FEATURE IMAGE: CENTRAL Bronze Door: Sorrowful Mysteries panel (detail), The Shrine of Our Lady of Pompeii, Chicago. December 2013. 1.55 mb. Author’s photograph.
The doors visually narrate all twenty mysteries of the Rosary.
INTRODUCTION. Biagio Governali’s bronze doors at the Shrine of Our Lady of Pompeii transform a church entrance into a visual and spiritual gateway, using sacred art to teach, meditate upon, and experience the mysteries of the Rosary.
Our Lady of Pompeii was originally established in Chicago in 1911 as an Italian national parish. The present church building at 1224 West Lexington Street in Chicago’s westside University Village/Little Italy neighborhood was constructed in 1923 and dedicated to Mary, Queen of the Rosary in 1924. The parish began under the Scalabrinian Missionaries, a religious institute founded in Italy in 1887 to aid and serve the Italian immigrants to America.
In 1994 Joseph Cardinal Bernardin proclaimed Our Lady of Pompeii church a Shrine, dedicated to honor Mary, the Mother of God and Queen of the Holy Rosary. Ten years later practically to the day, Francis Cardinal George, O.M.I. dedicated the Shrine’s bronze doors. On that same October day in 2004, Bishop Carlo Liberati, Pontifical Delegate to the Shrine of The Blessed Virgin of The Holy Rosary in Pompeii, Italy, established “a most fervent and fraternal link of communion” between the shrine in Pompeii, Italy, and that of Our Lady of Pompeii in Chicago.
Inspired by the main gate (“Porta del Paradiso”) of the Baptistry of Florence made by Florentine goldsmith and sculptor Lorenzo Ghiberti (1378-1455) between 1425 and 1452 and located in front of Florence’s cathedral, the bronze doors in Chicago were made by Biagio Governali, native of Corleone, Italy. The artist modeled each panel in wax which were then sent to Verona, Italy, to be cast in bronze and polished. These Veronese craftsmen came to Chicago on two occasions to mount and position the doors before they were dedicated and blessed by Cardinal George in 2004.
Created by Italian sculptor Biagio Governali and dedicated by Francis Cardinal George, O.M.I., on October 11, 2004, the Shrine of Our Lady of Pompeii’s East, West, and Central bronze doors form a sacred narrative in bronze, depicting the Joyful, Sorrowful, Glorious, and Luminous Mysteries of the Rosary.
West Door: JOYFUL Mysteries
The West Bronze Door, dedicated in 2004, depicts the five Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary at the Shrine of Our Lady of Pompeii (1923), 1224 West Lexington Street in Chicago. Clockwise from top left, the Annunciation (Luke 1:26-38), the Visitation (Luke 1:39-56), the Nativity of Jesus (Luke 2:1-20; Matthew 1:18-2:23), the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple (Luke 2:22-40) and Christ among the Doctors (Finding in the Temple) (Luke 2:41-52). The shrine is the oldest continuous Italian-American Catholic Church in Chicago and is today a place to pray for peace that embraces pilgrims of all faiths.
1. The Annunciation (top, left)
“In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary.” (Luke 1:26-27).
2. The Visitation (top, right)
“In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a city of Judah, and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and she exclaimed with a loud cry, ‘Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!”‘ (Luke 1:39-42).
3. The Nativity of Jesus (center)
“In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be enrolled. This was the first enrolment, when Quirinius was governor of Syria. And all went to be enrolled, each to his own city.
And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be enrolled with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. And while they were there, the time came for her to be delivered. And she gave birth to her first-born son and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.” (Luke 2:1-7).
4. The Presentation in the Temple (bottom, left)
“And at the end of eight days, when he was circumcised, he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb. And when the time came for their purification according to the law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the law of the Lord, ‘Every male that opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord’) and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the law of the Lord, ‘a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.”‘ (Luke 2:21-24).
5. The Finding of Jesus in the Temple (bottom, right)
“Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the Passover. And when he was twelve years old, they went up according to custom; and when the feast was ended, as they were returning, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. His parents did not know it …
After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions; and all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers.” (Luke 2:41-47).
The exterior doors of the Shrine of Our Lady of Pompeii in Chicago visually narrate the twenty mysteries of the Rosary. These are the Joyful, Sorrowful, Glorious and Luminous mysteries. The faithful can use each door panel as a meditation to pray each decade of the Rosary.
In Europe, most of the complete works of art that have survived undamaged and unrestored from the Middle Ages and Renaissance to today are bronze doors, most of which are in Italy.
