24th May - OUR MOTHER OF THE WAY

 The image, painted by an unknown Roman artist around 1500, probably decorated the Church wall that faced Via Capitolina, part of the route of Papal processions between the Basilica of St. John Lateran and the Vatican. The Chapel dated back to the 11th century and for a while it served as a funeral Chapel

    for the Astalli family who owned properties. St Ignatius’s heritage sparked his devotion to Our Lady: In 1522, his vigil before the Black Madonna of Montserrat; 

    In 1534, his first vows at Montmartre, Paris, on the feast of the Assumption; In 1538, his first Mass in St. Mary Major in Rome on Christmas; In 1540, 

    Fr. Codacio, the first Italian Jesuit, was able to use his influence in the Papal court to obtain What Ignatius really wanted: the title to the tiny Church of S. Maria della Strada. 

    Early in 1541, the Roman Jesuits moved into rooms rented from the Astalli family right next to the Chapel. The first Church that the Jesuits acquired was a small 

    Chapel named after a painting inside: Our Lady of the Way (Santa Maria della Strada). The painting would come to express the essence of Jesuit spirituality. 

    When Ignatius died in 1556, the new Church was still on the drawing board. Through the influence of Francis Borgia, the 3rd Superior General and the patronage of the rich Farnese 

    family, the Church was almost completed in time for the Holy Year 1575. Our Lady of the Way was installed in a place of honour in the Gesu, where it can be seen today. 

    As an Order dedicated to bringing the Gospel to every corner of the world, Our Lady of the Way was a highly appropriate Patron.




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