The presbytery of the Chiesa del Gesù

The “Sacrosanctum Concilium”, the conciliar constitution on the liturgy promulgated by Paul VI in 1963, hopes that churches “will be increasingly suitable places to allow liturgical actions and the active participation of the faithful, with particular attention to works of art placed at the service of the liturgical action of the community “. This was explained yesterday evening, June 14, by the cardinal vicar Angelo De Donatis on the occasion of the meeting “The Church of the Gesù in Rome, from Tridentine architecture to the post-conciliar adaptation”, organized to present the renewed presbytery of the Roman mother church of the Jesuits, guardian of the relics of the founder of the Saint Ignatius of Loyola order, which was also attended by Cardinal Luis Francisco Ladaria, prefect of the dicastery for the Doctrine of the faith, and Archbishop Rino Fisichella, president of the Pontifical Council for promotion of the new evangelization.

«For the Christian the place of worship is the privileged place for the encounter with God and with brothers and sisters – said De Donatis in his speech -, the place that recalls the mystery of the resurrection, even when there is no liturgy in progress “, and for this reason “the choice of adapting the presbytery does not respond only to a practical need but to the desire to show that the Church is the mystical body of Christ”. Then recalling the apostolic exhortation “Evangelii gaudium” of Pope Francis, “which invites us to evangelize with the beauty of the liturgy”, the cardinal thanked “those who have worked to carry out this project with a choral work of lay and religious institutions, attentive to respect the spiritual and artistic value of this church, without breaking with the previous tradition but in perfect continuity ».

Of the new provision Marco Riso, a construction engineer and liturgist, spoke of the presbytery with three platforms to characterize the ambo, the throne and the altar and a metal crown with the function of a ciborium. “The criterion followed for the restoration – he explained – was that of the balance between the historical and the aesthetic, aiming at the preservation of the values ​​and culture of this place, in fidelity to the doctrinal value and to spirituality, while adapting to modern needs “. Instead, he illustrated “the theological inspiring lines to which we have referred for this time and for this church” Father Giuseppe Midili, director of the diocesan liturgical office and responsible for the liturgical planning of the adaptation intervention. “The princeps criterion was number 21 of the conciliar Constitution on the liturgy – said the religious -, starting from the most advanced location of the ambo, near the assembly, to express the closeness and participation of the people of God, thus how the altar has been advanced, which is both the table of the banquet and the altar of the sacrifice, so that the people may be nourished, taking part in the offering that Christ makes of himself to the Father “. Again, the jeweled cross placed above the altar and almost embraced by the ciborium with the function of a crown, to remember “the five painful wounds of Jesus, a sign of Christ’s suffering but also of his resurrection”, are still the words of Midili.

Finally, thanks to those who worked for the adaptation works, made possible “by the patronage of the Rome Foundation”, by the rector of the Jesuit church, Father Massimo Marelli, who recalled the value of the sacred place as a “place distinct and separate from the profane space that surrounds », figure of« Jesus who is the tent of the Word of God who becomes flesh ».

June 15, 2022