Sunday 4 November 2007

A Time in Rome

A short visit, last week, to Rome, staying at the Venerable English College. This prestigious institution has close links with Westminster, three of its former Rectors having become Archbishops of Westminster. Above, on the Cardinals' Corridor, portraits of Cardinal Hinsley (Archbishop 1935 - 1943) and Cardinal Godfrey (Archbishop 1956 - 1963) flank Cardinal Griffin.


In the library, they are portrayed as Rector: Hinsley (right) 1917 - 1928, and Godfrey (left) 1930 - 1938.

The third notable former Rector is our own Cardinal: his portraits in the college are by two of the most distinguished contemporary painters - both catholic themselves. Above, Cardinal Cormac was painted for the library by Andrew Festing, and below he shares a corner in the Cardinals' corridor with Pope Benedict XV, in a protrait by Michael Noakes - the twin of which hangs in Archbishop's House.

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