Chiesa Il Gesu & Relic of St. Francis Xavier

On Monday, we visited the Chiesa Il Gesu, the mother church of the Jesuits. It is incredibly beautiful!

The Chiesa Il Gesù (Church of the Gesù), a 16th-century late Renaissance church in Rome, is the mother church of the Society of Jesus, also known as the Jesuits.  Originally very austere, Il Gesù's interior was opulently decorated starting in the 17th century. Now its frescoes, sculptures and shrines make it one of the foremost examples of Roman Baroque art.  

The church  played a pivotal role in the Counter-Reformation, which was the Catholic Church's response to the Protestant Reformation of Martin Luther.  The Counter-Reformation's goals, worked out during the Council of Trent (1545-1563), were designed to reassert the power of the church, standardize the training of local priests, stimulate pious devotion, and wipe out the corruption in the church, which had fueled Luther's movement.

The left transept of the church houses the altar-tomb of St. Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Jesuits.  The Jesuit artist Andrea Pozzo, himself a master of trompe l'oeuilfrescoes, won the commission for creating the altar. Utilizing silver, gold, bronze, rare marbles, and minerals like malachite, lapis lazuli, and porphyry, Pozzo employed over 100 craftsmen to create one of the wonders of Roman Baroque art. 

The original statue of the Saint was made of pure silver, but unfortunately it was melted down to pay taxes to Napoleon.  It has been replaced with a stucco replica covered with silver foil, but it is still stunning.  Every day at 5:30 p.m., a mechanical device designed by Pozzo plays impressive baroque music and lowers the painting of the saint to reveal the statue. 

To the right of the altar sits Pietro Le Gros' sculpture entitled The Triumph of Faith over Heresy.  This sculpture depicts Mary casting Martin Luther and his precursor, Jan Huss, out of heaven.  An attendant angel rips their translations of the Bible and their writings to shreds.  The militant nature of the Jesuits and their mission to spread the faith and reassert the power of the church is clear in this dramatic work.  A companion sculpture entitled “The Triumph of Faith over Idolatry” by Jean-Baptiste Theodon further cements the message of the Jesuits.

In the right transept of the church sits the Altar of St. Francis Xavier, the patron saint of Xavier High School in Cedar Rapids. Francis was one of the seven monks who, with St. Ignatius of Loyola, founded the Society of Jesus.  He was a notable missionary who spent years in India and Japan. Designed by Pietro da Cortona, the altar's multicolored marble columns frame a painting of the death of the saint by Carlo Maratta.  Cortona's silver reliquary contains the right forearm of the saint (see below), which is said to have converted some 300,000 souls.