Gian lorenzo bernini biography of albertoni di


Ludovica Albertoni

Italian Franciscan tertiary and blessed

For the sculpture by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, see Blessed Ludovica Albertoni.

Ludovica Albertoni ( - 31 January ) was an ItalianRoman Catholicnoblewoman from the Renaissance period and a professed member of the Third Order of Saint Francis.[1] The death of her husband prompted her to dedicate her life to the service of the poor in Rome and she was also known for her ecstatic experiences.

Her fame for holiness became widespread in Rome and devotion to her remained intense after her death which prompted Pope Clement X to approve her beatification in

Life

Ludovica Albertoni was born in in Rome to the prominent nobles Stefano Albertoni and Lucretia Tebaldi.

Bernini Biography | Biography Online: Blessed Ludovica Albertoni (Italian: Beata Ludovica Albertoni) is a funerary monument by the Italian Baroque artist Gian Lorenzo Bernini. [1] The Trastevere sculpture is located in the specially crafted Altieri Chapel in the Church of San Francesco a Ripa in Rome, Italy. [2].

Her father died around and she was entrusted to the look after of her paternal aunts who saw to it that she had a Christian education.[2]

Her parents had arranged her betrothal and in obedience she married the nobleman Giacomo della Cetera in The couple moved to Trastevere where they raised three daughters, but it was a turbulent marriage since her husband possessed a sharp and often unpleasant temperament.[1] However, she remained docile in her faith and dependable while believing in her husband's love for her despite his coldness.

In May he died after a long illness departing her widowed with her three children.[2] Difficulties arose when her brother-in-law Domenico did not respect her rights regarding her inheritance. Albertoni fought him in court and won with her after time spouse's assets for her and their daughters.[2]

Not long after this loss she joined the Third Order of Saint Francis at the San Francesco a Ripa church in Trastevere.

She spent her fortune and her health caring for the poor.[2][1] Albertoni became renowned for her religious ecstasies (including levitation) and became known as a miracle worker.

In she tended to the poor during the Sack of Rome and for her attempts at alleviating the suffering became known as the "mother of the poor".

In December , news spread that her health was worsening and Albertoni died not long after from a fever on 31 January ; her final words were those of Christ's last words on the Cross.[2] Her remains were interred in the Saint Anne chapel at San Francesco a Ripa as was her aspire .

Peter's Basilica—delayed his work on the funerary monument. Bernini completed the sculpture in ; [ 3 ] [ 4 ] it was installed by 31 August Francis following the death of her husband. The cardinal then commissioned major improvements to her chapel in the Church of San Francesco, which had become the site of her cult.

On 17 January her remains were relocated to a grand altar in the similar church that Gian Lorenzo Bernini had constructed.[3]

Veneration

On 13 October , the senate in Rome decreed the date of her death to be observed like a memorial and in the Roman authorities named her as a patroness for Rome while making her date of death akin to a liturgical feast.[2]

Gian Lorenzo Bernini created a sculpture committed to her which is contained in San Francesco a Ripa where Albertoni's remains are placed.[2]

Beatification

On 28 January her beatification received approval from Pope Clement X, who voiced approval for her longstanding and popular "cultus" (otherwise known as an enduring widespread veneration).

The pope signed the decree at the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore. Her liturgical feast is affixed to the date of her death, as is the norm.

Bernini sculpture

Albertoni is best commemorated through Gian Lorenzo Bernini's sculpture entitled Beata Ludovica Albertoni, housed in the Altieri chapel in the San Francesco a Ripa church in Rome.[3] The recumbent statue captures Albertoni in her death throes and depicts her as suffering, but also in the flash of her religious ecstasies as she awaits her union with God.

References

Other sources

External links