops to Saint John Lateran Basilica.

On the Mount of Olives, on the spot where Our Lord ascended into Heaven, Saint Helen built a Basilica, after the pattern of that of the Holy Sepulchre. By a happily devised piece of symbolism, it was open to the sky. It was destroyed by the Mohammedans and replaced in the 14th-Century by a monument of mediocre style.

Blog Round-Up By Mulier Fortis.

Mulier Fortis has two Catholic Guard-Cats.

A most interesting Blog Round-Up can be found over at MULIER FORTIS.

Well worth a visit and you're bound to find a lot of very interesting Catholic Blogs.

Pop over and say: "High".

[Especially if you like Cats.]

Ascensionem Christi Praecedentia Proxime. The Time Before The Ascension Of Christ.

Illustration taken from the TransAlpine Redemptorists' Blog at

http://www.papastronsay.com/blogs/glorious_resurrection/

Ascensionem_Christi_praecedentia_proxime.jpg

The Second Mystery Of Paschaltide: The Feast Of The Ascension Of Our Lord. Doctrinal Note For The Ascension.

Roman Text taken from The Saint Andrew Daily Missal.

Illustrations and Captions taken from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia,
unless otherwise stated.

English: Woodcut for "Die Bibel in Bildern", 1860.

Deutsch: Holzschnitt aus "Die Bibel in Bildern", 1860.

Français: Gravure en bois pour «Die Bibel in Bildern», 1860.

Date: 1851-1860.

Source: Die Bibel in Bildern.

Author: Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld (1794–1872).

Permission: Reproduction of a painting that is in the public domain because of its age.

This File: 13 December 2008.

User: McLeod.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The second Feast that is kept during Paschaltide is the Ascension, which crowns the whole of Our Lord's life. For the Risen Christ must needs cease to tread the soil of our poor Earth and must return to His Father, in whose bosom, as God, He must be for all eternity, and where, in Saint Cyprian's words, "His humanity is now welcomed with a joy no tongue can express". ["If you loved me, you would indeed be glad, because I go to the Father." (Saint John xiv, 28.) For, to ascend into Heaven and sit at the right hand of God (Credo), is, for Our Lord, infinite glory and perfect bliss.]

Christ is now to take possession of the Kingdom of Heaven, which He has won by His sufferings, and to open to us His Father's House, "setting our frail nature at the right hand of God's glory" [Communicantes of the Ascension], that there, as God's children, we may fill the place from which the Angels fell.

So, as Conqueror of sin and Satan, Jesus enters Heaven; while the Angels hail and greet their King ["Lift up your gates, O ye princes, and the King of Glory shall enter in." (Psalm xxiii, 7.) As at His birth into the world (Hebrews i, 6), the Angels adore Our Lord on the day of His birth into Heaven.] and the Souls of the Just, freed from Limbo, form for Him an escort of glory.

Part of Rembrandt's Passion Cycle for Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange.

The Ascension.

Artist: Rembrandt (1606–1669).

Date: 1636.

Current location: Alte Pinakothek.

Source: www.uni-leipzig.de : Home.

(Wikimedia Commons)

"I go to prepare a place for you", He told His Apostles, and Saint Paul asserts that God has made us "sit together" with Christ, "in the Heavenly places," since, already, "we are saved by hope". "There, where the Head has entered," says Saint Leo, "the Body, also, is called to penetrate."

The triumph of Christ is the triumph of His Church. Like the High Priest, who, under the Old Law, entered the Holy of Holies to offer the blood of the victims to Almighty God, Our Lord, the Apostle tells us, has entered the Holy of Holies of the Heavenly Jerusalem, there to offer His own Blood, the Blood of the New Testament, and to obtain for us favours from God.

