https://badolatofamilyrosary.com/saints/st-jude https://badolatofamilyrosary.com/art/saints/st-jude.jpg St. Jude Thaddeus — Patron of Hopeless Causes St. Jude holds up the image of Christ that hangs at his breast — the likeness tradition says he carried to King Abgar of Edessa. In his other hand is the club of his martyrdom. https://badolatofamilyrosary.com/art/saints/st-jude-lateran.jpg St. Jude Thaddeus — Patron of Hopeless Causes The Apostle among the Twelve in the nave of St. John Lateran in Rome, holding the halberd by which tradition says he died. https://badolatofamilyrosary.com/art/saints/st-jude-sandukht-prison.jpg St. Jude Thaddeus — Patron of Hopeless Causes Bound in the prison of King Sanatruk with St. Sandukht, the king's own daughter, who was converted by his preaching and martyred before him. https://badolatofamilyrosary.com/art/saints/st-jude-shrine-baltimore.jpg St. Jude Thaddeus — Patron of Hopeless Causes The shrine altar in Baltimore, where the Novena to St. Jude has been prayed since the outset of the Second World War. https://badolatofamilyrosary.com/saints/st-michael https://badolatofamilyrosary.com/art/reni-st-michael.jpg St. Michael the Archangel — Prince of the Heavenly Host Guido Reni, 1635. The serene warrior-angel treads upon the devil — the model for countless devotional cards. https://badolatofamilyrosary.com/art/st-michael-archangel-devotional.jpg St. Michael the Archangel — Prince of the Heavenly Host St. Michael the Archangel, Prince of the heavenly host — a contemporary devotional image. https://badolatofamilyrosary.com/saints/blessed-virgin-mary https://badolatofamilyrosary.com/art/lorenzetti-madonna-child.jpg The Blessed Virgin Mary — Mother of God, Queen of the Most Holy Rosary The Mother and her Son — the heart of every mystery of the Rosary. https://badolatofamilyrosary.com/art/saints/mary-annunciation.jpg The Blessed Virgin Mary — Mother of God, Queen of the Most Holy Rosary The Annunciation — her fiat, with which the Rosary begins. https://badolatofamilyrosary.com/saints/st-joseph https://badolatofamilyrosary.com/art/st-joseph.jpg St. Joseph — Patron of the Universal Church, Terror of Demons The guardian of the Redeemer, with the Child entrusted to his care. https://badolatofamilyrosary.com/art/saints/st-joseph-carpenter.jpg St. Joseph — Patron of the Universal Church, Terror of Demons St. Joseph the Worker — the trade by which he fed the Son of God. https://badolatofamilyrosary.com/saints/st-peter https://badolatofamilyrosary.com/art/caravaggio-crucifixion-st-peter.jpg St. Peter — Prince of the Apostles, First Pope Caravaggio, 1601. Peter asked to be crucified head downward, unworthy to die as his Master had. https://badolatofamilyrosary.com/art/el-greco-tears-of-st-peter.jpg St. Peter — Prince of the Apostles, First Pope The tears of Peter — after the denial, and before the forgiveness. https://badolatofamilyrosary.com/saints/st-andrew https://badolatofamilyrosary.com/art/saints/st-andrew.jpg St. Andrew — The First-Called, Brother of St. Peter St. Andrew the Apostle — a nineteenth-century Bulgarian icon by Yoan of Gabrovo. He holds the scroll of his preaching and raises his hand in blessing; the East calls him simply Protokletos, the First-Called. https://badolatofamilyrosary.com/art/saints/st-andrew-calling-caravaggio.jpg St. Andrew — The First-Called, Brother of St. Peter Caravaggio, The Calling of Saints Peter and Andrew, 1603–1606 (Royal Collection, Hampton Court Palace). The two brothers are shown as what they were — working men with the day's catch still in hand — at the moment they are asked to leave it. https://badolatofamilyrosary.com/art/saints/st-andrew-calling-ghirlandaio.jpg St. Andrew — The First-Called, Brother of St. Peter Domenico Ghirlandaio, The Calling of the Apostles, 1481 — one of the original wall frescoes of the Sistine Chapel. Peter and Andrew kneel together on the shore; behind them their boat is still on the water. https://badolatofamilyrosary.com/art/saints/st-andrew-martyrdom-menologion.jpg St. Andrew — The First-Called, Brother of St. Peter The martyrdom of St. Andrew, from the Menologion of