Sacred Mysteries: The starwright who bursts forth like the sun

We sang at church something that does belong to Advent instead of jumping the gun with a Christmas carol. It was Creator of the stars of night, which is none other than a translation by that indefatigable Victorian, J M Neale, of a seventh-century Latin hymn.

The original, Conditor alme siderum, seems to me to have a pure simplicity rather like the starlight it contemplates. In fact the siderum of which God is the dear creator, alme conditor, was regarded as the whole visible heavens, including planets, which, the medieval mind was very well aware, followed separate paths from the stars.

The hymn was incorporated into vespers, suitably, for it speaks of the world reaching evening, meaning that creation had grown old expecting the coming of Messiah, the Christ. Then in the third stanza, the hymn daringly deploys an energetic figure from the Psalms. Psalm 19 (18 in the Vulgate numbering) says that in the heavens, God “set a tabernacle for the sun, which cometh forth as a bridegroom out of his chamber”. 

This hymn did not invent the metaphor of the Son of God arriving at Christmas like the sun. The prophet Malachi has the Lord of hosts saying: “Unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings.” (That is why Charles Wesley in Hark! The Herald Angels Sing wrote: “Hail the Sun of Righteousness! Light and life to all He brings, ris’n with healing in His wings.” He knew well enough that God incarnate as a man does not have wings, but he happily employed the Hebrew figure of speech. I understand the Hebrew word kanaph signifies wings, a corner of the earth, the edge of a garment.)

Anyway, Conditor alme siderum boldly uses the idea of a chamber to stand for the womb of the Virgin Mary, from which Christ came forth like a bridegroom. The image hardly comes over in the translation by Neale, but Dr Eleanor Parker, of Brasenose College, Oxford, a great populariser of valuable medieval texts, has written a fascinating blog taking in a translation written 800 years before his. 

A hymnal from 11th-century Canterbury puts this literal translation above each line of Latin, with the Old English beautifully written in red letters. It has Christ coming forth like “brydguma of brydbure” – bridegroom from bridal bower. (Also pleasingly, the Old English rendering of the Latin vespere mundi, “the evening of the world”, is there aefening middeard.)

Dr Parker has also blogged about a Middle English translation of the hymn, by William Herebert, a Franciscan friar and lecturer in theology at Oxford, who lived from about 1270 to 1333. He used the equivalent of our word wright (playwright, wheelwright) to translate conditor, “creator”, making the first line: “Holy wrouhte of sterres brryht”.

Something strange then befell the Latin hymn in the 17th century. Pope Urban VIII wanted hymns in the breviary to have a more classically correct clothing. In 1632 Conditor alme siderum was rewritten as Creator alme siderum. Of its 20 lines only one survived unchanged, the second, aeterna lux credentium “eternal light of believers”. 

I suppose people got used to the new version, but after the Second Vatican Council in the 1960s a Latin version based on the original text was substituted. Among its peculiarities it changed an archaic but striking use of a Greek word in Latin form to address God: agie, from hagios, “Holy One”. Sancte has the same meaning, but doesn’t stand out like some uncut gem on an ancient reliquary. 

• Opinion by Christopher Howse: The Telegraph 

The Vatican's 'trial of the century,' a Pandora's box of unintended revelations, explained

Verdicts are expected Saturday for a cardinal and nine other defendants in the most complicated financial trial in the Vatican's modern history:

a case featuring a Hollywood-worthy cast of characters, unseemly revelations about the Holy See and questions about Pope Francis ’ own role in the deals.

The trial had initially been seen as a showcase for Francis’ reforms and his willingness to crack down on alleged financial misdeeds in the Vatican, which long had a reputation as an offshore tax haven.

But after 2 1/2 years of hearings, no real smoking gun emerged to support the prosecution’s hypothesis of a grand conspiracy to defraud the pope of millions of euros (dollars) in charitable donations.

Even if some convictions are handed down, the overall impression is that the “trial of the century” turned into something of a Pandora’s box of unintended revelations about Vatican vendettas, incompetence and even ransom payments that ultimately cost the Holy See reputational harm.

WHAT WAS THE TRIAL ABOUT?

After a two-year investigation that featured unprecedented police raids in the Apostolic Palace, Vatican prosecutors in 2021 issued a 487-page indictment accusing 10 people of numerous financial crimes, including fraud, embezzlement, extortion, corruption, money laundering and abuse of office.

The main focus involved the Holy See’s 350 million euro investment in a luxury London property. Prosecutors allege brokers and Vatican monsignors fleeced the Holy See of tens of millions of euros in fees and commissions, and then extorted the Holy See for 15 million euros ($16.5 million) to cede control of the property. 

The original London investigation spawned two tangents that involved the star defendant, Cardinal Angelo Becciu, once one of Francis’ top advisers and a onetime papal contender.

Chief prosecutor Alessandro Diddi is seeking prison sentences from three to 13 years for each of the 10 defendants, as well as the confiscation of some 415 million euros ($460 million) in damages and restitution.

HOW DOES THE CARDINAL FIT IN?