It is on Ascension Day that Christ begins His Heavenly Priesthood, showing His glorious wounds to God. "He is . . . always living to make intercession for us," and has obtained for us the Holy Ghost, with all His gifts [Hebrews x. It is of this that the Liturgy reminds us in the mysterious Prayer which follows the Elevation: "We most humbly beseech Thee," says the Priest, "Almighty God, command these things to be carried up by the hands of Thy Holy Angel to Thine Altar on High, in the sight of Thy Divine Majesty." Thus, every day, the Mystery of the Ascension is renewed, since the victim offered on our Altars of stone is the same as that seen by Saint John in the form of Lamb, on the golden Altar before the Throne of God.]

Church of the Ascension in Pittsburgh, United States of America.

Photo: March 2007.

Source: Own work.

Author: Piotrus.

(Wikimedia Commons)

While it is the complement of all of Our Lord's Feasts, the Ascension is the fount of our Sanctification.

As the Church sings, in the Preface: "He was lifted up into Heaven, so that He might make us partakers of His Godhead." "It is not enough," says Dom Gueranger, "for a man to rest on the merits of Our Redeemer's Passion, not enough to unite to His memorial that of the Resurrection as well.

Man is saved and restored only by the union of these two Mysteries with a third: That of the triumphant Ascension of Him who died and rose again."

First Holy Communion.

Illustration and Caption from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia,

unless otherwise stated.

A little girl at her First Communion (Italy).

Photo: 1919.

Source: Nicolotti's archives.

Author: Nicolotti.

This File: 4 June 2012.

User: Angler45.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Today, Zephyrinus had the privilege and honour of being present at the First Holy Communion of one little girl.

The Mass was a Missa Cantata (Mass Setting IV), for the English and Welsh Martyrs. A beautiful Mass for this Little One to approach the Altar Rails and receive Our Lord for the first time.

The Second Collect was a Commemoration of Saint Monica (mother of Saint Augustine of Hippo), who Prayed fervently for her child to come to God; a divine encapsulation of the Little One, today, doing exactly the same thing.

The Celebrant informed the Congregation of the ability to receive a Plenary Indulgence (subject to the usual conditions), when attending a First Holy Communion Mass. He then turned to the Little One and, respectfully and gently, requested that she Pray for us all. Her Prayers would carry great weight on this her special day, he said.

May God Bless this Little One and her family.

3 May. The Feast Day Of The Finding Of The Holy Cross By Saint Helena, Mother Of The Emperor Constantine.

Roman Text taken from The Saint Andrew Daily Missal.

Italic Text taken from The Liturgical Year, by Abbot Gueranger, O.S.B.

Translated from the French by Dom Laurence Shepherd, O.S.B.

Volume Eight. Paschal Time. Book Two.

Illustrations and Captions taken from Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia,

unless otherwise stated.

Double of the Second-Class.

Red Vestments.

Orthodox Cross set for special veneration on the Feast Day of 

The Universal Exaltation of the Precious and Life-Giving Cross 

(September 14/27).

Christ the Saviour Orthodox Sobor, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, 2011.

Photo: 1 October 2011.

Source: Own work.

Author: ΙΣΧΣΝΙΚΑ-888.

(Wikimedia Commons)

This Feast is called, in Greek, Ὕψωσις τοῦ Τιμίου καὶ Ζωοποιοῦ Σταυροῦ (Raising Aloft of the Precious and Life-Giving Cross), and, in Latin, Exaltatio Sanctae Crucis. In English, it is called The Exaltation of the Holy Cross, in the official translation of the Roman Missal, while the 1973 translation called it The Triumph of the Cross. In some parts of the Anglican Communion, the Feast is called Holy Cross Day, a name also used by Lutherans. The Celebration is also sometimes called Feast of the Glorious Cross.

Basilica of The Holy Cross in Jerusalem, Rome, Italy.

Santa Croce in Gerusalemme (Rome) 

One of the masterpieces of the "barochetto romano", 

by Pietro Passalacqua and Domenico Gregorini, from 1743.

Photo: 18 February 2006.