Basil II, c. AD 1000 (Vatican Library). Note the shape: the earliest accounts have him bound — not nailed — to an ordinary cross. The familiar X-shaped saltire came later. https://badolatofamilyrosary.com/art/saints/st-andrew-lateran.jpg St. Andrew — The First-Called, Brother of St. Peter Camillo Rusconi, 1713–1715 — St. Andrew among the Twelve in the nave of St. John Lateran, Rome, leaning on the great saltire that has been his emblem since the later Middle Ages. https://badolatofamilyrosary.com/art/leonardo-last-supper.jpg St. Andrew — The First-Called, Brother of St. Peter Leonardo da Vinci, The Last Supper, 1495–1498. Andrew is the third figure from the left, both palms raised in astonishment at the words “one of you shall betray me.” https://badolatofamilyrosary.com/art/saints/st-andrew-fishing-for-souls.jpg St. Andrew — The First-Called, Brother of St. Peter Adriaen van de Venne, Fishing for Souls, 1614 (Rijksmuseum). A vast allegory on the promise made to Andrew and his brother — “I will make you fishers of men.” https://badolatofamilyrosary.com/saints/st-john https://badolatofamilyrosary.com/art/saints/st-john-evangelist.jpg St. John the Evangelist — The Beloved Disciple St. John with the eagle — the evangelist whose Gospel begins in the heights. https://badolatofamilyrosary.com/art/saints/st-john-at-the-cross.jpg St. John the Evangelist — The Beloved Disciple "Behold thy mother" — the fourth sorrowful hour, at the Cross. https://badolatofamilyrosary.com/saints/st-anthony-of-padua https://badolatofamilyrosary.com/art/saints/st-anthony-padua.jpg St. Anthony of Padua — Hammer of Heretics, Finder of Lost Things St. Anthony is shown with the Christ Child upon his book, and a lily for purity. https://badolatofamilyrosary.com/saints/st-francis-of-assisi https://badolatofamilyrosary.com/art/saints/st-francis-assisi.jpg St. Francis of Assisi — The Little Poor Man, Founder of the Friars Minor St. Francis — the first saint recorded to have received the stigmata. https://badolatofamilyrosary.com/art/assisi-st-francis-basilica.jpg St. Francis of Assisi — The Little Poor Man, Founder of the Friars Minor The basilica at Assisi, raised over his tomb. https://badolatofamilyrosary.com/saints/st-therese-of-lisieux https://badolatofamilyrosary.com/art/saints/st-therese-statue.jpg St. Thérèse of Lisieux — The Little Flower, Doctor of the Church St. Thérèse in Carmel — she promised to let fall a shower of roses. https://badolatofamilyrosary.com/art/saints/st-therese-reliquary-lisieux.jpg St. Thérèse of Lisieux — The Little Flower, Doctor of the Church Her reliquary at Lisieux. The relics have travelled to more than sixty countries — the little way, still going out to the world. https://badolatofamilyrosary.com/art/saints/st-therese-relic.jpg St. Thérèse of Lisieux — The Little Flower, Doctor of the Church A first-class relic — “ex carne S. Theresiæ a Jesu Infante,” from the flesh of St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus. https://badolatofamilyrosary.com/art/saints/st-therese-statue-chapel.jpg St. Thérèse of Lisieux — The Little Flower, Doctor of the Church A chapel statue set beneath an Ecce Homo — the Little Flower keeping company with the Passion she offered herself to. https://badolatofamilyrosary.com/saints/st-patrick https://badolatofamilyrosary.com/art/saints/st-patrick.jpg St. Patrick — Apostle of Ireland St. Patrick with the shamrock, by which he is said to have taught the Trinity. Stained glass, Saint Patrick Church, Junction City, Ohio. Photograph by Nheyob, CC BY-SA 4.0. https://badolatofamilyrosary.com/saints/st-dominic https://badolatofamilyrosary.com/art/saints/st-dominic.jpg St. Dominic — Founder of the Order of Preachers El Greco, St. Dominic in Prayer, c. 1600. The founder of the Preachers kneels before the crucifix under a storm-lit sky. https://badolatofamilyrosary.com/saints/st-augustine https://badolatofamilyrosary.com/art/saints/st-augustine.jpg St. Augustine of Hippo — Doctor of Grace Philippe de Champaigne, Saint Augustine, c. 1645–1650. He holds the flaming heart of his Confessions and looks toward the light of Truth