Becciu wasn’t originally under investigation in the London deal since he had been transferred from the Vatican secretariat of state to the saint-making office before the key London transactions occurred.

But he became enmeshed after prosecutors began looking into other deals, including 125,000 euros in Vatican money that he sent to a diocesan charity in his native Sardinia.

Prosecutors alleged embezzlement, since the charity was run by his brother. Becciu argued that the local bishop requested the money for a bakery to employ at-risk youths, and that the money remained in the diocesan coffers. 

Becciu is also accused of paying a Sardinian woman, Cecilia Marogna, for her intelligence services. Prosecutors traced some 575,000 euros in transfers from the Vatican to her Slovenian front company.

Becciu said he thought the money was going to be used to pay a British security firm to negotiate the release of a Colombian nun who had been taken hostage by Islamic militants in Mali in 2017. Marogna, who is also on trial, denied wrongdoing.

THE MYSTERIOUS MONSIGNOR PERLASCA

No figure in the trial was as intriguing as Monsignor Alberto Perlasca, who ran the office that managed the Vatican’s sovereign wealth fund, with estimated assets of 600 million euros (around $630 million).

It was Perlasca who signed the contracts in late 2018 giving operative control of the London property to London broker Gianluigi Torzi, another defendant who is accused of then extorting the Vatican for 15 million euros to get the property back.

Because of his intimate involvement in the deal, Perlasca was initially a prime suspect. But after his first round of questioning, he fired his lawyer, changed his story and began cooperating with prosecutors.

Perlasca escaped indictment and was even allowed to be listed as an injured party, enabling him to possibly recover damages.

Only during the course of the trial did it emerge that Perlasca had been manipulated into changing his story to turn on Becciu, his former boss. 

THE MYSTERIOUS WOMEN WHO COACHED HIM

In a trial that had plenty of surreal twists, perhaps none was as jaw-dropping as when a controversial figure from the Vatican’s past emerged as having had a starring role in coaching Perlasca to change his testimony.

Public relations specialist Francesca Chaouqui had previously served on a papal commission tasked with investigating the Vatican’s murky finances.

She is known in Vatican circles for her role in the “Vatileaks” scandal of 2015-2016, when she was convicted by the same tribunal of conspiring to leak confidential Vatican documents to journalists and received a 10-month suspended sentence.

Chaouqui openly nurtured a grudge against Becciu because she blamed him for supporting her Vatileaks prosecution. She apparently saw the investigation into the London property as a chance to settle scores.

And so it emerged in late 2022, when Perlasca was being questioned on the stand, that Chaouqui had engaged in an elaborate plot with a Perlasca family friend to persuade the prelate to turn on Becciu.

“I knew that sooner or later the moment would come and I would send you this message,” Chaouqui wrote Perlasca in a text message that was entered into evidence.

“Because the Lord doesn’t allow the good to be humiliated without repair. I pardon you Perlasca, but remember, you owe me a favor.”

Diddi, the prosecutor, hasn’t said what, if any, charges are pending for anyone involved in the Perlasca testimony saga.

THE POPE’S OWN ROLE

Francis made clear early on that he strongly supported prosecutors in their investigation.

But the trial produced evidence that his involvement went far beyond mere encouragement.

Defense lawyers discovered that the pope had secretly issued four decrees during the investigation to benefit prosecutors, allowing them to conduct intercepts and detain suspects without a judge's warrant.

Lawyers cried foul, arguing such interference by an absolute monarch in a legal system where the pope exercises supreme legislative, executive and judicial power violated their clients' fundamental rights and robbed them of a fair trial.

Diddi argued the decrees served as a “guarantee” for the suspects.

In addition, witnesses testified that Francis was very much aware of key aspects of the deals in question, and in some cases explicitly authorized them:

The former head of the financial intelligence agency who is on trial said Francis explicitly asked him to help the secretariat of state negotiate the exit deal with Torzi;

Becciu testified Francis had approved spending up to 1 million euros to negotiate the nun’s freedom;

Becciu’s onetime secretary, who is on trial, said Francis was so pleased with the outcome of the Torzi negotiation that he paid for a celebratory group dinner at a fancy Roman fish restaurant.

In a religious hierarchy where obedience to superiors is a foundational element of a vocation, defense lawyers argued their underling clients merely obeyed orders from the pope on down. That included negotiating the exit strategy with Torzi, who was previously unknown to the Vatican but was brought into the deal by a friend of Francis.

“Torzi was introduced by Giuseppe Milanese, who was a friend of the pope’s, so why wouldn’t we trust him?” said Massimo Bassi, a lawyer for another of the defendants.

Milanese wasn't charged. Torzi denied wrongdoing.

The pope says he wants to be buried in the Rome basilica, not in the Vatican

ROME (AP) — Pope Francis says he wants to be buried in the Rome basilica of St.

Mary Major, not in the grottoes of the Vatican like other popes, so he can be near his favorite icon of the Madonna.

