“Religion protects the people”

visual propaganda used by popes in the pandemic crises of the 17th century

By art historian Eva-Bettina Krems

As has already been pointed out in this dossier, the benedictory measures taken both during and after the plague epidemic in Rome in 1656/57 were recorded for posterity in various visual media, with the reigning Pope Alexander VII (r. 1655-1667) being celebrated above all as the intrepid vanquisher of the plague. Surprisingly, this visual memoria foregrounded in large engravings not so much the religious and more the health measures taken. In contrast, we look in vain for a depiction of the pope worshipping miraculous icons during processions, as was the case, for example, in the painted memoria of Pope Gregory I (r. 590-604). This depicted him during the epidemic in Rome in 590 putting a stop to the plague in litaniae majores, the great procession of supplication with the Litany of the Saints on St Mark’s Day (25 April), when the famous Marian icon “Salus populi romani” is said to have been carried through the streets.

In contrast, the committed action of Peter’s representative in his city is staged in the mid-17th century under Alexander VII like a triumphal journey of a ruler who, thanks to his and above all the sacral magnificence and pietas inherent in the papal office, vanquished the plague. Alexander VII also had his bold actions immortalized in medals.

The most important medal issued by the Holy See was the medaglia annuale, the medal distributed every year on Peter and Paul’s Day (29 June). Thus, the annual medal of 1657 (Fig. 1) had as its theme the victory over the plague – although the plague itself was not declared over until two months later, in August 1657. It was struck by the Holy See’s own medallist, Gaspare Morone Mola. Because it was to be a highly official commemorative piece, great consideration was given in advance to its theme and design, with the famous artist Gian Lorenzo Bernini providing the template (for the reverse side). On the obverse, we see Pope Alexander VII in a bust portrait in adorned regalia and turned to the right.

Bernini’s reverse side shows four plague victims on the left, with the rising terrain matching the medal’s rounded edge. Another plague victim is visible in the centre. Although the medal is barely 35 mm in diameter, those suffering are dramatically different from one another. The foremost figure, feeble and naked, is brought forward , its head set far back on its neck. Behind this figure is another figure that has apparently risen with the last of its strength, hoping to be healed. Looking upwards, the figure is holding out pleading, praying hands to the figure of Peter, who, with fluttering robes, rushes as a saviour towards the upper half of the medal, his right arm stretched downwards while his left holds the keys. At the same time, Peter turns with a vehement turn of the head to the lower right, where the angel of death with a flaming sword in his right hand and a skull in his left is fleeing with quick steps and robes flapping wildly. The dome of St. Peter’s, shining in the dazzling light, with secondary domes and façade on the left edge of the medal, points unmistakably to where the miracle is taking place. The inscription on the medal, VT VMBRA ILLIVS LIBERARENTVR, takes up a passage from the Acts of the Apostles (APG 5:15), and thus Peter as the healer for whom the sick were laid in the streets, “ut, veniente Petro, saltem umbra illius obumbraret quemquam illorum, et liberarentur ab infirmitatibus suis” (“so that at least Peter’s shadow might fall on some of them as he passed by. Many also were freed from their diseases ”). This reference to the healing effect of the shadow of the Prince of the Apostles alone also explains the grandiose chiaroscuro staging in Bernini’s preparatory drawing, which of course is barely perceptible in the medal struck.

Certainly in close consultation with the Pope, Bernini’s design deviated from the usual iconography of plague medals. Such objects, with their wish for deliverance from the plague or with thanks for having survived the plague epidemic, were not uncommon in the early modern period. Through prayers, altar endowments, and supplications, people sought protection and help from the saints and emergency helpers (first and foremost Mary and the saints Roch and Sebastian) who would protect them from the disease or heal those who were already ill. The medal does not pick up this visual argument; the Pope is also not depicted as a supplicant and mediator, which would have corresponded to a common iconography. Rather, Alexander VII seems to have been concerned with a heroic narrative of the papacy, with Peter as the protagonist, whose representative on earth he was: the papal faith and the power of the Petrine keys helped to vanquish the plague. Thus, the obverse of the medal shows Fides, “faith”; on the cope of the Pope’s vestment is a winged being with a cross and chalice. The Pope is also depicted in the so-called humilitas type: his uncovered head, a circumstance that only occurred during prayer, combined with the decidedly liturgical regalia, propagates the spiritual side of the papacy over the secular. It was thus the pietas of the Pope that led to the heroic rescue of Rome from the plague.

Also made in 1657, and struck by Alberto Hamerani, this medal (Fig. 2) appears more conventional in its iconography: the obverse shows the Pope with camauro and mozzetta, while the reverse depicts a winged female being, who personifies religion. She is leaning almost casually with her right arm on a cross, while from her hand dangle the reins of a halter – the yoke of death apparently, for Religion is standing triumphantly in the pose of a young David on the skeleton symbolizing death. She is holding up a book, probably the Gospel, with her left hand, her gaze fixed firmly on it. The inscription “Populum Religione Tuetur” (“Religion protects the people”) explains succinctly the event of religion defeating (plague) death. The visual propaganda is using a rationale here that seems barely compatible with the “profane” health measures implemented so rigorously by Alexander VII in the fight against the plague. However, this idea of triumph could also be applied to the leading religious ruler on earth, the Pope, who was able to call great success on heavenly and earthly help in times of crisis.

The culture of remembrance of the plague of 1656/57 thus alludes to a salvific effect inherent in the office of Peter’s representative. In the politically tense situation of the mid-17th century, when the role of the Pope was marginalized in peace processes such as the Peace of Westphalia of 1648, and when the Holy See in general had to accept an enormous loss of political power, this effect can be read as part of the struggle for the primacy of the Pope, with many other legitimizing measures being added to it: the plague year of 1657 also saw the launch by Bernini of the great projects of the Cathedra Petri in St. Peter’s and the colonnades in St. Peter’s Square, these continuing to have their enormous effect today – right up to the impressive media events under the current Pope Francis I in the Covid 19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021.