And the pope will send us angels

Angels, entities who have been part of Western thought for thousands of years, still receive popular attention. From television shows, such as "Touched by an Angel," to motion pictures such as "City of Angels," and finally literature, Milan Kundera's discourse on angels in "Book of Laughter and Forgetting," angels are not neglected by any means in the modern world.

The Vatican, traditionally linked with angels, owns many representations of these mystical beings, portrayed in paintings, sculptures, tapestries and objects of liturgical use. "Angels from the Vatican," an exhibit of more than 100 works from the Vatican collections, tours five U.S. cities and comes at a time of renewed interest in angels, said Father Allen Duston, O.P., who is the Vatican director of the exhibition.

Courtesy of Detroit Institute of Arts The Concert of Angles is a painting, ca. 1672, by Giovanni Battista Gaulli, called Baciccia. It is among the many works of art on exhibit at the "Angels from the Vatican exhibit at the Detroit Institute of Arts.

To the credit of the organizers of the exhibition, certain factors have not been forgotten. The timelessness of the fascination with angels receives proper attention. Although biblical representations of angels seem most prevalent, many roles of angels are shown. From Greek and Roman pagan traditions, such as found on red-figure vases and in sculptural representations of Eros, angel of love, to modern, surrealist presence of angels, such as in Salvador Dali's "Angelic Landscape," thousands of traditional years have been included.

To test the relevance of this exhibit in our time, public opinion studies were conducted by the Chrysler Corporation, one of the major financial supporters of the tour. According to the study, 93.8 percent of South-Central Americans and 70.8 percent of North-Central Americans believe in angels.

Courtesy of Detroit Institute of Arts Virginio Ciminaghi's statue "The Annunciation" was created in 1967.

This fact was reinforced in my mind by the many visitors who came to view the exhibit at the Detroit Institute of Arts on Saturday, and by the many shoppers in the gift shop scrambling to make a purchase.

The exhibit space is set up with different colors in each room, arches as part of the architectural design and contains a theme of angels within different roles. The origins of angelic representations were examined within the confines of Roman and Etruscan art, such as lids of ancient sarcophagi. Christian roles of angles, as messengers, inspirations, guardians, attendings and music-makers were shown through paintings of artists including Raphael, Veronese and Murillo, and objects of spiritual value, like reliquaries, processional crosses and monstrances.

An original and interesting space within the exhibit allows viewing of catalogues and related books, and also contains listening opportunities for music with angels. I was surprised by the many styles of music which incorporate angels within their notes. From European instrumental and classical vocal, to world music, to gospel and popular music, angels have captured the attention of the musical world. After all, in what context can Jimmi Hendrix and Christian psalms be mentioned simultaneously?

Because of their apparent relevance to our lives and our generally infrequent visits to the Vatican, one should take this opportunity to view and listen to "Angels from the Vatican," as acoustiguides are part of the admission price. The all-inclusive atmosphere of the exhibit is refreshingly surprising. Art objects from ancient to modern times testify to the fascination with angelic presence within the world community.

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