itself. https://badolatofamilyrosary.com/saints/st-thomas-aquinas https://badolatofamilyrosary.com/art/saints/st-thomas-aquinas.jpg St. Thomas Aquinas — The Angelic Doctor Carlo Crivelli, St. Thomas Aquinas, 1476. He carries the Church in one hand and the open book in the other; on his breast, the sun of divine wisdom. https://badolatofamilyrosary.com/saints/st-catherine-of-siena https://badolatofamilyrosary.com/art/saints/st-catherine-siena.jpg St. Catherine of Siena — Doctor of the Church Giambattista Tiepolo, St. Catherine of Siena, c. 1746. She wears the crown of thorns she chose when Our Lord offered her a choice between it and a crown of gold. https://badolatofamilyrosary.com/saints/st-teresa-of-avila https://badolatofamilyrosary.com/art/saints/st-teresa-avila.jpg St. Teresa of Ávila — Doctor of Prayer Peter Paul Rubens, St. Teresa of Ávila, c. 1615. The great reformer with the quill that wrote some of the Church's deepest books on prayer. https://badolatofamilyrosary.com/saints/st-joan-of-arc https://badolatofamilyrosary.com/art/saints/st-joan-of-arc.jpg St. Joan of Arc — The Maid of Orléans Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, Joan of Arc at the Coronation of Charles VII, 1854. Her mission accomplished, she stands at Reims with her banner: it had borne the hardship, she said, so it was right it should share the honor. https://badolatofamilyrosary.com/saints/st-bernadette https://badolatofamilyrosary.com/art/saints/st-bernadette.jpg St. Bernadette Soubirous — Visionary of Lourdes Bernadette Soubirous, photographed in 1863 by Billard-Perrin — five years after the apparitions, still a girl of Lourdes, not yet a nun. https://badolatofamilyrosary.com/saints/padre-pio https://badolatofamilyrosary.com/art/saints/padre-pio.jpg St. Pio of Pietrelcina (Padre Pio) — Bearer of the Wounds of Christ Padre Pio of Pietrelcina. For half a century, pilgrims came to San Giovanni Rotondo to confess to the friar with the wounded hands. https://badolatofamilyrosary.com/saints/st-john-paul-ii https://badolatofamilyrosary.com/art/saints/st-john-paul-ii.jpg St. John Paul II — Pope of the Rosary Pope St. John Paul II in prayer, 2004. Photograph by Eric Draper, the White House. https://badolatofamilyrosary.com/saints/mother-teresa https://badolatofamilyrosary.com/art/saints/mother-teresa.jpg St. Teresa of Calcutta (Mother Teresa) — Saint of the Gutters St. Teresa of Calcutta in the white and blue sari of her Missionaries of Charity. Photograph by John Mathew Smith, CC BY-SA 2.0. https://badolatofamilyrosary.com/mysteries/joyful https://badolatofamilyrosary.com/art/joyful.jpg The Joyful Mysteries The Annunciation — Fra Angelico, c. 1426 (Museo del Prado) https://badolatofamilyrosary.com/mysteries/sorrowful https://badolatofamilyrosary.com/art/sorrowful.jpg The Sorrowful Mysteries Christ Crucified — Diego Velázquez, c. 1632 (Museo del Prado) https://badolatofamilyrosary.com/mysteries/glorious https://badolatofamilyrosary.com/art/glorious.jpg The Glorious Mysteries The Resurrection — Piero della Francesca, c. 1465 (Sansepolcro) https://badolatofamilyrosary.com/mysteries/luminous https://badolatofamilyrosary.com/art/luminous.jpg The Luminous Mysteries The Baptism of Christ — Verrocchio and Leonardo da Vinci, c. 1475 (Uffizi) https://badolatofamilyrosary.com/sacred-art https://badolatofamilyrosary.com/art/reni-st-michael.jpg The Archangel Michael Defeating Satan Reni’s serene warrior-angel treads upon the devil, sword raised — the most beloved image of St. Michael, and the model for countless devotional cards. (Guido Reni, 1635 — Santa Maria della Concezione, Rome) https://badolatofamilyrosary.com/art/st-michael-archangel-devotional.jpg St. Michael the Archangel A modern depiction of the Prince of the heavenly host in shining armor, sword and cross-shield in hand, radiant against the storm — “Who is like God?” (Contemporary devotional artwork) https://badolatofamilyrosary.com/art/leonardo-last-supper.jpg The Last Supper Leonardo froze the single most dramatic second of the Gospel: Christ has just said “one of you will betray me,” and the words ripple down the table — the Apostles