Source: facade, s. croce in gerusalemme.

Author: Anthony M. from Rome, Italy.

(Wikimedia Commons)

After the victory gained by Emperor Constantine, by virtue of the Cross which appeared to him in the skies, and whose sign he reproduced in the "Labarum", Saint Helena, his mother, went to Jerusalem to try and find the true Cross.

At the beginning of the 2nd-Century, Emperor Hadrian had covered Calvary and the Holy Sepulchre under a terrace of 300 feet in length, on which had been erected a statue of Jupiter and a temple of Venus. The Empress razed them to the ground, and, in digging up the soil, they discovered the nails (Alleluia) and the glorious trophy to which we owe "life, salvation and a resurrection" (Introit). The miraculous cure of a woman authenticated the Sacred Tree (Collect).

Saint Helena divided into three the precious wood, which had been "worthy to bear the King of Heaven" (Alleluia), which had merely been figured by the cross on which the brazen serpent was raised. One part was deposited in Rome, in the Church which on this account was called Holy Cross in Jerusalem. The second part in Constantinople and the third part in Jerusalem.

Heraclius returns The True Cross to Jerusalem, 

anachronistically accompanied by Saint Helena. 15th-Century, Spain.

Saint Helena & Heraclius taking The Holy Cross to Jerusalem, 

Museo de Zaragoza, óleo sobre tabla (195 x 115 cm.) 

procedente del retablo de la Santa Cruz de Blesa, Teruel.

Date: 1481.

Source: http://cgfa.sunsite.dk/b/p-bernat1.htm.

This image (or other media file) is in the public domain because its copyright has expired.

This applies to Australia, the European Union and those countries 

with a copyright term of life of the author plus 70 years.

Author: Miguel Jiménez y Martín Bernat.

(Wikimedia Commons)

This last Relic, having been carried off by the Persians, and recovered by the Byzantine Emperor, Heraclius, was solemnly brought back to Jerusalem, by Heraclius, on 3 May, 628 A.D.

Covered with gold and precious stones, Emperor Heraclius suddenly felt himself held back by an invincible power. At this sight, Zacharias, Bishop of Jerusalem, told him to imitate the poverty and humility of Jesus bearing His Cross.

Heraclius, thereupon, covered his shoulders with a common cloak, and, without further hindrance, went his way. (Breviary, 14 September.)

Every Parish Priest celebrates Mass for the people of his Parish.

The "Labarum", of Emperor Constantine I, displaying the "Chi-Rho" symbol above.

Labarum of Constantine I (Vexilloid of the Roman Empire). 

Drawn after File:As-Constantine-XR RIC vII 019.jpg; the three dots shown here are presumably not meant to be actual dots (but appear as such due to the limited resolution on the coin face), but represent three heads or portraits, c.f.File:Konstantin den stores labarum, Nordisk familjebok.png

Date: 2011-04-01 23:52 (UTC).

Source: Labarum_of_Constantine_I.svg (reconstruction by Eugene Ipavec, 2006).

Vexilloid_of_the_Roman_Empire.svg.

Author: Labarum_of_Constantine_I.svg: TRAJAN 117.

This vector image was created with Inkscape.

This is a retouched picture, which means that it has been digitally altered from its original version. Modifications: Labarum of Constantine the Great. The original can be viewed here: Vexilloid_of_the_Roman_Empire.svg. Modifications made by philly boy92.

It was most just that our Divine King should show Himself to us with the Sceptre of His power, to the end that nothing might be wanting to the majesty of His empire. This Sceptre is The Cross; and Paschal Time was to be the Season for its being offered to Him in glad homage.

A few weeks back, and The Cross was shown to us as the instrument of our Emmanuel's humiliation and as the bed of suffering, whereon He died; but, has He not since then conquered Death ? And what is His Cross, now, but a trophy of His victory ?

Exaltation of the Cross from the 

Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry 

(Musée Condé, Chantilly, France).

