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Date: 2007-12-13

Good Ole St. Nick; Capturing a Pontiff on Canvas

Celebrating the Real Santa in the Eternal City

By Elizabeth Lev

ROME, DEC. 13, 2007 (Zenit.org).- It may be overcast and rainy in Rome these days, but this Advent just keeps getting brighter. From the glorious opening of the season with Benedict XVI's new encyclical "Spe Salvi" (Saved in Hope), the wait for Christmas has taken on a greater meaning than the number of shopping days left.

Last Thursday, Dec. 6, was the feast of St. Nicholas, bishop of Myrna, whose fame resonates in every corner of the world. The fourth-century bishop was known for his generosity and his love for children; many stories of his miracles involve gifts or the protection of youth.

One of the most famous stories of the bishop recounts how a poor man had no money to dower his three daughters. Without dowries, the girls would be unable to marry and would be destined for slavery. Three balls of gold were tossed through his window where they landed in socks hanging by the fireplace. Herein lies the origin of St. Nick, bearer of presents for children.

Although he lived and died in Turkey, St. Nicholas' body was brought to Bari by Italian merchants in the 11th century. A dubious tradition places St. Nicholas in prison in Rome near the Forum in the little Church of San Nicola in Carcere, but the universal character of the devotion to Nicholas makes him worthy of a prominent place in the "Caput Mundi."

Hundreds crowded into Nicholas' tiny, but fascinating church by the Tiber, which is formed from the remains of three ancient temples. Tourists often come to San Nicola, one of the very few churches to be open through the lunch hour, to admire the remains of the temple of Jupiter Sospes, god of hospitality, and Juno, goddess of marriage and childbirth.

The third temple was dedicated to Spes, or hope, which in the ancient world meant the expectation of a safe journey home for sailors, but in the Christian tradition took on greater meaning.

But on the afternoon of Dec. 6, Polish Cardinal Zenon Grocholewski, prefect of the Congregation for Catholic Education, and titular cardinal of the Church, celebrated Mass there in honor of St. Nicholas.

Two huge golden reliquaries rose two feet from the altar, containing the largest amount of relics of the saint outside of Bari. The Mass in honor of St. Nicholas was celebrated in Latin, a tribute to his universal appeal as people from all over the world gathered in the church.

An impressive delegation from the Knights of Malta descended from their headquarters on the Aventine to participate in the ceremony.

Another regular attendee was a young American, John Sonnen, a third-year theology student at the Angelicum. During his three years of study in Rome, he has never missed this feast at San Nicola.

"My devotion to St. Nicholas started when I was living in Russia," Sonnen explained. "Together with St. George, he is the co-patron saint."

But for Sonnen, coming to Rome and discovering the relics at the church was the crowning joy of his dedication to the saint. "Here at this Mass I can do what every kid always dreams of: seeing Santa Claus."

Amid frenetic shopping surrounded by the now secularized symbols of Santa's bag laden with toys or brightly wrapped packages piled high under a tree, St. Nicholas' feast reminds us what the Christian idea of giving is all about.

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Benedict XVI's Portrait

Christmas came early for Benedict XVI. After the general audience on Wednesday, Russian artist Natalia Tsarkova presented the Holy Father with a full-length portrait of himself during one of the rare private audiences granted by the Pope.

Tsarkova, an extraordinarily gifted painter, has been working in Rome for over a decade. She produced five portraits of Pope John Paul II, the only portrait of Pope John Paul I, as well as the stunning "Our Lady of Light" commissioned by the Primavera Foundation in the United States to celebrate the institution of the luminous mysteries of the rosary by John Paul II.

The portrait of Benedict XVI was commissioned by the Patrons Office of the Vatican Museums a year ago. In the past, the Patrons Office has usually obtained funding for restoration and maintenance of the extensive collections of the Vatican Museums, but under its new director, Legionary of Christ Father Mark Haydu, the office decided to add a new masterpiece to the galleries.

Tsarkova toiled for almost a year on the painting, oil on canvas. She attended the audiences to capture the Holy Father among the faithful, and papal Masses to watch him celebrate the liturgy. Her portrait is a mixture of the public persona she studied as well as the private meditative man that she imagined.

Benedict XVI sits on a throne, which the artist describes as a reminder of his role of teacher from his chair, but also that of Successor of St. Peter. The Holy Spirit in the form of the dove hovers above his head, bathing him with light the same way Bernini's window of the Holy Spirit rains golden light on the Cathedra San Petri in St. Peter's Basilica.

The elaborately decorated chair belonged to Pope Leo XIII, and has carved cherubim over the shoulders and under the armrests. One angel, illuminated by the heavenly rays, turns its gaze lovingly toward the Pope.

Tsarkova's greatest labor of love in the work involved rendering Benedict XVI's facial expression. Magazine and newspaper photos rarely show the Pope in a flattering fashion, but after careful studies, she captured an intent look tinged with kindness; his far-seeing gaze looks toward the future of the Church out of concern for the souls under his care.

To portray the complexity of his expression, Tsarkova worked on preparatory drawings for months. A small but beautiful oil sketch remains as testimony to her work, in which the warm, gentle smile of Benedict XVI is recognizable to all those who have had the pleasure of seeing the Holy Father.

Unlike Tsarkova's earlier portraits of John Paul II, where the Pontiff was always portrayed standing as the "Pilgrim Pope," Benedict XVI's portrait shows him seated, emphasizing his role as teacher.

Also different from John Paul II's portraits, Benedict XVI wears a heavy crimson cope which sparkles with reflected light in its heavy folds. Tsarkova defines her use of red to frame the Pope as a symbol of both faith and love while the woven gold miter on his head represents the divine Kingdom.

A curious clasp closes the Pope's mantle. Amid the Baroque swathes of fabric highlighted with rich embroidery, a broad pewter buckle draws the cope across his heart. The design is almost primitive -- parallel waving lines trace the simple form of Christ embracing his mother.

It seems that Tsarkova is hinting that despite all his years of curial experience and the grandeur of his role as Pope, Benedict XVI remains a simple man at heart, unaffected by the pageantry that surrounds him.

Benedict XVI's unique gift of taking complex lessons and transmitting them in clear, understandable and even catchy language motivated the artist to place a slim volume under the Pope's fingers. Although Benedict XVI has written numerous books as one of the greatest theologians of the past century, his teaching is straightforward and accessible, allowing the faithful to gain a better understanding of the Church and its doctrines.

As I was standing in Natalia's studio, I saw copies of all her paintings of John Paul II around the rooms and I felt the now familiar pang of nostalgia for the Holy Father that I had known all my life. But then looking at her portrait of Benedict XVI, I saw St. Peter's Square depicted in the background, with the sun shining down on Bernini's colonnade as it embraces the obelisk that witnessed St. Peter's martyrdom.

Tsarkova's vision of Benedict XVI, both intensely passionate about his mission and warm and fatherly toward his flock, seems to herald the advent of an exciting new day in the life of the Church.

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Elizabeth Lev teaches Christian art and architecture at Duquesne University's Rome campus. She can be reached at lizlev@zenit.org.