Italian artist Pietro Perugino immortalized the marraige proposal of the Virgin Mary and St. Joseph. At the center of the painting is a Calcedonian quartz ring, one traditionally believed to be Mary's wedding ring.
The work was commissioned for the chapel of the Cathedral of San Lorenzo in Perugia, where Mary's ring is kept. However, the painting was stolen during a Napoleonic raid and is now kept in the Caen Museum in France. But it will return to Perugia from March 4 to June 11 for the 500th anniversary of Perugino's death.
ARCHBISHOP IVAN MAFFEIS
Archiocese of Perugia-Città della Pieve, Italy
It becomes a moment that you know valuing it as a Church can help many people also give themselves meaning to a yes—a yes for life, a yes of love.
Perugino's painting, called The Marriage of Joseph and Mary, was completed during the High Renaissance in the 16th century. Born in Perugia, he learned alongside the great masters like Leonardo Da Vinci and was inspired by Raphael's The Marriage of the Virgin. Perugino's painting challenges people to reexperience the city of Perugia.
ARCHBISHOP IVAN MAFFEIS
Archiocese of Perugia-Città della Pieve, Italy
The work is an invitation to rediscover the city, to reencounter it, and also to allow ourselves to be challenged by this sign, by this holy ring, to dive deeper into what truth is. We know that art has this power. It is a door that leads us to a deeper understanding of our everyday reality.
Mary's ring is protected by two safes and 14 keys kept by various local political and religious leaders. Twice a year, in July and September, the ring is taken out for public veneration.
PA
TR: KG
