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September 29
Saints Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, Archangels

Daniel 7:9-10, 13-14
Apocalypse 12: 7-12ab
Psalm 137:1-2ab, 2cde-3, 4-5
John 1:45-51

Angels Everywhere

One of the most striking things about Rome’s churches -- and about Italian churches in general -- is that they are full of representations of the angels. American churches in contrast, especially those built in the last fifty years, are strangely devoid of angelic imagery. In Italian churches there are angels everywhere: all sorts of angels. There are majestic angels of graceful athletic appearance, angels in splendid apparel playing musical instruments, and playful little angels with fat cheeks and chubby legs. In Italian churches, one is always conscious of praising God in conspectu angelorum, “in the sight of the angels” (Ps 137:1).

Angels in the Family

Whenever I have the good fortune to be in Italy, I travel two hours south of Rome to visit my mother’s cousins at my great-grandmother Donna Emma Onoratelli Barbato's ancestral home in the little village of Sepicciano. My grandfather Angelo Barbato spent time there as an infant with his mother, his brother Vincenzo, and his sister Filomena.

The Palazzo Onoratelli

Baroque in style, the palazzo was built in the early 1700s. Amazingly, there too, angels are depicted everywhere! Over the imposing front door, the family stemma, or coat of arms, bears the sword of Saint Michael the Archangel, patron saint of the house and of the family. Appropriately, the motto of the Onoratelli family is that of the Archangel Saint Michael, Quis ut Deus? Quis resistet Sancti Michaelis gladio? (Who is like unto God? Who can withstand the sword of Saint Michael?)

The shield of the coat of arms, surmounted by the strawberry-leaved diadem of a marchese, is held aloft by two chubby angels -- both of them blissfully naked -- and smiling broadly over the street below! To the right of the front door is a gallery of arches and, over each arch, is a smiling cherubic face. Not two of them are alike. Clearly, this house was built by Christians conscious of the presence of the angels and of their involvement in everyday life.

Saint Michael Delivers Don Clemente

Across from the palazzo adorned with images of the angels stands the family’s private chapel, a church constructed in honour of Saint Michael the Archangel by my ancestor, the Marchese Clemente Onoratelli (1669-1729), and consecrated in 1743. Over the altar hangs a large painting of Saint Michael defeating the devil. According to family legend, Clemente Onoratelli, beset with the vice of gambling (as were so many of the Neapolitan nobility under the Borboni dynasty), had made a pact with the devil so as always to win. After this pact, he found himself anxious, unhappy, and unable to sleep. One night, Saint Michael the Archangel visited him in a dream, saying, “Don Clemente, build a church in my honour, and I will undo this evil pact, and become your protector and the protector of all your family.” Don Clemente rose the next morning and ordered the building of the church of Saint Michael on the slope facing his palace.

In the Sight of Angels

The church was bombed and very nearly destroyed on October 15, 1943. After the War, it was restored at great cost. Apart from the majestic Saint Michael over the altar, the vaulting of the church’s nave is marked by a series of cherubic heads, all of them smiling, made in the same Baroque style as those of the palazzo. Again, the presence of the angels is something believed, something celebrated, an invisible reality depicted outwardly.

I cannot help but question the absence of an angelic iconography in today’s churches. And very rare indeed are homes and even monasteries graced with images of the angels! Out of sight, out of mind? The angels are as present today to us as they were to my Onoratelli ancestors in the village of Sepicciano, but we, sadly, may not be present to them.

Angels at the Liturgy

Are we in danger of forgetting the angels? While the liturgy mentions them repeatedly, all too often we assist at the Sacred Mysteries as if the angels were not there, joining in our praises, observing our attitudes, grieving over lack of zeal, and rejoicing to see us recollected and reverent. Saint Benedict speaks explicitly of the presence of the angels in Chapter 19 of the Rule: “We must therefore consider how we should behave in the sight of the Divine Majesty and his Angels, and as we sing our Psalms let us see to it that our mind is in harmony with our voice” (RB 19:6-7).

From Heaven Sent

One thing is certain. We need the angels. God created the angels for the praise of his glory and for our salvation, that is, to participate in his work of bringing us to wholeness, to peace, and to life everlasting in his presence. The angels are sent to us to comfort us in the hour of trial and affliction. Saint Luke, the evangelist most sensitive to angelic interventions, relates that an angel was sent to console Jesus during His agony in the garden (cf. Lk 22:43).