Even when the Shrine doors are closed, the sanctuary calls to all passersby to look, ponder, and personally experience the Gospel that these doors present in its fine artwork of the mysteries of the Rosary.
The bronze doors were inspired by Florence’s famous “Gates of Paradise,” linking Chicago’s shrine to a long Italian artistic tradition.
Central Door: SORROWFUL and GLORIOUS Mysteries
In Europe, complete works of art that have survived undamaged and unrestored from the Middle Ages and Renaissance to today are bronze doors, with most in Italy.
The Shrine doors are closed but the sanctuary calls to passersby to look and ponder on the Gospel that these doors present on the mysteries of the Rosary. December 2013. Author’s photograph.
Sorrowful Mysteries.
1. The Agony in the Garden (top, left)
“Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to his disciples, ‘Sit here, while I go yonder and pray.’ And taking with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he began to be sorrowful and troubled. Then he said to them, ‘My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and watch with me.’ And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, ‘My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.’” (Matthew 26:36-39).
2. The Scourging at the Pillar (top, right)
“Pilate released Barabbas to them, but after he had Jesus scourged, he handed him over to be crucified.” (Matthew 27:26).
3. The Crowning With Thorns (center, left)
“Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the praetorium, and they gathered the whole battalion before him. And they stripped him and put a scarlet robe upon him, and plaiting a crown of thorns they put it on his head, and put a reed in his right hand. And kneeling before him they mocked him, saying, ‘Hail, King of the Jews!’” (Matthew 27:27-29).
4. The Carrying of the Cross (center, right)
“And they compelled a passer-by, Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to carry his cross. And they brought him to the place called Golgotha (which means the place of a skull).” (Mark 15:21-22).
5. The Crucifixion and Death of Jesus with Mary and John (center)
“And when they came to the place which is called The Skull, there they crucified him, and the criminals, one on the right and one on the left. And Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do’ …It was now about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour, while the sun’s light failed; and the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Then Jesus, crying with a loud voice, said, ‘Father, into thy hands I commit my spirit!’ And having said this he breathed his last” (Luke 23:33-46).
Upper portion of Central Bronze Door of Sorrowful Mysteries (left panel) and Glorious Mysteries (right panel) of the Rosary. December 2013. Author’s photograph.
The central bronze door of the Shrine of Our Lady of Pompeii in Chicago’s Little Italy is one of three doors sculpted by Italian artist Biagio Governali and dedicated in October 2004. Inspired by Lorenzo Ghiberti’s celebrated Gates of Paradise in Florence, the monumental portals visually narrate the theological mysteries of the Catholic Rosary through a richly detailed program of relief sculpture. Dominating the central door’s composition are dramatic depictions of the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ and the triumphant Resurrection and Ascension, surrounded by smaller narrative panels illustrating the Sorrowful and Glorious Mysteries. Above, a transom adorned with carved Christian crosses and geometric ornamentation separates the bronze doors from the surrounding masonry. The project was the result of an international collaboration: Governali, a native of Sicily, first modeled the figures in wax before the panels were cast and finished in bronze at specialized foundries in Verona, Italy. Veronese craftsmen then traveled to Chicago to assemble and install the completed work, creating one of the shrine’s most striking artistic and devotional landmarks.
Glorious Mysteries.
1. The Resurrection of Jesus (center)
“But at daybreak on the first day of the week they took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. 2They found the stone rolled away from the tomb; 3but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4While they were puzzling over this, behold, two men in dazzling garments appeared to them. 5They were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground. They said to them, “Why do you seek the living one among the dead? 6He is not here, but he has been raised. Remember what he said to you while he was still in Galilee, 7that the Son of Man must be handed over to sinners and be crucified, and rise on the third day.” 8And they remembered his words. 9 Then they returned from the tomb and announced all these things to the eleven and to all the others. 10The women were Mary Magdalene, Joanna, and Mary the mother of James; the others who accompanied them also told this to the apostles, 11but their story seemed like nonsense and they did not believe them. But Peter got up and ran to the tomb, bent down, and saw the burial cloths alone; then he went home amazed at what had happened.” (Luke 24: 1-12).
2. The Ascension of Our Lord into Heaven (top, left)
“So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God.” (Mark 16:19).
3. The Holy Spirit comes upon Mary and the Apostles (top, right)
“When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly a sound came from heaven like the rush of a mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared to them tongues as of fire, distributed and resting on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.” (Acts of the Apostles 2:1-4).
4. The Assumption of Mary into Heaven (bottom, left)
“Henceforth all generations will call me blessed; for he who is mighty has done great things for me.” (Luke 1:48-49).
