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Saint Aloysius Chapel

St. Aloysius College Chapel

This is a beautiful chapel located atop the Light House Hill in the centre of Mangalore, Karnataka state, India. A must see when one visits Mangalore. This magnificent piece of architecture, is part of the St. Aloysius College. One can get a picturesque view of the Arabian Sea from this location.


St. Aloysius Chapel


Bro Anthony Moscheni of Italy

The Chapel was built in 1899-1900 by European Jesuits who landed in Mangalore during 1880s. The College was built for education of Catholic Youth. The walls and interior roofs  of the church are covered with the paintings of Bro Anthony Moscheni of Italy. This Chapel was dedicated to the St. Aloysius Gonzaga, a wealthy, successful, young man who gave up worldly life to dedicated himself to the service of the needy. Students are asked to imbibe his good qualities and spirit of service. This chapel is compared to the Sistine Chapel in Rome. The chapel has some of the best paintings made by Bro. Moscheni trained in Italy.

Paintings on Panels

The first three panels from the rear showcases some of the paintings like

  • Aloysius in his childhood take a oath to dedicate his life to service of God at the Altar of Mary in Florence.
  • Aloysius preaching about God to his country men.
  • The first communion of Aloysius.
  • Aloysius, as one of the Jesuit Order is painted on the fifth panel.

Chapel ceiling

 

On the wall above the alter, one can see the paintings of Aloysius life. The centre picture shows the suffering of the plague stricken in Rome, how the saint served those who were diseased. It is sad that  Aloysius contracted the disease and died at the age of 23years.


Aloysius treating the diseased

Paintings on Arches

Apostles are portrayed on the sloping ceiling. The garlands weaved are of different flowers on each panel. The angels holding the garland are in human size. Here the saints of the Church are seen on the series of Upper Arches. The lower arches depict the Jesuit saints.

Some of the paintings are:

 

  • Apostle of India, St Thomas, with a spear in his hand portrayed on the left third panel.
  • On third right arch, painting of St Francis of Assisi, patron environmentalists is  seen.
  • Apostle of Negroes, St, Peter Claver greeted the slaves as equals at Cartagena. His painting is on the fourth left arch.
  • Bl.Rudolf Aquaviva, who are visited the Court of Akbar.
  • A painting of St John De Britto, is the first missionary to wear the dress of a sanyasi as a sign of inculturation. He was a scholar in Sanskrit, Tamil and Indian customs.
  • On the rear walls depicts Jesus as the friend of children. This is said to be the masterpiece of Moscheni. There is the Birth of Our Lord on Christmas night painting. It shows illumination originating from the baby Jesus.
  • St John the Baptist baptised Jesus in the River Jordan, the play of light and shadow brings about the feeling at the river is actually flowing.
  • The Wedding Feast of Cana where Jesus changed the water in the six pitchers into wine.
  • The Crucifixion of Jesus showcases Jesus with two thieves on Calvary, Mary, the Holy Mother, Magdalen at the foot of the Cross. It depicts Longinus, the soldier piercing Jesus. This paintings show the shades of  darkness and lightening.
Crucifixion of Jesus

About the art on St Aloysius Chapel:

The paintings are of two types Fresco and Canvas:
Fresco: In this method the painting is made on fresh wet lime plaster walls. As the lime plaster dries up the colours are embedded. In Aloysius Chapel there is about 600 square metres of walls with fresco paintings.

Canvas: Here the canvas is made of pure linen of strong close weave. The oil painting on canvas is  made by mixing pigments soluble in linseed oil. There are about 400 square metres of canvas painting at Aloysius Chapel.

Restoration at Chapel

Time has tested these paintings, that are almost 100 years old. Some of them have whithered due to wall leaking and spoilt the paintings. There has been restored with atmost care and painstaking precision to ensure their originality. This was done by the INTACH-ICI specialists (Lucknow), between 1991 and 1994.

About St. Aloysius College

The St.Aloysius College has its origins from 1880. It originates from the Society of Jesus founded by St. Ignatius of Loyola in 1540 who preach that all work is for the Greater Glory of God. The College has been registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860 and admits students without discriminating against any religion, caste or creed. This College offers Graduate and Post Graduate Diploma and Ph.D. programmes in a wide variety of subjects in Humanities, Sciences, Commerce and Management. The College also teaches Pre-University Courses in Science, Commerce and Arts.

 

 

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