This File: 14 April 2005.

User: Petrusbarbygere.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Let it, then, be brought forth to our gaze and let every knee bend before this Sacred Wood, whereby our Jesus won the honour and praise we now give Him !

On the day of His birth at Bethlehem, we sang these words of the Prophet Isaias: A Child is born unto us, and a Son is given to us, and His government is upon His shoulder. [Is. ix 6. - The Introit of The Third Mass for Christmas Day.]

We have seen Him carrying this Cross upon His shoulder; as Isaac carried the wood for his own immolation; but, now, it is no longer a heavy burthen. It is shining with a brightness that ravishes the eyes of the Angels; and, after having received the veneration of man as long as the world lasts, it will suddenly appear in the clouds of Heaven, near the Judge of the living and the dead - a consolation to them that have loved it, but a reproach to such as have treated it with contempt or forgetfulness.

Tertullian (Part Four).

Text and Illustrations from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia,
unless stated otherwise.

A woodcut illustration depicting Tertullian.

Quintus Florens Tertullian (Anglicised to Tertullian).

160 A.D. - 220 A.D.

Church Father and Theologian.

Source: http://www.higherpraise.com/preachers/tertullian.htm.

This File: August 2011.

User: Serge Lachinov.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The Scriptures, the Rule of Faith, is, for him, fixed and authoritative (De corona, iii-iv). As opposed to the pagan writings, they are Divine (De testimonio animae, vi). They contain all truth (De praescriptione, vii, xiv) and from them the Church drinks (potat) her Faith (Adv. Praxeam, xiii). The Prophets were older than the Greek philosophers and their authority is accredited by the fulfilment of their predictions (Apol., xix-xx). 

The Scriptures and the teachings of philosophy are incompatible, insofar as the latter are the origins of sub-Christian heresies. "What has Athens to do with Jerusalem?" he exclaims, "or the Academy with the Church?" (De praescriptione, vii). Philosophy as pop-paganism is a work of demons (De anima, i); the Scriptures contain the Wisdom of Heaven. However, Tertullian was not averse to using the technical methods of Stoicism to discuss a problem (De anima). The Rule of Faith, however, seems to be also applied by Tertullian to some distinct formula of Doctrine, and he gives a succinct statement of the Christian Faith under this term (De praescriptione, xiii).

Tertullian was a defender of the necessity of Apostolicity. In his "Prescription Against Heretics", he explicitly challenges heretics to produce evidence of the Apostolic Succession of their communities. "Let them produce the original records of their Churches; let them unfold the Roll of their Bishops, running down in due succession from the beginning in such a manner that [that first Bishop of theirs] Bishop shall be able to show for his Ordainer and predecessor some one of the Apostles or of Apostolic men, a man, moreover, who continued steadfast with the Apostles. For this is the manner in which the Apostolic Churches transmit their registers: as the Church of Smyrna, which records that Polycarp was placed therein by John; as also the Church of Rome, which makes Clement to have been ordained in like manner by Peter. In exactly the same way, the other Churches likewise exhibit (their several worthies), whom, as having been appointed to their Episcopal places by Apostles, they regard as transmitters of the Apostolic seed."

Fornicators and Murderers should never be admitted into the Church under any circumstances. In De pudicitia, Tertullian condemns Pope Callixtus I for allowing such people in when they show repentance.

Ichthys (also Ichthus or Ikhthus /ˈɪkθəs/), from the Koine Greek word for fish: ἰχθύς, (capitalized ΙΧΘΥΣ or ΙΧΘΥϹ) is a symbol consisting of two intersecting arcs, the ends of the right side extending beyond the meeting point so as to resemble the profile of a fish, used by early Christians as a secret Christian symbol and now known colloquially as the "sign of the fish" or the "Jesus fish."

This Fish symbol was used in the early Church, when the Christians were being persecuted by the Romans. Christians then needed to be careful, when dealing with strangers, for fear of identification as a Christian and persecution. 

