Monday, May 12, 19 & 26 7.30 pm – 9.00 pm
or shortened course Saturday 10th May, 10.00 to 1.00pm with coffee break
The first prayer most of us learned in childhood was the Hail Mary and our earliest known stories from the bible featured Mary, but how did devotion to Mary take shape? With the help of visual arts and architecture we trace the principal themes of Marian devotion including: Virgin and Bride; Mother and Queen; Protector and Intercessor. We read some of the poetry and prayers associated with the themes. We consider also the relationship between those who commissioned the works of art, those who produced them and the Christian communities into which they were placed. This short course of three sessions is lavishly illustrated with examples of paintings, statues and architecture from Ireland and continental Europe from France to Poland and Hungary. The course will conclude with a visual tour of the great Cathedral of Our Lady of Chartres with its sumptuous stained glass and shrines in honour of Mary.
Cost: €10 per session or €25 for three sessions.
Booking essential. Shortened Course €15.
Vivienne Keely, a Holy Faith Sister, is from Glasnevin and spent over three decades in Australia where she taught medieval history at the Catholic Institute of Sydney and St. Andrew’s Greek Orthodox Theological college. In that time she developed and presented many short courses on medieval and Renaissance topics for the University of Sydney. She is also interested in Australian nineteenth-century history and inter-religious dialogue.