recoil, protest, and reach in four storms of three, while the Lord sits calm at the still center, His hands open toward the bread and wine He is about to make His Body and Blood. Painted on the refectory wall of a Milanese convent so the friars would take every meal in its company, it began fading in Leonardo's own lifetime and has survived flood, neglect, and a wartime bomb that destroyed the room around it — the most famous image of the Eucharist ever made. (Leonardo da Vinci, 1495–1498 — Santa Maria delle Grazie, Milan) https://badolatofamilyrosary.com/art/raphael-transfiguration.jpg The Transfiguration Raphael’s final masterpiece shows Christ transfigured in glory above Mount Tabor — the Fourth Luminous Mystery — while below the Apostles struggle with a possessed boy. (Raphael, 1516–1520 — Vatican Pinacoteca) https://badolatofamilyrosary.com/art/velazquez-christ-crucified.jpg Christ Crucified Velázquez’s quiet, solitary Crucifixion — the Fifth Sorrowful Mystery — dignified against a dark ground, the Lord’s face half-veiled by His hair. (Diego Velázquez, c. 1632 — Museo del Prado, Madrid) https://badolatofamilyrosary.com/art/cimabue-crucifixion.jpg The Crucifixion Cimabue’s great fresco of the Crucifixion, the Fifth Sorrowful Mystery. Time reversed its white lead to dark, giving the ghostly, photographic-negative effect seen today. (Cimabue, c. 1280s — Upper Basilica of St. Francis, Assisi) https://badolatofamilyrosary.com/art/el-greco-adoration-shepherds.jpg The Adoration of the Shepherds El Greco’s luminous night of the Nativity — the Third Joyful Mystery — where all light streams from the newborn Christ. (El Greco, c. 1612–1614 — Museo del Prado, Madrid) https://badolatofamilyrosary.com/art/lorenzetti-entry-jerusalem.jpg Entry into Jerusalem Lorenzetti’s fresco of Christ entering Jerusalem to shouts of “Hosanna,” the threshold of Holy Week and His Passion. (Pietro Lorenzetti, c. 1320 — Lower Basilica of St. Francis, Assisi) https://badolatofamilyrosary.com/art/lorenzetti-madonna-child.jpg Madonna and Child (Madonna dei Tramonti) A tender fresco of Our Lady and the Christ Child gazing at one another — the “Madonna of the Sunsets,” named for the evening light that reaches it. (Pietro Lorenzetti, c. 1320 — Lower Basilica of St. Francis, Assisi) https://badolatofamilyrosary.com/art/el-greco-tears-of-st-peter.jpg The Tears of St. Peter El Greco’s penitent Peter weeps after denying Christ — the first great painting of this subject, an image of sorrow turned to hope. (El Greco, c. 1587–1596) https://badolatofamilyrosary.com/art/caravaggio-crucifixion-st-peter.jpg The Crucifixion of St. Peter Caravaggio’s stark, torch-lit martyrdom of St. Peter, crucified head-downward at his own request, unworthy to die as his Lord did. (Caravaggio, 1601 — Cerasi Chapel, Santa Maria del Popolo, Rome) https://badolatofamilyrosary.com/art/van-dyck-ambrose-theodosius.jpg St. Ambrose barring Theodosius St. Ambrose of Milan bars the Emperor Theodosius from the cathedral until he repents of a massacre — the Church calling even emperors to penance. (Anthony van Dyck, c. 1619–1620 — National Gallery, London) https://badolatofamilyrosary.com/art/raphael-disputation-holy-sacrament.jpg Disputation of the Holy Sacrament (La Disputa) Raphael’s fresco unites the Church of heaven and earth in adoration of the Eucharist enthroned upon the altar — a vision of the whole communion of saints. (Raphael, 1509–1510 — Stanza della Segnatura, Vatican) https://badolatofamilyrosary.com/art/murillo-immaculate-conception.jpg The Immaculate Conception Murillo’s Virgin, robed in white and blue and borne up by cherubs, preserved from sin from the first moment of her being. (Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, c. 1678 — Museo del Prado, Madrid) https://badolatofamilyrosary.com/art/panini-santa-maria-maggiore.jpg The Piazza and Church of Santa Maria Maggiore Panini’s view of the great Roman Marian basilica and its bustling piazza, a record of the church as pilgrims of the age would have seen it. (Giovanni Paolo Panini, 18th century) https://badolatofamilyrosary.com/art/masolino-founding-santa-maria-maggiore.jpg