When you encountered someone, you would draw an arc on the ground. If the other person drew a reverse arc over yours, it would form the Fish symbol. 

Both people would then know that they could safely talk about being a Christian.

Español: Dibujada por Fibonacci, modificando un poco el 

código fuente de dominio público de Lupin.

English: Drawn by Fibonacci, modifying Lupin's PD source code a bit.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Tertullian was a determined advocate of strict discipline and an austere code of practice, and, like many of the African Fathers, one of the leading representatives of the Rigorist element in the Early Church. These views may have led him to adopt Montanism, with its ascetic Rigor, and its belief in chiliasm and the continuance of the prophetic gifts. In his writings on public amusements, the veiling of virgins, the conduct of women, and the like, he gives expression to these views.

On the principle that we should not look, at or listen to, what we have no right to practise, and that polluted things, seen and touched, pollute (De spectaculis, viii, xvii), he declared a Christian should abstain from the theatre and the amphitheatre. There, pagan religious rites were applied and the names of pagan divinities invoked; there, the precepts of modesty, purity, and humanity were ignored or set aside, and, there, no place was offered to the onlookers for the cultivation of the Christian Graces.

Women should put aside their gold and precious stones as ornaments (De cultu, v-vi), and virgins should conform to the law of Saint Paul for women and keep themselves strictly veiled (De virginibus velandis). He praised the unmarried state as the highest (De monogamia, xvii; Ad uxorem, i.3) and called upon Christians not to allow themselves to be excelled in the virtue of celibacy by Vestal Virgins and Egyptian priests. He even labelled second marriage a species of adultery (De exhortations castitatis, ix), but this directly contradicted the Epistles of the Apostle, Paul.

His moral vigour, and the service he provided, as an ingenious and intrepid defender of the Christian religion,  were, for him, down to his view of Christianity as first, and chiefly, an experience of the heart.

Because of his later affiliation with Montanism, he, like the influential Alexandrian theologian, Origen, has failed to receive the elevation of official Canonisation.

Tertullian is sometimes criticised for being misogynistic, on the basis of the contents of his 'De Cultu Feminarum,' section I.I, part 2 (trans. C.W. Marx): "Do you not know that you are Eve? The judgment of God upon this sex lives on in this age; therefore, necessarily the guilt should live on also. You are the gateway of the devil; you are the one who unseals the curse of that tree, and you are the first one to turn your back on the divine law; you are the one who persuaded him whom the devil was not capable of corrupting; you easily destroyed the image of God, Adam. Because of what you deserve, that is, death, even the Son of God had to die.”

Tertullian wrote in his book "On Patience" 5:15: "Having been made pregnant by the seed of the devil ... she brought forth a son." Or, in a different translation: "For straightway that impatience, conceived of the devil's seed, produced, in the fecundity of malice, anger as her son; and when brought forth, trained him in her own arts."

Tertullian's writings are edited in volumes 1–2 of the Patrologia Latina, and modern texts exist in the Corpus Christianorum Latinorum. English translations by Sidney Thelwall and Philip Holmes can be found in volumes III and IV of the Ante-Nicene Fathers, which are freely available online; more modern translations of some of the works have been made.

THIS CONCLUDES THE ARTICLE ON TERTULLIAN.

Milan Cathedral (Part Five).

Text, Illustrations and Captions taken from Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia,
unless otherwise stated .

English: Milan Cathedral, Milan, Italy.

Italiano: Il Duomo of Milan Italy.

Available on YouTube at http://youtu.be/r6YUEEotp_Q

Poet, Percy Bysshe Shelley, read literature inside the Duomo. Alfred, Lord Tennyson enjoyed the view of the Alps from the Duomo roof.

