3-035-453 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

The Vision of Saint Francis of Paola, about 1670. This painting depicts the heavenly vision of Saint Francis of Paola (1416-1507), founder of the Order of Minims, a religious order committed to perpetual abstinence and acts of humility. The saint experiences a vision in which the word "Charitas" (meaning Charity) appears in an aureole of golden light, accompanied by cherubs. The word became the motto of the Minims, and appears on the order's heraldic crest. In the background, the saint appears again standing on a shore with two kneeling companions. This scene in the distance refers to a miracle in which Francis calmed a stormy sea and ferried the men across the Straits of Messina on his cloak after they had been refused passage on a ship.