Pope Francis attends the weekly general audience at the Vatican, Wednesday, Dec. 13, 2023. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)© Provided by

The Associated Press

Francis, who turns 87 on Sunday, also said he never thought about resigning this year despite a series of health scares. He said he has a trip confirmed to Belgium

next year and visits under consideration to Polynesia and his native Argentina.

“It is true that all journeys are now rethought,” Francis told N+ of Mexican broadcaster Televisa. “If they’re close by, they can be done. If they’re farther away

they are rethought. There are limits.”

It was Francis’ first interview since his latest bout of acute bronchitis, which forced the cancellation of a trip this month to Dubai to participate in the U.N. climate

conference. Francis,who had part of one lung removed as a young man, appeared in good form and said he was now recovered and feeling fine.

While the job of pope is for life, Francis reconfirmed the possibility of resignation and said he has to prepare for any possibility. “I ask the Lord to say enough,

at some point, but when he wants me to,” he said.

Francis has already said if he retires, as Pope Benedict XVI did in 2013, he would want to live outside the Vatican somewhere in Rome in a residence

for retired priests. Francis has long emphasized his role as bishop of Rome and has a particular devotion to an icon of the Virgin Mary on

display in the St. Mary Major basilica near Rome's main train station.

Pope Francis stands up during the weekly general audience at the Vatican, Wednesday, Dec. 13, 2023.

(AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia) © Provided by The Associated Press

After every trip, for example, Francis goes to the basilica to pray before the Salus populi Romani (Salvation of the people of Rome), a Byzantine-

style painting that features an image of Mary, draped in a blue robe, holding the infant Jesus who in turn is holding a jeweled golden book.

“It’s my great devotion,” Francis said, adding that he had already decided he wanted to be buried nearby in the basilica. “The place is already prepared."

Francis had two bouts of bronchitis this year and was hospitalized for nine days in June to repair an abdominal hernia and have intestinal scar tissue

removed. He has been using a wheelchair and cane for over a year due to strained knee ligaments.

Many popes are buried in tombs in the grottos underneath St. Peter's Basilica or in side chapels of the basilica itself, including all of Francis' recent predecessors.

On travel, Francis confirmed that a trip to his native Argentina was “pending” and that the country's new president, Javier Milei, had invited him. Francis has been

dogged by questions  during his entire 10-year papacy about why he hasn't returned home, questions that have only intensified following Milei's unexpected victory.

During the campaign, the self-described “anarcho-capitalist” called Francis an “imbecile” for defending social justice and a “representative of malignance on Earth.”

Francis, who had a long conversation with Milei after he won, seemed to have forgiven him.

“In an election campaign, things are said ‘in jest' — they are said seriously, but they are provisional things, things that are used to create a bit of attention, but

which later fall away by themselves,” Francis said. “You have to distinguish a lot between what a politician says in the election campaign and what he or she is really

going to do afterwards, because then comes the moment of concrete things, of the decisions.”

Francis' planned visit to Belgium is to celebrate the 600th anniversary of the country’s two main Catholic universities. In a statement Wednesday welcoming Francis’

confirmation of the visit, Belgium’s bishops said Francis was expected to stay a day or two, with a date still to be determined.Pope Francis delivers his blessing during the weekly general audience at the Vatican, Wednesday, Dec. 13, 2023.

A Black Jesus review – religious rites and refugees collide in Sicilian village

‘Let us in, we are poor pilgrims tired from a long journey.” Joseph, Mary and Jesus are the original spurned refugees in a nativity re-enactment in the Sicilian village of Siculiana, which two millennia on from biblical times is now on the frontline for receiving those fleeing oppression and poverty in Africa. But there’s a paradox in this village of 4,500: while some residents campaign against the local refugee centre and greet the arrivals with racism, the Jesus icon venerated at a festival here each year is (as per this film’s title) black.

Only the Africans point out this contradiction in this radiantly photographed and thorough documentary by director Luca Lucchesi, whose father is from Siculiana; it is also produced by Wim Wenders. But if irony isn’t the local speciality, there are reasons for the lack of self-awareness.

The village, like much of rural Europe, is economically struggling, and the residents want to keep what they have. They cling to their religious rite, carrying the crucifix through the streets, like an identitarian lifeboat in these stormy waters. “Italy is finished,” bemoans one old-timer, who himself left Sicily as a young man to work on German construction sites. Yet another irony: in its apparently terminal decline, Siculiana stands to benefit from the newcomers’ input and energy.

With the help of a sympathetic language teacher, one refugee called Peter resolves to drag Siculiana down the path of integration by applying to be a porter for the icon during the festival. Like this teacher pep-talking some embarrassed-looking Italian schoolkids about letting go of their prejudices, this late storyline is aiming for an uplifting multicultural denouement – and momentarily appears to get it, as Africans help hoist the sculpture.

It is a truly moving moment but, after disappointment quickly follows, one that shows the fragility of symbolic gestures. With Siculiana’s newest residents facing a troubling future, and the locals’ apparent complicity, the words of one woman reverberate on: “Jesus became black because of all of our sins.”

• A Black Jesus is available on True Story on 15 December.