The American writer and journalist, Mark Twain, visited Milan in the summer of 1867. He dedicated Chapter 18 of Innocents Abroad to Milan Cathedral, including many physical and historical details, and a,  now, uncommon visit to the Roof. He describes the Duomo as follows:

"What a wonder it is! So grand, so solemn, so vast! And yet, so delicate, so airy, so graceful! A very world of solid weight, and yet it seems . . . a delusion of frostwork that might vanish with a breath ! . . The central one of its five great doors is bordered with a bas-relief of birds and fruits and beasts and insects, which have been so ingeniously carved out of the marble that they seem like living creatures - and the figures are so numerous and the design so complex, that one might study it a week without exhausting its interest . . . everywhere that a niche or a perch can be found about the enormous building, from summit to base, there is a marble statue, and every statue is a study in itself . . . Away above, on the lofty Roof, rank on rank of carved and fretted Spires spring high in the air, and through their rich tracery one sees the sky beyond . . . (Up on) the Roof . . . springing from its broad marble flagstones, were the long files of the Spires, looking very tall close at hand, but diminishing in the distance . . . We could see, now, that the statue on the top of each was the size of a large man, though they all looked like dolls from the street . . . They say that the Cathedral of Milan is second only to Saint Peter's at Rome. I cannot understand how it can be second to anything made by human hands".

Milan Cathedral at night.

Photo: 8 February 2011.

Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/luca_volpi/5427848020.

Author: Luca Volpi.

(Wikimedia Commons)

This image is not subject to Freedom Of Panorama restrictions. The subject of this image (or other media file) is in the public domain because its copyright has expired. This applies to Australia, the European Union and those countries with a copyright term of life of the author plus 70 years. NOTE: This image must also include a license tag to indicate Copyright restrictions on the image itself.

Oscar Wilde visited Milan in June 1875. In a letter to his mother, he wrote: "The Cathedral is an awful failure. Outside, the design is monstrous and inartistic. The over-elaborated details stuck high up where no one can see them; everything is vile in it; it is, however, imposing and gigantic as a failure, through its great size and elaborate execution."

In Italian Hours, Henry James describes “a certain exhibition that I privately enjoyed of the relics of Saint  Charles Borromeus (sic). This holy man lies at his eternal rest in a small, but gorgeous sepulchral Chapel . . .  and, for the modest sum of five francs, you may have his shrivelled mortality unveiled and gaze at it with whatever reserves occur to you. The Catholic Church never renounces a chance of the sublime for fear of a chance of the ridiculous . . . especially when the chance of the sublime may be the very excellent chance of five francs.

"The performance in question, of which the good San Carlo paid in the first instance the cost, was impressive certainly, but as a monstrous matter or a grim comedy may still be. The little Sacristan, having secured his audience, lighted a couple of extra candles and proceeded to remove from above the Altar, by means of a crank, a sort of sliding shutter, just as you may see a shop-boy do of a morning at his master's window. In this case, too, a large sheet of plate-glass was uncovered, and, to form an idea of the étalage, you must imagine that a jeweller, for reasons of his own, has struck an unnatural partnership with an undertaker.

English: Interior of Milan Cathedral.

Polski: Wnętrze Katedry Duomo (Mediolan - Włochy).

Photo: 25 August 2012.

Source: Own work.

Author: Spens03.

(Wikimedia Commons)

"The black mummified corpse of the Saint is stretched out in a glass coffin, clad in his mouldering Canonicals, Mitred, Crosiered and Gloved, glittering with votive jewels. It is an extraordinary mixture of death and life; the desiccated clay, the ashen rags, the hideous little black mask and skull, and the living, glowing, twinkling splendour of diamonds, emeralds and sapphires. 

"The collection is really fine, and many great historic names are attached to the different offerings. Whatever may be the better opinion as to the future of the Church, I can't help thinking she will make a figure in the world so long as she retains this great fund of precious "properties," this prodigious capital decoratively invested and scintillating throughout Christendom at effectively-scattered points.”

IN POPULAR CULTURE.

