On August 15, 1483, Pope Sixtus IV consecrated the Sistine Chapel to Our Lady of the Assumption. Today, Solemnity of the Assumption of Mary, we remember some important facts about this historic church visited by millions of people every year.
It is one of the Most popular tourist attractions in Vatican Cityknown for its magnificent frescoed ceilings. It is also the place where the Cardinals meet to elect the new Pope.
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1. Where does the name of the chapel come from?
The chapel owes its name to the person who consecrated it: Pope Sixtus IV, who was Pontiff from 1471 to 1484. He commissioned the restoration of the Magna Chapelthe church that was where the Sistine Chapel is today.
2. Who painted the frescoes?
The most famous artist associated with the Sistine Chapel is Michelangelo by Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni. However, it was not until several years after a team of artists began working on the chapel that Pope Julius II commissioned work from Michelangelo.
Between 1481 and 1482, four artists – Pietro Perugino, Sandro Botticelli, Domenico Ghirlandaio and Cosimo Rosselli – worked on the first frescoes. They had the help of their workshops to paint the stories of Moses and Christ, as well as portraits of the Popes, on the walls with false cloths.
Michelangelo painted the ceiling of the chapel, and perhaps the most famous fresco is his “Creation of Adam”, which represents God in the form of a man, surrounded by angels and wrapped in a cloak, reaching out his hand towards Adam, while he returns to God.
3. Michelangelo told a story
The “Creation of Adam”, although the central point of the ceiling, is part of nine frescoes that represent different stories from the book of Genesis. The stories are separated into groups of three.
4. Pope John Paul II, the Sistine Chapel and the theology of the body
Upon entering the Sistine Chapel, one may be surprised to see the numerous nude figures in the frescoes. During a Mass celebrated there on April 8, 1994, Pope John Paul II called the temple a “sanctuary of the theology of the human body.”
The Holy Father indicated in his homily: “It seems that Michelangelo, in his own way, allowed himself to be guided by the suggestive words of the Book of Genesis which, with regard to the creation of the human being, man and woman, reveals: ‘The man and his wife were naked, but they were not ashamed.'”
“The Sistine Chapel is precisely – if we can say that – the sanctuary of the theology of the human body,” he added. “By bearing witness to the beauty of man created by God as male and female, it also expresses, in a certain way, the hope of a transfigured world, the world inaugurated by the risen Christ, and even before that by Christ on Mount Tabor.”
5. You can take a virtual visit to the Sistine Chapel
It is possible to visit the Sistine Chapel without leaving home. The Vatican Museums website allows you to virtually walk through it and get closer to the details of each fresco.
Translated and adapted by ACI Prensa. Originally published in CNA on August 15, 2022. It has been updated for republication.
Catholic News Agency (CNA) has a team of journalists dedicated to reporting on the Catholic Church around the world. It has offices in Denver, Washington and Rome. It is a service of EWTN News.