5. The Coronation of Mary as Queen of Heaven (bottom, right)
“And a great portent appeared in heaven, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars.” (Revelation12:1).
At the bottom of the Sorrowful Mysteries bronze door, the angels hold a tablet emblazoned with Latin text that contains statements on the rosary by two post-Vatican II modern popes. A translation of the text reveals the importance of the rosary to Pope Paul VI (1897-1978) and John Paul II (1920-2005), both canonized saints. Pope Paul VI: “Without contemplation, the Rosary is a body without a soul.” Pope John Paul II: “To meditate on the mysteries of the Rosary is to look into the face of Christ.”
Even when closed, the doors “call to all passersby to look, ponder, and personally experience the Gospel.”
“Looking into the Face of Christ”: A New Chapter in a Centuries-Old Devotion
Near the end of his nearly 27-year pontificate, Pope Saint John Paul II (1920-2005) enriched the traditional rosary by establishing the five Luminous Mysteries in 2002. Reflecting on the devotion as a whole, the pope wrote, “To meditate on the mysteries of the Rosary is to look into the face of Christ.”
According to The Catholic Encyclopedia, the structure of the rosary, comprising the Joyful, Sorrowful, and Glorious Mysteries, had remained unchanged for roughly five centuries. With the publication of his Apostolic Letter Rosarium Virginis Mariae on October 16, 2002, John Paul II introduced the Luminous Mysteries, expanding the rosary’s meditation on the life of Christ while preserving its traditional character.
Why Pray the Rosary?
In Rosarium Virginis Mariae, the pope identified four principal reasons for praying the rosary:
- To contemplate Christ in union with Mary;
- To reflect upon the mysteries of Mary’s life and mission;
- To assimilate more deeply the mystery expressed by St. Paul: “It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me” (Galatians 2:20);
- To pray for and foster peace in one’s personal life, family, community, and the wider world.
Sacred Art as an Aid to Prayer
John Paul II also emphasized the value of sacred imagery in fostering contemplation. Drawing upon the Church’s spiritual tradition and the meditative approach of St. Ignatius of Loyola’s Spiritual Exercises, the pope argued that visual representations can engage the imagination and deepen reflection on the mysteries of the Christian faith. In this context, the bronze portals of Chicago’s Shrine of Our Lady of Pompeii serve not merely as architectural adornment but as instruments of prayer, inviting visitors to stand at the threshold between the temporal and the eternal.
Filling the Gap in Christ’s Life
While all twenty mysteries of the rosary may be described as mysteries of light, John Paul II observed that the newly instituted Luminous Mysteries bridge an important gap between Christ’s hidden life that are reflected upon in the Joyful Mysteries, and the events of Holy Week and Easter that are contemplated in the Sorrowful and Glorious Mysteries.
Revelations of the Kingdom
The Luminous Mysteries focus on five pivotal moments from Christ’s public ministry: the Baptism in the Jordan, the Wedding Feast at Cana, the Proclamation of the Kingdom of God, the Transfiguration, and the Institution of the Eucharist. Each, as John Paul II explained, is “a revelation of the Kingdom now present in the very person of Jesus,” illuminating the mission and identity of Christ through the events of his public life.
East Door: LUMINOUS Mysteries
Luminous Mysteries
1. The Baptism in the Jordan (top, left)
“And when Jesus was baptized, he went up immediately from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and alighting on him; and lo, a voice from heaven, saying, ‘This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased.”‘ (Matthew 3:16-17).
2. The Wedding Feast of Cana (top, right)
“On the third day there was a marriage at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there; Jesus also was invited to the marriage, with his disciples. When the wine failed, the mother of Jesus said to him, ‘They have no wine.’ And Jesus said to her, ‘O woman, what have you to do with me? My hour has not yet come.’ His mother said to the servants, ‘Do whatever he tells you.”‘ (John 2:1-5).
5. The Institution of the Eucharist (center)
“Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, ‘Take, eat; this is my body.”‘ (Matthew 26:26).
3. The Proclamation of the Kingdom of God (bottom, left)
“The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent, and believe in the gospel.” (Mark 1:15).
4. The Transfiguration (bottom, right)
“And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain apart. And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his garments became white as light.” (Matthew 17:1-2).
Governali’s bronze doors demonstrate how religious art serves as both a masterpiece of craftsmanship and a living instrument of prayer, inviting worshippers and passersby alike to contemplate the Gospel through the mysteries of the Rosary.
SOURCES:
-retrieved April 5, 2026.