The 1934 song, "O mia bela Madunina", by Giovanni d'Anzi, about the golden Madonna statue on the Spire, can be considered today an unofficial "city anthem" of Milan.

Luchino Visconti's 1960 film, Rocco e i suoi fratelli, set in Milan, has a scene which takes place on the Roof of the Cathedral.

Polski: Mediolan - katedra.

English: Milan Cathedral.

Italiano: Milano - Duomo.

Photo: 31 August 2012.

Source: Own work.

Author: Andrzej Otrębski.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Many Milanese-dialect speakers, reminded by the centuries needed to complete the Duomo, use the "Fabbrica del Duomo" ("Fabrica del Dom" in the dialect) as an adjective (sometimes humorously, sometimes not) to describe an extremely long, too complex task, maybe even impossible to complete. The Italian phrase, "mangiare a ufo", stemming from the Milanese dialect, mangià a uf, meaning "being paid for a job not done", comes from the fact that the goods used to build the Duomo wore the inscription "A.U.F.", shorthand for Latin "Ad Usum Fabricae" (to be used for the construction) and were exempt from taxation.

A souvenir model of the Cathedral was thrown at the nose of Italian Prime Minister, Silvio Berlusconi, during an attack on 13 December, 2009.

In the song, "In Every Age", from the musical, Titanic, the building (Milan Cathedral) is compared with the Pyramids and the Titanic, as one of the greatest feats of architecture.

Several lavish shots of the Duomo are featured in the Italian film, I Am Love, (2009).

In the novel, "The Wary Transgressor", by James Hadley Chase, the main protagonist is seen working as an unofficial guide at the Duomo.

THIS CONCLUDES THE ARTICLE ON MILAN CATHEDRAL.

Milan Cathedral (Part Four).

Text, Illustrations and Captions taken from Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia,
unless stated otherwise.

English: Milan Cathedral at night.

Italiano: Duomo di Milano.

Photo: April 2012.

Source: Flickr: Duomo.

Author: Fernando García.

Permission: This image, which was originally posted to Flickr.com, 

was uploaded to Commons using Flickr upload bot on 20:27, 12 May 2012 (UTC) by Friedrichstrasse (talk). On that date it was licensed under the licence below.

This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic licence.

(Wikimedia Commons)

English: The Duomo di Milano is the Cathedral Church of Milan, in Lombardy, Northern Italy. It is located on the main square (Piazza Duomo di Milano) in the centre of the city. Dedicated to Santa Maria Nascente (Saint Mary Nascent), it is the Seat of the Archbishop of Milan. The Gothic Cathedral took five centuries to complete. It is the largest Gothic Cathedral and the second largest Catholic Cathedral in the world.

Italiano: Il Duomo di Milano, monumento simbolo del capoluogo lombardo, è dedicato a Santa Maria Nascente ed è situato nell'omonima piazza nel centro della città.

עברית: קתדרלת מילאנו הידועה כדואומו היא קתדרלה גו

The Cathedral was built over several hundred years, in a number of contrasting styles, and the quality of the workmanship varies markedly. Reactions to it have ranged from admiration to disfavour. The Guida d’Italia: Milano 1998 (Touring Club Editore, p. 154) points out that the early Romantics tended to praise it in “the first intense enthusiasms for Gothic.” As the Gothic Revival brought in a purer taste, condemnation was often equally intense.

John Ruskin commented acidly that the Cathedral steals "from every style in the world: And every style spoiled. The Cathedral is a mixture of Perpendicular with Flamboyant, the latter being peculiarly barbarous and angular, owing to its being engrafted, not on a pure, but a very early penetrative, Gothic . . . The rest of the architecture, amongst which this curious Flamboyant is set, is Perpendicular with horizontal bars across: And with the most detestable crocketing, utterly vile. Not a ray of invention in a single form . . . Finally, the statues all over are of the worst possible, common stonemason's yard, species, and look pinned on for show. The only redeeming character, about the whole, being the frequent use of the sharp gable . . . which gives lightness, and the crowding of the spiry pinnacles into the sky.” (Notebooks[M.6L]). The plastered Ceiling, painted to imitate elaborate tracery carved in stone, particularly aroused his contempt as a “gross degradation”.

