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Pope Francis left a lasting legacy, not least his appreciation for art. In his 2025 biography, Hope, Francis spoke of his admiration for the Baroque painter Caravaggio. He recalled that during his travels to Rome as a cardinal, he prayed in front of the painting by CaravaggioThe Calling of Saint Matthew. The painting is found in the chapel dedicated to St. Matthew in the Church of San Luigi dei Francesi. The donor of the chapel was a French cardinal, Matthieu Cointerel, who died in 1585. This was the first commission for Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, who was hired in July 1599. A year later, The Calling of Saint Matthew and The Martyrdom of Saint Matthew, depicting the beginning and the end of the apostle Matthews ministry, were installed. The motto that Francis selected for his papacy, miserando atque eligendo, translated as looking at him with mercy, he chose him, is directly connected with this painting. The words miserando atque eligendo come from a sermon on the calling of Matthew written in the eighth century by the celebrated monk and historian Bede the Venerable. It is used in the readings for the Feast of St. Matthew on September 21. The Calling of Saint Matthew [Image: Caravaggio] The Calling of Saint Matthew Matthew is described in the Bible as a tax collector, viewed at the time as a highly dubious occupation. In the painting, Christ enters the room from the right. We see only his silhouetted head and outstretched arm pointing in Matthews direction. Light from the window behind Christ, which aligns with the actual light from the window in the chapel, falls on a group of men, including some handsome youths in fancy clothes, counting money. Matthew, the bearded man in the center, makes a gesture that suggests, Who, me? Matthew became one of four disciples of Christalong with Mark, Luke, and Johnwhose accounts of Christs life, called Gospels, are included in the Bible. Francis and Jesuit training Franciss thinking about this painting was shaped by his training as a Jesuit, a Catholic order that he entered in 1958. Jesuits practice something called a process of discernment. The painting represents God calling to Matthew to show him his will for the future, one that requires discernment. The founder of the order, Ignatius of Loyola, stressed a humble but vigorous effort to understand Gods will for each individual, as part of this process. Ignatiuss own life demonstrated this search for Gods will. His initial career as a soldier ended when he was gravely wounded in the battle of Pamplona in 1521, permanently damaging his leg. He subsequently tried to follow the life of a hermit, meditating in solitude, and then tried to become a missionary to the Holy Land. At the age of 33, he entered a university in order to become a priest, ultimately initiating the most influential transformation of religious education since the Middle Ages. Jesuits became a great teaching force, stressing individual study and debate over memorization. Ignatius was named a saint in 1622. Inspiration of Saint Matthew [Photo: Caravaggio] The Inspiration of St. Matthew The central painting in the chapel, Inspiration of Saint Matthew is Caravaggios third painting, which was put in place in 1602. The patrons originally planned to install statues at the center, but upon their arrival they rejected the idea and commissioned Caravaggio instead. This painting also shows the saint searching to understand Gods directions. In this painting, Matthew is in conversation with his symbol, a winged man. Each of the four evangelists are represented in art through symbols. The winged man symbol for Matthew refers to the beginning of his Gospel that records the genealogy of Christ. The angel-like figure, resembling one of the young men depicted alongside the saint in Caravaggios The Calling of St. Matthew, appears to hold his left index finger with his right hand, as if to signal that this is the first and most important point. Matthew seems careworn, even distracted, struggling to write while leaning his knee on a bench. Francis remarked in his biography that Caravaggio increased viewers empathy by using contemporary figures from the artists own time. The figures in the painting are dressed in clothes worn in Italy in the late 16th century, so that the viewers in Caravaggios time could see themselves in the painting. Viewers come to art with different perspectives derived from their own experiences and challenges. Francis, too, connected to art through his own experiences. Virginia Raguin is a distinguished professor of humanities emerita at the College of the Holy Cross. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the a href="https://theconversation.com/why-the-calling-of-saint-matthew-by-caravaggio-was-pope-francis-favorite-painting-an-art-historian-explains-255577">original article.
