All Souls All Saints In Memory - Church of St. Stephen

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Pastor’s Page | Father Mike Van Sloun “As I have done for you, you should also do” –Jn 13:15
The Friar Angelico Cross
Th e Artist. Th e cross was painted by Friar Angelico, also known as
Fray Angelico de Fiesole. He was born in Mugello, Italy, a small town
north of Florence, in 1395.
His given name was Guido
di Pietro. He joined the
Dominican Order, took the
religious name Fra Giovanni,
and resided at the
Convent of San Dominico
in Fiesole. He was a
man of deep prayer and he
expressed his deep faith
in his art. He is regarded
as one of the greatest Italian
painters of the Early
Renaissance. His most famous
works are Th e Annunciation,
Th e Coronation
of Mary, Th e Desposition
from the Cross, Th e Mocking
of Christ, and Th e Adoration
of the Magi. A fellow
monk who admired his
artisanship nicknamed him
Fra Angelico, the Angelic
Friar. He died in Rome on February 18, 1455, and soon afterward became
known as Th e Angelic Painter.
Present Location. Th e Friar Angelico Cross is located in the Treasury
of St. Mary’s Cathedral in Toledo, Spain. Th e Treasury is located in the
back of the cathedral, a secure room for the most valuable sacred vessels,
vestments, statues, paintings, and other artwork.
Description. Th e Friar Angelico Cross is a painted cross on wood with
images on both sides. One side depicts Christ alive, while the other depicts
Christ dead. Th e cross “was presented to the cathedral after the
Spanish civil war (1936-1939) by the then head of the Italian government”
(Gonzalez, D. L. A., Toledo Cathedral: Art and History, Toledo,
Spain: Artes Grafi cas, 64). Th e predominant color is gold. Th e four ends
have rounded lobes with an image within each.
Jesus, the Central Figure. Th e focal point is the center image of the
crucifi ed Jesus. Th ere is a black Latin Cross underneath his body. His head
is surrounded by a golden halo bordered by a thin black line and inlaid with
a partial red cross. A black crown of thorns surrounds his head, his hair
is long and fl owing onto his shoulders, and his eyes are open and gazing
upward. His upper torso and legs are upright, not sagging, and without
wounds. His arms are outstretched almost horizontally and blood is fl owing
from the nail marks. His feet are overlapping, pinned with a single nail,
with streams of blood. Above his
head there is a red sign with four
gold letters, “INRI,” the Latin initials
for Iesus Nazarenus Rex Iudaeorum,
Jesus of Nazareth, King
of the Jews, the inscription Pilate
had affi xed to the cross (Jn 19:19).
Th e Four Figures. Th ere is an
image at each end of the cross
both front and back. On the front
the top image is a mother pelican
feeding her chicks, a symbol for
Christ feeding the members of the
Church; the bottom is St. Dominic,
arms upraised; the left is the
Blessed Virgin Mary in blue; and
the right is the Beloved Disciple
in red. On the back the top fi gure
is St. John the Evangelist with his
right hand raised and his left hand
holding an open book, the symbol
for his literary contributions to
the New Testament: the gospel of
John; his letters (1,2,3 John), and
the Book of Revelation. Th e top
page is inscribed with the letter
Alpha, the fi rst letter of the Greek
alphabet, a reference to Jesus who
is the Alpha and the Omega (Rev
1:8; 21:6; 22:13). Th e bottom fi gure
is St. Dominic clothed with
a brown habit. Th e left fi gure is
a saint with a tattered cloak,his
right hand holding the cord of a
red hat. Th e right fi gure is a bishop
with miter and crozier, dressed
in a violet cope and holding a large
red book in his left hand.
Readings for the Week
Sunday: Jer 31:7-9/Heb 5:1-6/Mk 10:46-52
Monday: Eph 4:32---5:8/Lk 13:10-17
Tuesday: Eph 5:21-33 or 5:2a, 25-32/Lk 13:18-21
Wednesday: Eph 6:1-9/Lk 13:22-30
Thursday: Rv 7:2-4, 9-14/1 Jn 3:1-3/Mt 5:1-12a
Friday: Wis 3:1-9/Rom 5:5-11 or 6:3-9/Jn 6:37-40
Saturday: Phil 1:18b-26/Lk 14:1, 7-11
Next Sunday: Dt 6:2-6/Heb 7:23-28/Mk 12:28b-34