Evening star., 1924-09-21
SOCIETY LOCATED
IN FAMED Church
Holy Name Headquarters Es'
tabIished in Santa Maria
Sopra Minerva.

The Holy Name society mas OFFICES
as world wide as the clientele 1t pro-
poses to serve. Wisely these offices
have been long established in the
universal city, Rome. Many centuries
ago Fra Diego de Vittoria, a Spanish
Dominican, erected the headquarters
of the Holy Name Society in Rome at
the church of Santa Maria Sopra
Minerva. 1t is interesting to note
that ST. Ignatius Loyola Joined the
Holy Name Society at this branch in
the Minerva.
Pompey Builds Minerva.
' Santa Maria Sopra Minerva is in
teresting even in its name. The name
Santa Maria Sopra Minerva (St-
Mary over Minerva) marks the tr-
umph of Christianity over paganism,
for the present church stands on the
site of an ancient pagan temple. like
a victor gladiator with his foot on
the conquered. When the illustrious
Pompey the Great returned TO Rome
TO receive his triumph for conQuering
Syria and Asia Minor, he marked his
gratitude by founding a temple to
the warlike Minerva. the goddess who
sprang in full panoply from the brain
of Jupiter.
This pagan temple to Minerva
f1ourished while paganism fiourished,
but with the decline Of paganism it,
too, failed and died. Gradually the
temple of Minerva fell into disuse
and later into decay. In the fifth CEN
tury. the invading barbarians COM
pleted its destruction and century
later their Christian children erected
on the same site church to the
honor of the Blessed Virgin with the
title 'Sancta Maria in Minervium."
They could not get away from the
traditions of the locality.
In $50, Pope Zachary gave the
church to the Basilians and exiled
Greek monks who had taken refuge
in Rome. The Basilians soon after
removed to larger quarters. but re-
tanned possession of the Minerva. In
1882, however. Pope Alexander " in
stalled a congregation of penitents,
but since the building was too small
for their needs they, too, had to look
elsewhere for suitable accommoda-
tions.
Domfnicans Acquire Minerva.
At this juncture the Dominicans.
who were established at Santa
Sabina, applied for the Minerva.
After considerable delay the Domi-
means received the title to the Con-
vent and Church of Sancta Maria in
Minervium. Hardly had they obtained
possession of the ancient church and
convent than they made prepara-
tions to supplant the old church by
a new and more spacious one. Two
celebrated Florentine architects of
the order, Fra Sisto and Fra Ristoro.
drew the plans for the undertaking.
and work was begun around 1880. The
vastneSS of the structure, however,
and its multiplicity of details held
off completion for two centuries. Only
after years of struggle and repeated
H. L.. a.; ;-l.z
in the middle of the 18th century and
named Santa Maria Sopra Minerva.
Rome, the city of churches and the
worlds art, possesses but one old
Gothic church, and that is the
Minerva. The many centuries which
have nourished the growth of the
magnificence of the Minerva have
contributed abundantly to the artistic
stores of the church. Pere J. j.
Berthler, o. p, gives a list of ISL
artists who have worked in the
Minerva. Among this number are
found such masters as Michelangelo,
Fra Angelica, Perugino, Bandinelli
Filipino Lipp, Mino da Fiesole and
Giotto.
MicheIanSelo's "Christ.'
Michelangelo contributed his IA
nous Christ" statue representing
the risen Christ Christ stands erect
and holds to His breast the cross, the
sponge. rope and a long reed. The
Christ" was completed during the
fullness of Michelangelo's glory, and
dates from 1514-1521. The yellowish
brown marble statue Of st. Sebastian,
the Roman warrior saint, which is at
tributed to Mino da Fiesole, is another
masterpiece of sculpture.
More of Perugino's work is found
in the room of st. Catherine of
Sienna. A picture of the crucinxion
hangs over the altar and around the
sides of the room appear SIS. Peter
and Paul, ST. Dominic and ST. John
the Baptist. Amidst this gorgeous
group and resting in front of the
crucifixion and directly above the
middle of the altar is the widely
copied st. Catherine in Her Oratory,'
by Bronzino.
This Room of st. Catherine is
really a chapel, but it is called 4
room because il contains the four
walls of the little chamber in which
the great St Catherine died. Cardinal
Barbarin secured permission from the
Congregation of Charity in 1887 to
extract these walls from St. Gather
ines house at IA Via Santa Chiara,
Rome
Has Many Chnpek.
The Minerva has many other beau
tiful chapels, such as the Annuncl-
alton and the Rosary, and each one
of them would be worth detailed con-
sideration. But even more renowned
than the works of art which form
the treasurers of the headquarters of
the Holy Name Society are the num-
ber and renown of the relics of Maria
Sopra Minerva.
The most famous of these relics, of
course, are those of St. Catherine of
Sienna. St Catherine of Sienna died
April 29, 1880, only a short distance
from the Minerva in her home at IA
Via St Chiara, which Pope Urban vi
had given to her. At the time of her
death she was brought to the Minerva
on the shoulders of her disciple,
Stefano Masoni, and buried in the
common cemetery. In 1885 her for
mer confessor, the Dominican, Blessed
Raymond of Capua, had her body re-
moved from the cemetery and buried
near the last pillar on the right side
of the church just opposite the
Rosary Chapel On this pillar was
Catherine. 1t is an angel holding in
his outstretched hands a broad scroll:
Here tarries the humble, worthy,
prudent, kind Catherine, who had the
zeal to save a dying world. Under
her mother, Lapa, and later her
father, Dominic. this pure virgin of
Sienna f1ourished."
During the refinishing of the church
in the last century, some one cast this
venerable, but possibly shabby monu-
ment on the refuse pile. Fortunately
it was recovered in 1858 and is still
preserved on the stairs leading to
the Casanate Library adjoining the
Minerva.
LII