05_SAN BERNARDO DI CHIARAVALLE - ROME

From the 1990s is the large parish complex in the eastern district of the capital.
The ecclesial hall provides for the embrace of the faithful around the altar in a riot of colour and light provided by the stained glass windows that decorate the perimeter walls, depicting the history of salvation up to the celebration of the heavenly Jerusalem that forms the backdrop to the presbytery.
Cardinal Ravasi speaks of the stained-glass window as follows: 'The paradise of Eden is replaced by the paradise of the heavenly Jerusalem, a triumph of the perfect circle, marked by a glorious star shape, surrounded by an infinite sky in which the sun and the moon are extinguished'.
In the earthly liturgy we participate, foretasting the heavenly one.

"Have you ever observed the sky at dawn? It becomes immense, truly infinite. And in that moment of light and mystery, the stained-glass window 'kidnaps' it outside the temple, introduces it naturally, as a total dimension, divine as well as human. I won't tell you what happens when the disc of the sun appears radiant and blissful on the horizon. From the large windows the sky opens up and a river of light streams onto the floor, while the shadows flee into the corners and you no longer see them, the pillars, the columns lighten, become transparent, and you have the impression that the church itself goes up, lifted by another tide of colour. At night it is the moon that leads the dance.
The world needs to rekindle, like the dawn, like spring. But to rekindle and flourish it needs beauty, imagination, creativity. True fidelity to the past, to society, to the Church, to the Order, lies in the freedom to continuously renew oneself."

P. Constantine Ruggeri