The angels are sent to bring us the healing of heavenly medicine, and the brightness of God’s deifying light. The angels are sent before every advent of the Word, to dispose our hearts and unstop our ears. The angels are sent before Christ, our Priest and our Victim, present in the offering of His Body and of His Blood. The angels are sent to bear our prayers up to heaven, and to descend to us, laden with heavenly blessings. The angels protect us in all our ways. They do all of these things gladly, joyfully, and unhesitatingly in obedience to the command of God.

Under the Protection of the Angels

We are in great need of angelic assistance. We need the comfort of their presence, the healing ministry of their hands, and the beauty of the praise that ceaselessly they offer God. While we may not have smiling angelic faces on the outer walls of our homes, we do have today’s feast and the daily celebration of the Sacred Liturgy to remind us that angels, unlike us, never forget. May they hold us in their prayer today and cover us with their protection. Who, indeed, can withstand the sword of Saint Michael?

The miracle of Saint Januarius recurred at 9:45 this morning in the cathedral of Naples, filled with expectant devotees of the bishop of Benevento beheaded under Diocletian in 305. Crescenzio Cardinal Sepe recalled the words of Pope Paul VI in 1966: "Just as this blood boils again at every feast, so too may the faith of the people of Naples boil again, flower again, and grow ever stronger." This is what the Italian RaiNews24 had to say:

Liquefatto il sangue di San Gennaro, il vescovo ai napoletani: "A Maronna v'accumpagni"

Il miracolo di San Gennaro si è ripetuto alle 9.45. L'annuncio della liquefazione del sangue nelle ampolle custodite nella Cappella del Duomo di Napoli è arrivato, come da tradizione, dal cardinale arcivescovo della citta' Crescenzio Sepe dall'altare maggiore poco prima dell'inizio della solenne celebrazione eucaristica in occasione della festività del Santo.

Secondo testimoni il sangue era già sciolto quando le ampolle sono state tratte dalla cassaforte in cui sono conservate tutto l'anno, evento non frequente. Il sangue del protettore di Napoli, ricorda Sepe, è "seme di speranza: sia sempre per tutti noi il segno che nessuno mai potrà separarci dall'amore di Dio". Il cardinale poi saluta la città con l'augurio di Papa Paolo VI nel 1966, "quando benedi' Napoli - ricorda - come questo sangue ribolle a ogni festa cosi' la fede del popolo di Napoli possa ribollire, rifiorire e affermarsi sempre di più".

"A Maronna v'accumpagni", conclude l'arcivescovo Sepe prima di portarele ampolle, percorrendo la navata centrale della cattedrale, fino all'esterno del Duomo per benedire la città e la regione.

The 17th century Palazzo Onoratelli was the home of my great–grandmother Emma Onoratelli Barbato. The stucco ornamentation in the baroque style — with smiling angels over the arches — was done by the same artisan who decorated the Palazzo Reale (La Reggia) in Caserta.

The setting is almost magical. The palazzo built in the early 1700s has been beautifully restored. The family stemma (coat of arms) is displayed above the main entrance; it bears the sword of Saint Michael and is held aloft by two naked angels.

Carlo, Nunzio, Don Marco, Maria Carmen, Stefania, Gabriele

Nunzio Onoratelli

Carlo de Lellis

Maria Carmen and Carlo and Nora

Maria Carmen, Don Marco, and Nora

Nora de Lellis, the ever gracious hostess

Giovanna de Lellis Piazza, called "Bambolina"

Giovanna, Nunzio, and Stefani

Nunzio and Stefania Onoratelli

My cousin Carlo de Lellis and his wife Nora invited me to the Onoratelli ancestral home in Sepicciano for the second day of Pasquetta, the Tuesday In Albis. Nora prepared a seven course pranzo that was indescribably delicious.

I traveled down from Rome with my cousin Nunzio Onoratelli, his wife Stefania, and Maria Carmen Balestrieri, a dear friend. Joining us in Sepicciano were cousin Giovanna de Lellis, her husband Gabriele Piazza, and her granddaughter Denise. Also invited were the Parish Priest, Don Salvatore, and his assistant from Cameroun, Don Étienne. The parish church of San Michele in Sepicciano was the private chapel of the Onoratelli family until it was given to the municipality to serve as the parish church in 1903.

