A Saint Behind the Painted Scenes

 

Image from the Public Domain of Fra Angelico's "Noli Me Tangere"

Eighteen years ago this summer, my husband and I were in Florence, Italy. We made a special stop at the Convent San Marco to see the paintings of Fra Angelico, including this one. Its name means "Do Not Touch Me". Fra Angelico's work is always elegant and respectful, but it often has cute little notes in it...like the Lord carrying a farm implement -- as if to explain why Mary Magdalene thought he was the gardener.

I was fascinated to learn that Fra Angelico's superior had instructed him to paint an individual fresco in each monk's cell, to inspire each one during meditation. Imagine having this fresco in your own room in all its freshness and vibrancy - not a print, but the real thing!

When we went into the chapel of the Convent San Marco, my heart leaped when I saw that there was an incorrupt saint's body incased in glass under the altar. I knew that it wasn't Fra Angelico because he was wearing a bishop's miter, but I had no idea who it was. When I reached home and was able to research, I found that these were the mortal remains of Saint Antoninus, the superior who had ordered all those frescoes, and a learned and accomplished author in his own right.

Today is his feast day - let's offer a prayer to thank God for St. Antoninus and his foresight in asking Fra Angelico to give us so much wonderful art to inspire us down through the centuries!