The iconic baldacchino created for St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome by Gian Lorenzo Bernini will be restored thanks to the Knights of Columbus.
The Knights announced that the fraternal organization would undertake the first major restoration of the nearly 400-year-old bronze, marble and gilded wood structure, which rises more than nine stories above the high altar of the basilica and the tomb of St. Peter.
The restoration of the baldacchino will begin soon and should be completed by the Jubilee Year 2025. The project will be conducted under the leadership of Pietro Zander, head of the Necropolis and Classical Antiquities of the Fabbrica di San Pietro in the Vatican.
Bernini, considered one of the leading Baroque artists of his era, was commissioned by Pope Urban VIII to sculpt the baldacchino.
“On behalf of the Knights of Columbus and our more than 2 million members in 13 countries around the world, we are honored to lend our support to this project, which is more than caring for a magnificent piece of art. It points to the reality of God’s love for us and His coming down to earth to dwell with us and to build the Church upon St. Peter and his profession of faith,” said Supreme Knight Patrick Kelly.
“I’d like to thank our Holy Father, Pope Francis, as well as Cardinal Mauro Gambetti, for allowing us to partner in this project, in continuation of what is now more than a century of support for various projects in Rome, and nearly 20 projects in support of St. Peter’s over the last 44 years. In addition to all the service we carry out for the poor, for our parishes and families, the Knights are very grateful for the privilege of serving the Church in this way,” he added.
Kelly said the Knights of Columbus has had a relationship dating back more than a century with the Vatican and the popes, beginning with Pope Benedict XV’s request that the Knights open sports fields to serve poor youth of Rome, following World War I. Since 1980, the Knights has sponsored 17 other restoration projects, including the cleaning of the façade of St. Peter’s Basilica in anticipation of the Jubilee Year 2000, work in the Vatican Grottoes, and the restoration of the Madonna della Colonna and a 14th century, 7-foot-tall wooden crucifix that was present in the original St. Peter’s Basilica.
The Knights of Columbus were founded in 1882 by Blessed Michael McGivney, a parish priest in New Haven, Connecticut. The fraternal benefit society has grown into the world’s premier lay Catholic men’s organization with more than 2 million members in 16,600 local councils.
Knights around the world donated about 50 million service hours and nearly $185 million for worthy causes in their communities in 2022.
Click here to learn more about the Knights of Columbus.