One of the family stories retold at the table was about one of the many priest sons of the family who, in order to save his inheritance from being squandered by his gambling siblings, had a hen and twelve chicks made of pure gold, which he then hid in one of the walls of the palazzo. On his deathbed, the priest was stricken with paralysis and could not tell his nieces and nephews where he had hidden the treasure. After his death, they went to the mason who had sealed up the secret hiding place, only to discover that he too had suffered a stroke and couldn't reveal the hiding place. When Carlo and Nora restored the palazzo twelve years ago they engaged a professional with a metal detector to search for the treasure, but it was never found. Giovanna maintains that it is still somewhere in the walls of the upper stories where the priest son had his rooms. The same rooms are said to be haunted by one of the Marchesi Onoratelli. Cousin Ettore lives in them now.

Another joy today! My cousin Carlo de Lellis and Nora, his wife, called from Sepicciano (Piedimonte Matese, Provincia di Caserta) to inform me that their beautiful daughter Sissi will be graduating from Law School in Rome at the end of the month. This lovely photo of Sissi was taken on the occasion of a dinner in Sepicciano.

Sissi will practice penal law in Rome before beginning studies for the magistratura. The family is very proud of her.

Carlo and Nora have completely restored the main part of the Palazzo Onoratelli built by my enterprising ancestors in the 1600s. A wonderful house with smiling baroque angels adorning the facade!

SEPTEMBER 29
SAINTS MICHAEL, GABRIEL, AND RAPHAEL, ARCHANGELS

Daniel 7:9-10, 13-14
Apocalypse 12: 7-12ab
Psalm 137:1-2ab, 2cde-3, 4-5
John 1:45-51

Angels Everywhere

One of the most striking things about Rome’s churches — and about Italian churches in general — is that they are full of representations of the angels. American churches in contrast, especially those built in the last fifty years, are strangely devoid of angelic imagery. In Italian churches there are angels everywhere: all sorts of angels. There are majestic angels of graceful athletic appearance, angels in splendid apparel playing musical instruments, and playful little angels with fat cheeks and chubby legs. In Italian churches, one is always conscious of praising God in conspectu angelorum, “in the sight of the angels” (Ps 137:1).

The Angels at Santa Croce in Gerusalemme

In the Basilica of Santa Croce in Gerusalemme, the angels are associated with the mystery of the Cross. The glorious Cross is depicted throughout the basilica and around it there are always angels — jubilant, praising, adoring, wondering angels! There is a theology in this iconography of the Cross. The mystery of the Cross astonishes even the angels. The mystery of the Cross casts them into a state of unspeakable amazement. They look upon the wood of the Cross and praise the “secret and hidden wisdom of God” (1 Cor 2:7). They look upon the wood of the Cross and adore the Precious Blood that stains it. They look upon the wood of the Cross and confess it as mankind’s only hope. O Crux, ave, spes unica! One cannot visit Jerusalem in Rome, the Basilica of Santa Croce, without realizing that the mystery of the Cross has become the everlasting joy of the angels.

Celebrating today's feast of Our Lady of Sorrows, the Addolorata, brought me back to the church of my Italian great–grandmother, Donna Emma Onoratelli, in Sepicciano (Campania). I have had the privilege of celebrating Holy Mass there on numerous occasions. My dear cousins Carlo de Lellis, his wife Nora, and their children Ettore and Sissi now live in the palazzo Onoratelli just a few steps from the church. Whenever I visit them, they insist that I consider it my home too.

The church was built in 1742 as a private family chapel by my forbear the Marchese Don Clemente Onoratelli in fulfillment of a vow made to Saint Michael the Archangel. It contains an extraordinarily expressive statue of the Sorrowful Mother commissioned by the family. The ladies of the family considered it an honour to provide the Madonna with an exquisite black dress, mourning veil, and jewelry. In her hand she holds a delicate white handkerchief edged in lace. Unfortunately, I do not have a photograph of the statue. There are still many like it throughout the former Kingdom of Naples, in spite of the fact that unscrupulous antique dealers prize them as collection pieces!

From my father's side of the family, the Gilbrides from County Leitrim, I inherited a splendid little Irish prayerbook printed in Middle Abbey Street, Dublin, in 1860. It contains A Devout Exercise in Honour of the Sorrowful Heart of Mary in the form of short meditations on the Seven Sorrows, a Prayer to the Blessed Virgin in her Desolation, and A Short Method of saying the Rosary of the Dolours of the B.V.M.

There is evidence of a tradition of devotion to the Mother of Sorrows on both sides of the family tree. I pray that it may continue from generation to generation. "Sow for yourselves righteousness, reap the fruit of steadfast love; break up your fallow ground, for it is time to seek the Lord, that he may come and rain salvation upon you" (Hos 10:12).