Pope's Comments on the Faces of Peter and Paul

The two faces of Peter and Paul are across from each other.

ROME (CHIESA) - Sandro magister has made excerpts of the Pope's comments on the Artwork available:

"... The eyes are drawn first of all by the faces of the two apostles. It is already clear from their position that these two faces play a central role in the iconographic message of the chapel. But, beyond their placement, they draw us immediately beyond the image: they question us, and prompt us to reflect.

First of all, let us examine Paul: why is he represented with such an old face? It is the face of an old man, while we know - and Michelangelo also knew this well - that the call of Saul on the road to Damascus took place when he was about thirty years old. The decision of the artist already brings us beyond pure realism, it makes us go beyond the simple narration of events in order to usher us into a more profound level.

The face of Saul-Paul - which is actually that of the artist himself, elderly, restless, and in search of the light of truth - represents the human being in need of a light from above. This is the light of divine grace, indispensable for acquiring new vision with which to perceive the reality oriented to the "hope that waits for you in heaven" - as the apostle writes in the opening salutation of the letter to the Colossians, which we have just heard (1,5).

Having fallen to the ground, Saul's face is illuminated from above, by the light of the Risen One, and, in spite of its dramatic nature, the depiction inspires peace and infuses trust. It expresses the maturity of the man who is illuminated inside by Christ the Lord, while around him turns a disarray of events in which all of the figures look like they are caught up in a whirlwind. The grace and peace of God have enveloped Saul, they have conquered and transformed him from within. He will proclaim this same "grace" and this same "peace" to all of his communities on his apostolic voyages, with a seasoned maturity not of age, but of spirit, given to him by the Lord himself.

Here therefore, in the face of Paul, we can already perceive the heart of the spiritual message of this chapel: the miracle of Christ's grace, which transforms and renews man through the light of his truth and his love. This is what constitutes the novelty of conversion, of the call to faith, which finds its fulfillment in the mystery of the Cross.

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From the face of Paul we move to that of Peter, depicted at the moment in which his inverted cross is being raised, who turns to look at those who are observing him. This face also surprises us. Here the age represented is correct, but it is the expression that amazes and puzzles us. Why this expression? It is not an image of suffering, and the figure of Peter communicates surprising physical vigor. The face, especially the forehead and the eyes, seem to express the interior state of a man facing death and evil: there is a sense of confusion, an expression reaching outward intently, almost as if seeking something or someone in the final hour. And the faces of the people around him are also remarkable for their eyes: a chain of restless expressions, some of them even fearful or dismayed.

What does all of this mean? It is what Jesus had told this apostle in advance: "when you are old, another will take you where you do not wish to go"; and the Lord had added: "Follow me" (John 21:18,19). And here it is, at this very moment is the culmination of discipleship: the disciple is not greater than his Master, and now experiences all of the bitterness of the cross, of the consequences of sin that separates from God, all the absurdity of violence and deceit. If one comes to meditate in this chapel, one cannot escape the radical nature of the question that is posed from the cross: the cross of Christ, head of the Church, and the cross of Peter, his vicar on earth.

The two faces that we have stopped to consider are across from each other. One could even believe that Peter's face is turned toward Paul, who, for his part, does not see, but bears within himself the light of the risen Christ. It is as if Peter, in the hour of the supreme trial, were seeking that light which gave the true faith to Paul.

And so it is that in this sense, the two icons can become two acts in a single drama: the drama of the Paschal mystery: cross and resurrection, death and life, sin and grace. The chronological order of the events represented may have been overturned, but what emerges is the plan of salvation, that plan which Christ himself realized in himself by bringing it to fulfillment, as we have just sung in the hymn from the letter to the Philippians.

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For those who come to pray in this chapel, and for the pope first of all, Peter and Paul become teachers of faith. With their testimony, they invite us to go to the depths, to meditate in silence on the mystery of the cross, which accompanies the Church until the end of time, and to welcome the light of the faith, thanks to which the apostolic community can extend to the ends of the earth the missionary and evangelizing action entrusted to it by the risen Christ. Here there are no solemn celebrations with the people. Here the successor of Peter and his collaborators meditate in silence and adore the living Christ, present especially in the most holy sacrament of the Eucharist. [...]"

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Chiesa is a wonderful source on all things Catholic in Europe. It is skillfully edited by Sandro Magister. SANDRO MAGISTER was born on the feast of the Guardian Angels in 1943, in the town of Busto Arsizio in the archdiocese of Milan. The following day he was baptized into the Catholic Church. His wife’s name is Anna, and he has two daughters, Sara and Marta. He lives in Rome.