Madonna Della Strada or Santa Maria Della Strada — the Italian

Italian language

Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...

 for Our Lady of the Way, or Our Lady of the Road — is the name of a late 15th or 16th century image of the Blessed Virgin Mary, enshrined at the Church of the Gesu

Church of the Gesu

The Church of the Gesù is the mother church of the Society of Jesus, a Roman Catholic religious order also known as the Jesuits. Officially named , its facade is "the first truly baroque façade", introducing the baroque style into architecture ,. The church served as model for innumerable Jesuit...

 in Rome, motherchurch of the Society of Jesus

Society of Jesus

The Society of Jesus is a Catholic male religious order that follows the teachings of the Catholic Church. The members are called Jesuits, and are also known colloquially as "God's Army" and as "The Company," these being references to founder Ignatius of Loyola's military background and a...

 religious order

Religious order

A religious order is a lineage of communities and organizations of people who live in some way set apart from society in accordance with their specific religious devotion, usually characterized by the principles of its founder's religious practice. The order is composed of initiates and, in some...

 of the Roman Catholic Church

Roman Catholic Church

The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...

.

The Madonna Della Strada is the patroness

Patron saint

A patron saint is a saint who is regarded as the intercessor and advocate in heaven of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or person...

 of the Society of Jesus. Its founder, Ignatius of Loyola

Ignatius of Loyola

Ignatius of Loyola was a Spanish knight from a Basque noble family, hermit, priest since 1537, and theologian, who founded the Society of Jesus and was its first Superior General. Ignatius emerged as a religious leader during the Counter-Reformation...

, was said to have been protected by the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary during battle in his service as a soldier.

History

The name goes back to a shrine established in Rome in the 5th century by the Astalli family, originally known as the Madonna degli Astalli. In 1568, Cardinal Alessandro Farnese erected the Gesu Church of Rome, the mother church of the Jesuits, in place of the former church of Santa Maria della Strada.

The icon is located between two altars, the first dedicated to St. Ignatius, the second, the main altar of the Church, dedicated to the Holy Name of Jesus.

The icon was restored in 2006, revealing at least two layers of previous paint, the original art being a fresco which had been detached from a wall and affixed to canvas.

See also

• Roman Catholic Marian art
  Roman Catholic Marian art
  The Blessed Virgin Mary has been one of the major subjects of Christian Art, Catholic Art and Western Art for many centuries. Literally hundreds of thousands of pieces of...
  
  
• Madonna (art)
  Madonna (art)
  Images of the Madonna and the Madonna and Child or Virgin and Child are pictorial or sculptured representations of Mary, Mother of Jesus, either alone, or more frequently, with the infant Jesus. These images are central icons of Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodox Christianity where Mary remains...
  
  
• Patronage of the Blessed Virgin Mary
  Patronage of the Blessed Virgin Mary
  A list of Patronage of the Blessed Virgin Mary by occupations and activities, dioceses, and other places:- Occupations and activities :The Blessed Virgin Mary may be taken as a patroness of any good activity; indeed, she is cited as the patroness of all humanity...
  
  
• Madonna Della Strada Chapel
  Madonna Della Strada Chapel
  Madonna della Strada is the namesake of the chapel motherchurch of the Jesuit Province of Chicago and sits on the campus of Loyola University Chicago in the neighborhood of Rogers Park. It was built on the lakefront with the waters of Lake Michigan directly at its front doorstep...
  
  

External links

• Creighton University http://puffin.creighton.edu/jesuit/andre/strada_o.html
• CompanySJ Magazine http://www.companysj.com/v261/fa08_dellastrada.pdf
• http://contemplatioadamorem.blogspot.com/2006/12/restored-image-of-madonna-della-strada.html