Inauguration of the exhibition
MARIO DELUIGI'S “LITANIES OF THE VIRGIN MARY”
Dialogue between Sacred and Abstraction
Papal Palace of Castel Gandolfo
(Thursday 10 September 2026, 17:00)
PRESS RELEASE
The speakers will be:
Giuseppe Puglisi-Alibrandi – Secretary General of the Governorate of Vatican City State
Barbara Jatta – Director of the Museums and Cultural Heritage
Andrea Tamburelli – Director of the Pontifical Villas
Assia Carpano – Architect, co-curator of the exhibition
Rosalia Pagliarani – Department of Nineteenth Century and Contemporary Art, Vatican Museums, co-curator of the exhibition
Rossana Giardina, Massimo Alesi and Marco De Pillis of the Vatican Museums Paintings and Wood Materials Restoration Laboratory
will be present
Castel Gandolfo, 10 September 2026 - The exhibition Mario Deluigi’s Litanies of the Virgin Mary. Dialogue between the Sacred and Abstraction, curated by Rosalia Pagliarani and Assia Carpano, on display in the exhibition halls of the Papal Palace of Castel Gandolfo, is dedicated to the Venetian artist, one of the leading figures in the development of painting in the second half of the twentieth century. Mario De Luigi, known professionally as Deluigi, was born in Treviso in 1901 and died in Dolo, Venice, in 1978. He navigated the era of abstraction and spatial art with originality and rigour, adhering to the movement by signing its Manifesto in 1951.
In the context of his body of pictorial works, the work Litanies of the Virgin Mary (Homage to Mondrian), a large oil on panel from 1949–1950, stands out as a stylistically unique example: a composition of rhythm, colour, sign-reading and language giving rise to an authentic work of sacred art. Presented to the Salesian community of the Collegio Astori of Mogliano Veneto, intended as an altarpiece for the Church of Saint Mary Help of Christians, the work – conceived in the purest of abstract languages – was misunderstood by its contemporaries and judged inappropriate. In 1950 Deluigi exhibited it at the Venice Biennale in the Italian pavilion, in a context strongly oriented towards abstraction, eliciting acclaim but also derision and criticism.
Twenty years later, in 1972, Dr. Germano Pattaro, a Venetian theologian of great intuitive ability, advised the then-Patriarch of the city, Albino Luciani – the future Pope John Paul I – to give the work to Paul VI during the latter’s apostolic visit to Venice. The oil on panel thus entered the Pope’s private collection in the Vatican Apostolic Palace, in the Holy Father’s apartment. It was only in 1978, following the bequest made in the will of Saint Paul VI, that it found its way into the storerooms of the Vatican Museums.
“The Litanies of the Virgin Mary”, explains Barbara Jatta, Director of the Vatican Museums, “is a Homage to Mondrian but, above all, a tribute to the Virgin Mary and her Litany. It was a groundbreaking work when Mario Deluigi created it in 1949, so much so that it was rejected by the Salesian fathers for whom he had conceived it. Exhibited at the 25th Venice Biennale in 1950, the painting was presented as a gift to Pope Paul VI by the Patriarch of Venice – Cardinal Albino Luciani, the future John Paul I – during a historic and evocative meeting that would foreshadow the future of the Roman Church, held in Saint Mark’s Square on 16 September 1972”.
Paying homage to this extraordinary work is one of the aims of the exhibition, a renewed edition of the exhibition held in 2025 at the Scuola Grande di San Rocco in Venice, following the restoration by the Vatican Museums of the Litanies of the Virgin Mary. The conservation work, carried out by the Vatican Museums Paintings and Wood Materials Restoration Laboratory, was accompanied by scientific analyses performed by the Cabinet of Scientific Research. The restoration was made possible thanks to the generosity of Mark Roberts and Jan Vallone Roberts – Patrons of the Arts in the Vatican Museums, California and Northwest Chapters.
Alongside the painting, a portfolio (1972) of ten silkscreen prints is exhibited, each dedicated to one of the titles associated with Our Lady of Loreto. A precious sketchbook, which the artist used to conceive the individual compositions, bears witness to this new creative process and is on display thanks to the generous generosity of Deluigi’s heirs. The exhibition is further enriched by two large textile panels, created in 2024 by the historic Venetian manufacturer Rubelli and inspired by Deluigi’s silkscreen compositions: Rosa Mystica and Stella Matutina (“Morning Star”) on display here to commemorate the artist’s spiritual depth. In 1978, he wrote: “What can faith be? Trust in a force that you feel close to and that resembles you”.
Journalists and media operators who wish to participate must apply via the Holy See Press Office online accreditation system at: press.vatican.va/accreditamenti.
All applications must be received no later than 24 hours before the event.
Info: stampa.musei@scv.va
