Once I was a clever boy learning the arts of Oxford... is a quotation from the verses written by Bishop Richard Fleming (c.1385-1431) for his tomb in Lincoln Cathedral. Fleming, the founder of Lincoln College in Oxford, is the subject of my research for a D. Phil., and, like me, a son of the West Riding. I have remarked in the past that I have a deeply meaningful on-going relationship with a dead fifteenth century bishop... it was Fleming who, in effect, enabled me to come to Oxford and to learn its arts, and for that I am immensely grateful.


Tuesday, 21 June 2016

St Aloysius in word and art


Earlier this evening I attended the Solemn Mass for the patronal feast of St Aloysius, the patron saint of the church and parish, at the Oxford Oratory.

The preacher was Fr Gerard Skinner and his sermon can be read at the post St Aloysius' Day
from the Oxford Oratory website. In his sermon he makes considerable reference to the painting below:



The Vocation of Saint Aloysius Gonzaga.PNG

 Giovanni Francesco Barbieri Guercino 
 1591–1666 Bologna

Guercino’s altarpiece was commissioned for the Theatine church of Guastalla in 1650 by Duke Ferrante III Gonzaga (1618–1678). An angel holds a heavenly wreath over the saint’s head, while at his feet are a sheaf of lilies, representing chastity, and a crown, symbolizing the Marquisate he had renounced. 

Image:Wikipedia


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