Madonna Della Strada or Santa Maria Della Strada (English: Our Lady of the Wayside or Saint Mary of the Good Road) is a painting of Mary, mother of Jesus at the Church of the Gesù in Rome, mother church of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) religious order of the Catholic Church; it is a variation on the basilissa (imperial) type of icon.
The Madonna Della Strada is the patroness saint of the Society of Jesus. The society's founder, Ignatius of Loyola, was said to have been protected by the intercession of Mary during battle in his service as a soldier.
History The name goes back to a shrine established in Rome in the 5th century by the Astalli family, originally known as the Madonna degli Astalli, at a crossroads along the ceremonial route of the popes.Waldrop S.J., Gregory. "Object of Devotion", America, December 21, 2009 The 13th-14th century frescoMorris, Stephen P., "The Madonna della Strada", Pauca Verba, May 12, 2013 (a wall painting done on damp plaster) was originally painted on the wall of Saint Mary of the Way in Rome, the church of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits), given to Saint Ignatius by Pope Paul III in 1540.
In 1568, Cardinal Alessandro Farnese erected the Gesù Church of Rome, the mother church of the Jesuits, in place of the former church of Santa Maria della Strada. The fresco was moved there in 1575 to a side chapel where Jesuits pronounced their vows. Sometime in the 19th century, the image was transferred to canvas and affixed to a slate panel.
Pope Urban VIII granted a decree of Canonical Coronation towards the image. The coronation took place on August 15, 1638.
The icon is located between two altars, the first dedicated to Ignatius of Loyola, the second, the main altar of the Church, dedicated to the Holy Name of Jesus.Louis A. Bonacci, "Santa Maria della Strada," All About Mary. International Marian Research Institute, University of Dayton
The icon was restored in 2006, revealing at least two layers of previous paint, the original art being a fresco which had been detached from a wall and affixed to canvas."Restored image of the Madonna della Strada", Contemplatio ad amorem, December 04, 2006
Legacy There is a Madonna Della Strada Chapel at Loyola University in Chicago, Illinois,"Madonna Della Strada weddings", Loyola University, Chicago, Illinois at the University of Scranton in Scranton, Pennsylvania,"Campus Religious Services", University of Scranton, Scranton, Pennsylvania at Regis University in Denver, Colorado, and another at Zilber Hall, Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.Bazan, Jessie. "Zilber Hall’s inspiring sacred space", Marquette Magazine, Summer 2014
The Madonna della Strada Chapel is located at the campus ministry center of Le Moyne College."Liturgy and Worship", Le Moyne College
See also Roman Catholic Marian art Patronage of the Blessed Virgin Mary List of Jesuit sites
References
Further reading Almagno, R. Stephen, O.F.M. Editor. Mary Our Hope: A Selection from the Sermons, Addresses, and Papers of Cardinal John J. Wright. San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1984. 158f.