The Founding of Santa Maria Maggiore (Miracle of the Snow) The legend of the basilica’s founding: Our Lady sent a summer snowfall to trace the ground plan of the church that would honor her in Rome. (Masolino da Panicale, c. 1428) https://badolatofamilyrosary.com/art/deesis-christ-pantocrator.jpg Christ Pantocrator (the Deësis Mosaic) One of the supreme achievements of Byzantine mosaic: Christ the Teacher and Judge, raising His hand in blessing. Made when Hagia Sophia was still a Christian cathedral. (c. 1261 — Hagia Sophia, Constantinople (Istanbul)) https://badolatofamilyrosary.com/art/sinai-christ-pantocrator.jpg Christ Pantocrator of Sinai The oldest surviving icon of Christ, painted in the 500s and preserved in the desert monastery at Sinai. The two halves of His face differ deliberately — one side the merciful Savior, the other the coming Judge — the two natures of Christ in a single gaze. (6th century — St. Catherine's Monastery, Mount Sinai) https://badolatofamilyrosary.com/art/michelangelo-creation-of-adam.jpg The Creation of Adam The most famous fresco in the world: God the Father, borne by angels, stretches out His hand to give life to Adam. Painted on the Sistine ceiling while Michelangelo lay on scaffolding sixty feet in the air — the near-touching fingers have become the very image of creation itself. (Michelangelo, c. 1512 — Sistine Chapel, Vatican) https://badolatofamilyrosary.com/art/michelangelo-pieta.jpg The Pietà Carved from a single block of Carrara marble when Michelangelo was twenty-three: the Mother of God holds her Son taken down from the Cross. It is the only work he ever signed, and Mary's face — younger than her Son's — is grief made utterly still. (Michelangelo, 1498–1499 — St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican) https://badolatofamilyrosary.com/art/caravaggio-calling-st-matthew.jpg The Calling of Saint Matthew A shaft of light follows Christ's pointing hand into a dim Roman counting-room, and the tax collector Levi looks up — “Is it I?” Caravaggio set the Gospel among card players in contemporary dress, and painting was never the same again. (Caravaggio, 1599–1600 — San Luigi dei Francesi, Rome) https://badolatofamilyrosary.com/art/caravaggio-supper-at-emmaus.jpg The Supper at Emmaus The instant the risen Christ blesses the bread and the two disciples recognize Him — one flings his arms wide, the other grips his chair to rise. Caravaggio paints the moment of recognition at Emmaus with such force the viewer feels seated at the table. (Caravaggio, 1601 — National Gallery, London) https://badolatofamilyrosary.com/art/rembrandt-prodigal-son.jpg The Return of the Prodigal Son Rembrandt's last great canvas: the ruined son kneels against his father's breast, and the old man's hands — one strong, one gentle — rest on his shoulders in welcome. Painted in the final years of the artist's own sorrows, it is the parable of mercy itself (Luke 15). (Rembrandt, c. 1668 — Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg) https://badolatofamilyrosary.com/art/rembrandt-storm-galilee.jpg Christ in the Storm on the Sea of Galilee Rembrandt's only seascape: the disciples fight a wave that is breaking over the bow while Christ sleeps in the stern — “Lord, save us, we perish!” Stolen from the Gardner Museum in 1990 and still missing, it survives for the world only in images like this one. (Rembrandt, 1633 — formerly Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston) https://badolatofamilyrosary.com/art/grunewald-isenheim-crucifixion.jpg The Isenheim Altarpiece — The Crucifixion Painted for a monastery hospital that nursed victims of skin plague: Grünewald gave the crucified Christ their own wounds, so the dying could see that God suffered with them. The most harrowing Crucifixion in Western art, and one of the most compassionate. (Matthias Grünewald, c. 1512–1516 — Unterlinden Museum, Colmar) https://badolatofamilyrosary.com/art/giotto-lamentation.jpg The Lamentation of Christ The fresco that began Western painting's road to the Renaissance: Mary cradles her dead Son while angels contort in grief across the sky. Giotto