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Human-caused climate change intensified deadly rainfall in Arkansas, Kentucky, Tennessee and other states in early April and made those storms more likely to occur, according to an analysis released Thursday by the World Weather Attribution group of scientists.The series of storms unleashed tornadoes, strong winds and extreme rainfall in the central Mississippi Valley region from April 3-6 and caused at least 24 deaths. Homes, roads and vehicles were inundated and 15 deaths were likely caused by catastrophic floods.The WWA analysis found that climate change increased rainfall intensity in the storms by 9% and made them 40% more likely compared to probability of such events in the pre-industrial age climate.Some of the moisture that fueled the storms came from the Gulf of Mexico, where water temperatures were abnormally warm by 1.2°C (2.2°F) compared to pre-industrial temperatures. That warming was made 14 times more likely due to climate change, according to the researchers from universities and meteorological agencies in the United States and Europe.Rapid analyses from the WWA use peer-reviewed methods to study an extreme weather event and distill it down to the factors that caused it. This approach lets scientists analyze which contributing factors had the biggest influence and how the event could have played out in a world without climate change.The analysis found a rainfall event of April’s intensity could occur in the central Mississippi Valley region about once every 100 years. Even heavier downpours are expected to hit the region in the future unless the world rapidly slashes emissions of polluting gases such as carbon dioxide and methane that causes temperatures to rise, the study said.“That one in 100 years is likely to go down to once every few decades,” said Ben Clarke, a researcher at the Centre for Environmental Policy at Imperial College London and the study’s lead author. “If we continue to burn fossil fuels, events like this will not only continue to occur, but they’ll keep getting more dangerous.”Heavier and more persistent rainfall is expected with climate change because the atmosphere holds more moisture as it warms. Warming ocean temperatures result in higher evaporation rates, which means more moisture is available to fuel storms.Forecast information and weather alerts from the National Weather Service communicated the risks of the April heavy rain days in advance, which the WWA says likely reduced the death toll. But workforce and budget cuts made by the Trump administration have left nearly half of NWS offices with 20% vacancy rates or higher, raising concerns for public safety during future extreme weather events and the upcoming Atlantic hurricane season that officially begins June 1.“If we start cutting back on these offices or reducing the staff the unfortunate result is going to be more death. We’re going to have more people dying because the warnings are not going to get out, the warnings are not going to be as fine-tuned as they are today,” said Randall Cerveny, a climate professor at Arizona State University who was not involved in the study. The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org. Isabella O’Malley, Associated Press
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In honor of its 25th anniversary, the Gates Foundation made a major announcement. On Thursday, chair Bill Gates said he would give away most of his fortune over the next two decades. “People will say a lot of things about me when I die, but I am determined that ‘he died rich’ will not be one of them,” Gates wrote in an announcement on GatesNotes. The statement continued, There are too many urgent problems to solve for me to hold onto resources that could be used to help people. That is why I have decided to give my money back to society much faster than I had originally planned.” Gates explained that he would give away practically all of his fortune over the next 20 years, estimating about $200 billion in spending will occur in an effort to save and improve lives. The businessman and Microsoft cofounder said the exact amount will depend on the markets, as well as inflation. A news release from the Gates Foundation called the plan “the largest philanthropic commitment in modern history” and said it will wind down operations circa 2045. In his post, Gates shared that on December 31, 2045, the foundation will cease all operations. An accelerated timeline for a world on fire Gates noted that the plan is a major shift away from the foundation’s original plan to sunset 20 years after his and his ex-wife Melinda Gates’s deaths. Post-divorce, Melinda French Gates has given away a hefty share of her own wealth, pledging over $1 billion to organizations supporting women and girls. In Bill Gates’s statement, he also outlined three major goals for the accelerated spending plan: “help end preventable deaths of moms and babies” “ensure the next generation grows up without having to suffer from deadly infectious diseases” “lift millions of people out of poverty, putting them on a path to prosperity” “The Gates Foundations mission remains rooted in the idea that where you are born should not determine your opportunities,” Gates wrote in his statement Thursday. “I am excited to see how our next chapter continues to move the world closer to a future where everyone everywhere has the chance to live a healthy and productive life.”
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