"VATICAN PALACES AND THEIR ART": AN EVENING TO LOOK FORWARD TO

This Thursday at St Mary's Roman Catholic church, Cadogan St, the well known Vatican art expert, Fr. Michael Collins, will be giving a talk 'Vatican Palaces and their Art'. 


Everybody is welcome and it should be an excellent and entertaining evening with wine and canapes to follow in the Rectory. You can get full details HERE


In his talk, Father Michael Collins brings us into the late 16th palace built for Sixtus V by Domenico Fontana. We visit the grand Sala Ducale, the Nicholine Chapel decorated by Fra Angelico, the Sistine Chapel covered with frescos by the greatest artists of the Renaissance, the Urban Chapel, the pope’s private chapel and the Redemptoris Mater chapel decorated by the mosaic artist, Fr. Ruptnic S.J.

We walk along the great loggias decorated by Raphael and enter the private apartments painted by the artist for Popes Julius and Leo X five centuries ago. 

We ascend to the terrace laid out by Pope Paul VI with breathtaking views of the Eternal City.

The bird’s eye view shows us some of the finest works of the Catholic imagination, where musicians, artists and theologians worked to contribute to the patrimony of Christendom.

The list of visitors to the Apostolic Palace is vast in its breath. Monarchs, presidents and diplomats mingled with scientists, philosophers and financiers. It is extraordinary to summon up a handful of names- Michaelangelo, Galileo, Stephen Hawkings, Queen Elizabeth, and President Trump-among the thousands who have crossed the threshold to meet the leader of the world’s 1.2 billion Catholics.