thumb|right|250px|The Madonna Della Strada

Madonna Della Strada or Santa Maria Della Strada (English: Our Lady of the Wayside or Saint Mary of the Good Road) is a painting of Mary, mother of Jesus at the Church of the Gesù in Rome, mother church of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) religious order of the Catholic Church; it is a variation on the basilissa (imperial) type of icon.

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, at a crossroads along the ceremonial route of the popes. The 13th-14th century fresco (a wall painting done on damp plaster) was originally painted on the wall of Saint Mary of the Way in Rome, the church of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits), given to Saint Ignatius by Pope Paul III in 1540.

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.

Legacy

There is a Madonna Della Strada Chapel at Loyola University in Chicago, Illinois, at the University of Scranton in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and another at Zilber Hall, Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

The Madonna della Strada Chapel is located at the campus ministry center of Le Moyne College.

See also

  • Roman Catholic Marian art
  • Patronage of the Blessed Virgin Mary
  • List of Jesuit sites

References

Further reading

  • Almagno, R. Stephen, O.F.M. Editor. Mary Our Hope: A Selection from the Sermons, Addresses, and Papers of Cardinal John J. Wright. San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1984. 158f.