While appreciating the force of Ruskin’s criticisms, Henry James was more appreciative: “A structure, not supremely interesting, not logical, not . . . commandingly beautiful, but grandly curious and superbly rich . . . If it had no other distinction, it would still have that of impressive, immeasurable achievement . . . a supreme embodiment of vigorous effort.”

English: Milan Cathedral at night.

Italiano: Milano - Duomo.

Photo: March 2012.

Source: Own work.

Author: Geobia.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The interior of the Cathedral includes numerous monuments and artworks. These include:

At the left of the Altar is located the most famous statue of all the Cathedral, the "San Bartolomeo Flayed" (1562), by Marco d'Agrate. The Saint shows the leather thrown over his shoulders like a stole;

The Archbishop Alberto da Intimiano's sarcophagus, which is overlooked by a Crucifix in copper laminae (a replica);

The sarcophagi of the Archbishops Ottone Visconti and Giovanni Visconti, created by a Campionese Master in the 14th-Century;

The sarcophagus of Marco Carelli, who donated 35,000 ducati to accelerate the construction of the Cathedral;

The three magnificent Altars, by Pellegrino Pellegrini, which include the notable Federico Zuccari's "Visit of Saint Peter to Saint Agatha jailed";

English: Plate, celebrating the laying of the first stone in 1386.

Italiano: Lapide dentro il Duomo che commemora l'inizio della costruzione, nel 1386.

This File: 13 May 2005.

Author: Author: Marco Bonavoglia.

(Wikimedia Commons)

In the Right Transept, the Monument to Gian Giacomo Medici di Marignano, called "Medeghino", by Leone Leoni, and the adjacent Renaissance marble Altar, decorated with gilt bronze statues;

The Presbytery is a Late-Renaissance masterpiece, composing a Choir, a Temple by Pellegrini, two Pulpits with giant atlantes covered in copper and bronze, and two large Organs. Around the Choir, the two Sacristies' Portals, some frescoes and a 15th-Century statue of Pope Martin V, by Jacopino da Tradate, can be seen;

A view at dusk of the facade (and part of the South side) 

of Milan Cathedral, Italy. (OM-4/HP5.)

Photo: November 2001.

Source: Own work.

Author: Ian Spackman.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The Transepts house the Trivulzio Candelabrum, which is in two pieces. The Base (attributed to Nicolas of Verdun, 12th-Century), characterised by a fantastic ensemble of vines, vegetables and imaginary animals; and the Stem, of the Mid-16th-Century;

In the Left Aisle, the Arcimboldi Monument, by Alessi, and Romanesque figures, depicting the Apostles, in red marble, and the neo-Classic Baptistry, by Pellegrini;

English: Piazza Duomo, in Milan, during Christmas holidays 2008. 

On the left, a Christmas Tree in front of the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II.

Italiano: Piazza Duomo a Milano durante le feste natalizie del 2008. 

Sulla sinistra l'albero.

Photo: 7 December 2008.

Source: Own work.

Author: Goldmund100.

(Wikimedia Commons)

A small red light bulb, in the Dome above the Apse, marks the spot where one of the Nails, reputedly from the Crucifixion of Christ, has been placed. The Holy Nail is retrieved and exposed to the public every year, during a celebration known as the Rite of the Nivola;

In November–December, in the days surrounding the birthdate of Saint Charles Borromeo, a series of large canvasses, the Quadroni, are exhibited along the Nave;

The Five-Manual, 225-Rank, Pipe-Organ, built jointly by the Tamburini and Mascioni Italian organbuilding firms, on Mussolini's command, is currently the largest Organ in all of Italy.

PART FIVE FOLLOWS.