Saint Luke the Evangelist, Patron Saint of Artists.
Today is the Feast of Saint Luke the Apostle. He is not simply honored as a Christian Evangelist and physician but also as the first Christian painter. Although the New Testament makes no explicit mention of this, Christian tradition associates him with painting the Blessed Virgin Mary. Some of the most renowned Marian iconographies are associated with his Gospel, such as the Annunciation (Luke 1:26-38), the Visitation (Luke 1:39-56) and the Nativity (Luke 2:1-20). These inspired centuries of Christian artists who helped the faithful to contemplate the mystery of the Incarnation. Luke reminds us that Mary “kept all these things and pondered them in her heart” (Luke 2:19), a passage that seems especially fitting for the beautiful masterpieces inspired by her person. Many of the icons that tradition associates with Saint Luke are to be found in the Eternal City. These attributions belong to the history of Christian devotion rather than to certain artistic authorship, it is a beautiful an...