was the first in centuries to paint sorrow as real people feel it. (Giotto, c. 1305 — Scrovegni Chapel, Padua) https://badolatofamilyrosary.com/art/giotto-kiss-of-judas.jpg The Kiss of Judas Torches, spears, and the swirl of the mob — and at the still center, Judas wraps Christ in his yellow cloak and leans in to betray Him with a kiss. The locked gaze between the two faces is among the most piercing moments in all of art. (Giotto, c. 1305 — Scrovegni Chapel, Padua) https://badolatofamilyrosary.com/art/raphael-sistine-madonna.jpg The Sistine Madonna The Virgin walks toward us on the clouds, the Child in her arms, between St. Sixtus and St. Barbara — while at the bottom lean the two most famous cherubs in the world. Raphael's curtain opens on heaven itself. (Raphael, 1512–1513 — Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, Dresden) https://badolatofamilyrosary.com/art/weyden-descent-from-cross.jpg The Descent from the Cross The masterpiece of the Netherlandish golden age: Christ is lowered from the Cross, and His Mother, fainting, falls into the very same pose as her Son — her sorrow mirroring His Passion. Every tear on every face is painted with jeweler's precision. (Rogier van der Weyden, c. 1435 — Museo del Prado, Madrid) https://badolatofamilyrosary.com/art/fra-angelico-annunciation-san-marco.jpg The Annunciation of San Marco Painted at the top of the dormitory stairs so the friars met it every night: Gabriel bows to the Virgin beneath a simple loggia, no gold, no crowd — only the quiet before her yes. Fra Angelico, the friar-painter, was beatified by the Church he served. Photograph by Richard Mortel, CC BY 2.0. (Fra Angelico, c. 1440 — Convent of San Marco, Florence) https://badolatofamilyrosary.com/art/bloch-sermon-on-mount.jpg The Sermon on the Mount Christ teaches the Beatitudes from the mountainside, every listener's face a study in wonder or doubt. Bloch's Life of Christ cycle became some of the most reproduced sacred images of the modern era — the Third Luminous Mystery in paint. (Carl Bloch, 1877 — Frederiksborg Palace Chapel, Denmark) https://badolatofamilyrosary.com/art/hofmann-christ-gethsemane.jpg Christ in Gethsemane Perhaps the most beloved devotional painting of the Agony in the Garden: Christ kneels at the rock in moonlight, hands folded, face lifted — “not My will, but Thine be done.” The First Sorrowful Mystery, prayed in oil. (Heinrich Hofmann, 1886 — Riverside Church, New York) https://badolatofamilyrosary.com/churches https://badolatofamilyrosary.com/art/st-john-lateran-nave.jpg Archbasilica of St. John Lateran — The Nave The Catholic cathedral of Rome and seat of the Pope as Bishop of Rome — “the mother and head of all churches in the city and the world.” Consecrated in the 4th century under Constantine; the colossal statues of the Apostles line the nave. (Rome, Italy) https://badolatofamilyrosary.com/art/st-john-lateran-cathedra.jpg The Papal Cathedra of St. John Lateran The papal throne (cathedra) in the apse of the Catholic cathedral of Rome. Because this church — not St. Peter’s — holds the Pope’s cathedra, it ranks first among the four papal major basilicas. (Rome, Italy) https://badolatofamilyrosary.com/art/st-john-lateran-interior.jpg St. John Lateran — Interior A view within the Catholic Archbasilica of the Most Holy Savior and of Saints John the Baptist and John the Evangelist, the oldest public church in the West. (Rome, Italy) https://badolatofamilyrosary.com/art/assisi-st-francis-exterior.jpg Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi The Catholic mother church of the Franciscan Order, begun in 1228, two years after the death of St. Francis, and built over his tomb. Its walls hold the great fresco cycles of Giotto, Cimabue, and the Lorenzetti. (Assisi, Italy) https://badolatofamilyrosary.com/art/assisi-st-francis-basilica.jpg Basilica of St. Francis — The Friary Cloister The arcaded cloister of the Sacro Convento, the Franciscan friary attached to the Catholic Basilica of St. Francis in Assisi — a place of quiet for the friars who keep the saint’s shrine. (Assisi, Italy) https://badolatofamilyrosary.com/art/chartres-stained-glass.jpg