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Memoriae in
honor of
Cardinal Merry del Val
in the Passageway
to the Sacristy
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The
inscription above the sarcophagus, to the right, quotes from the
last will of the Cardinal, written on the day of his death February
26, 1930, where he gives indications concerning his tomb and epitaph:
"I wish to be buried with extreme simplicity. On my tomb is
to be only my name and the words 'Da mihi animas coetera tolle'1,
the aspiration of my entire life." This is, in fact, the inscription
on the sarcophagus made by Luca Beltrami, the architect of the Fabbrica
di San Pietro and by Eng. Ernesto Paretti. The style is sober, typical
of the 20th century with the monogram of Christ in the center as
its only decoration. The only precious element is the stone: onyx
from Majorca, commissioned by the friends and nationals of the Cardinal,
as the other inscription says.
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Tomb of Cardinal Raphael Merry del Val
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Detail of the Sarcophagus of Cardinal Merry del Val
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Left Inscription above the Tomb of Cardinal del Val
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Right Inscription above the Tomb of Cardinal del Val
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1Da
Mihi Animas Coetera Tolle - This famous quote of Don Bosco's means
"Give me Souls..Take Away the Rest"
Source: Roma Sacra The Vatican Grottoes, © Fabbrica of St. Peter's,
June 2003 |
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