The Marian cult in the works of the Roman Province of the Company
We dedicate one of the August insights to Marian devotion, since 15 August marks the Assumption of Mary. Devotion to Our Lady has always been very present in the Company, in various institutions of the Provinces.
In the Colleges of the Company, the Marian Congregation, now known as CVX ‘Community of Christian Life’, an association dedicated to prayer, fundraising for the missions and the cult of Our Lady, has always enjoyed a large number of members. Each year, the registered members organised processions and events especially in the month of May.
Among those enrolled in the Marian Congregation of the Massimo Institute was little Ettore Majorana together with his brothers.
In the novitiate of the Roman Province, at St. Andrea al Quirinale, on the other hand, the image of Mater Pietatis – of which several copies were made over time and sent to the communities and also to the Colleges of the Company – was much venerated. It is a painting, a reproduction of which can be seen in the photo, probably purchased by the novitiate minister. The source of this information is indirect, and in-depth research is being conducted in the archives on this subject – in the first years of the reopening after the Suppression of the Order.
Over time, the painting, which depicts Our Lady with a particularly sweet and charitable expression, became a comfort for novices, fathers and pilgrims; so much so that a chapel dedicated to Mater Pietatis was built in the novitiate of Galloro – the site of the novitiate house after the one at St. Andrew’s was closed the day after the taking of Rome in 1870. The cult was deeply felt by the Roman and Latian population for decades.
Today, the painting is kept in two copies at the Galloro house and in the entrance of the refectory of the Residenza del Gesù in Rome.
The Roman Province of the Society had in Mary, the ‘Madonna of the Road’, its Protectress, a bond that has remained to this day since the Euro-Mediterranean Province of the Society of Jesus is also under her protection.
The painting of Our Lady of the Road is kept in the chapel of the same name in the Gesù Church in Rome.
During the month of May, both in the novitiate and in the communities, the figure of the Mother of Christ was remembered with celebrations dedicated to her, spiritual exercises, visits to Marian shrines and pilgrimages.
The bond between Our Lady and the Company has always been very strong, many Jesuits are dedicated to the study of Our Lady and Marian phenomena, we also remember Fr. Michele de Maria, promoter of the Marian cult in Cervinara, still remembered by his fellow citizens.
We also remember, Fr Neri who died recently, an assiduous scholar of the Lourdes apparitions, collaborator of Unitalsi, and tireless keeper of articles, bibliography, and texts on Our Lady of Lourdes.
The link between Our Lady and the Society of Jesus is undoubtedly multifaceted and continues to perpetuate itself through the numerous initiatives, educational, bibliographical, cultural, of the Jesuits today.
Maria Macchi