Chartres Cathedral — Stained Glass The Catholic Cathedral of Our Lady of Chartres, built c. 1194–1220, famed for the deepest surviving medieval “Chartres blue” glass. It has been a Marian pilgrimage site for over eight centuries. (Chartres, France) https://badolatofamilyrosary.com/art/chartres-choir.jpg Chartres Cathedral — The Choir The soaring Gothic choir of the Catholic cathedral of Chartres, a masterwork of High Gothic architecture dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary. (Chartres, France) https://badolatofamilyrosary.com/art/chartres-exterior.jpg Chartres Cathedral — Exterior The mismatched spires of the Catholic cathedral of Notre-Dame de Chartres rise above the wheat plains of the Beauce, a landmark of pilgrimage since the Middle Ages. (Chartres, France) https://badolatofamilyrosary.com/art/milan-cathedral-altar.jpg Milan Cathedral — Chancel and Altar The high altar of the Catholic Duomo di Milano, dedicated to the Nativity of St. Mary. Begun in 1386 and centuries in the building, it is one of the largest churches in the world. (Milan, Italy) https://badolatofamilyrosary.com/art/santa-maria-maggiore-interior.jpg Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore — Interior The greatest of Rome’s Marian churches and a papal major basilica, founded in the 5th century after the Council of Ephesus proclaimed Mary as Mother of God. Its nave keeps 5th-century mosaics. (Rome, Italy) https://badolatofamilyrosary.com/art/notre-dame-paris.jpg Notre-Dame de Paris The Catholic cathedral of Paris, built 1163–1345 on the Île de la Cité and dedicated to Our Lady. Damaged by fire in 2019 and lovingly restored, it reopened for worship in 2024. (Paris, France) https://badolatofamilyrosary.com/art/st-peters-baldachin.jpg St. Peter’s Basilica — Bernini’s Baldachin Bernini’s towering bronze baldachin (1623–1634) rises over the high altar of the Catholic Basilica of St. Peter, directly above the tomb of the Apostle Peter. (Vatican City) https://badolatofamilyrosary.com/art/st-peters-tomb.jpg The Tomb of St. Peter — Vatican Grottoes Beneath the papal altar of St. Peter’s Basilica lie the Vatican Grottoes and the traditional burial place of St. Peter, the first Pope, martyred in Rome around A.D. 64. (Vatican City) https://badolatofamilyrosary.com/art/notre-dame-montreal-sanctuary.jpg Notre-Dame Basilica — The Sanctuary The blue-and-gold sanctuary of the Catholic Notre-Dame Basilica, built 1824–1829 in Gothic Revival style. Its vault of deep azure scattered with gold stars is among the most beautiful in North America. (Montréal, Canada) https://badolatofamilyrosary.com/art/notre-dame-montreal-vault.jpg Notre-Dame Basilica — Vault and Pulpit The starry vault and intricately carved pulpit of the Catholic Notre-Dame Basilica of Montréal, hand-carved from wood and richly gilded. (Montréal, Canada) https://badolatofamilyrosary.com/art/notre-dame-montreal-altar.jpg Notre-Dame Basilica — The High Altar The high altar of Notre-Dame Basilica, its frontal carved with the Last Supper — the very scene of the Fifth Luminous Mystery, the Institution of the Eucharist. (Montréal, Canada) https://badolatofamilyrosary.com/art/notre-dame-montreal-organ.jpg Notre-Dame Basilica — The Casavant Organ The great Casavant Frères organ of Notre-Dame Basilica soars beneath the starry vault, its silver pipes framing the rose window — a voice for the prayer of a great Catholic church. (Montréal, Canada) https://badolatofamilyrosary.com/art/notre-dame-montreal-history-window.jpg Notre-Dame Basilica — A Window of Its History A stained-glass window of Notre-Dame Basilica recording its own story — the construction of the church (1829) and its later consecration — a rarity depicting local Catholic history rather than Scripture alone. (Montréal, Canada) https://badolatofamilyrosary.com/art/chapelle-sacre-coeur-montreal.jpg Chapel of Notre-Dame-du-Sacré-Cœur The all-wood “wedding chapel” behind Notre-Dame Basilica, rebuilt after a 1978 fire. Its warm carved galleries rise to a great bronze altarpiece, the Via Lucis (Way of Light) by Charles Daudelin. (Montréal, Canada)