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A cross for the Aula Magna | by Paolo Pegoraro
A cross for the Aula Magna
byPAOLO PEGORARO
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On December 22, 2021, a new monumental cross, commissioned from Brazilian Franciscan artist Fra Sidival Fila, was installed in the Aula Magna of the Gregorian University. The large cross (260 x 137 cm) is positioned on the left side of the Aula Magna, suspended by steel cables. In this way it is visible at all times, even during video projections. However, one should not be deceived by its bright red and subtle ultramarine blue streaks. In fact, only upon approaching the cross does one realise that its surface is uneven, obtained by coating 17th-century chestnut beams with kilometres of polyamide threads.
The rite of blessing was celebrated at the beginning of Lent, on 9 March 2022, officiated by Fr. Lino Dan S. J., Administrative Vice Rector of the University, accompanied by a chant of the ancient hymn Vexilla Regis. Thereafter, two lecturers from the Faculty of History and Cultural Heritage of the Church offered those present an aesthetic and theological reading of the work of art.
“Leaving aside the question of whether it is a cross or a crucifix, Sidival made it clear that his intention here is not to deal with the interpretation of symbols, but rather with the recognition of veiled flesh,” Professor Yvonne Dohna Schlobi en explained. “Sidival described his work of art as a journey, which he compares to prayer understood as en-
counter. His works of art lend themselves to encounter, in that they are open to continued exploration, whence emerges a dialogue along paths that have no destination, yet they resemble each other and change as you advance, not recognisable when you look back, as if crossing a threshold at every step. A boundary. They are somewhat like life, complex and ambiguous. This is what Gaston Bachelard refers to as ‘intimate immensity’”. It is therefore contemporary art with clear references to tradition, as Prof. Barbara Aniello pointed out. “The earliest iconography of the Annunciation depicts the Virgin Mary spinning, as portrayed in the ancient icon of Ustiug, preserved in the Tret’jakov Gallery. The high priest had ordered “five pure virgins of the tribe of David” to weave the veil “of the temple” (Protovangelium of James X-XII,1). Casting lots, neither gold, nor asbestos, nor the fine linen, nor silk, nor the hyacinth fell unto Mary, but the lot of the true purple and the scarlet. In the act of weaving, the angel says unto her: “Hail, full of grace” (Lk 1.28). In her hand she holds a spool of scarlet yarn, the colour of the veil for the temple, which is the flesh of Jesus, portrayed in her transparent womb. From Fall to Redemption, Sidival Fila revisits this path, with thread - not coincidentally - as the chosen material.”
Some photographs of the large cross made by Sidival Fila, first in his studio, and in its current position in the Aula Magna.
In this page: The Annunciation ancient icon of Ustiug (Tret’jakov Gallery) depicts the Virgin Mary spinning purple and scarlet.
