Madonna della Strada Chapel
Jesuit Heritage
Madonna della Strada Chapel
Madonna della Strada: “Our Lady of the Road (Way)”
Fr. James J. Mertz, S.J.’s Jesuit Devotion: From Roman Medieval Fresco to Chicago Art Deco Treasure
In 1924, immediately following the completion of Loyola University’s migration from the west side to the Lake Shore Campus, Fr. James J. Mertz, S.J., a classics professor, launched an ambitious and unflagging campaign to raise funds for the building of his brainchild: the Madonna della Strada Chapel (completed 1939). The Italian title refers to Mary as “Our Lady of the Road (Way).” The medieval fresco once venerated by St. Ignatius of Loyola himself is now located in the Church of the Gesù in Rome, the “mother house” of the global Jesuit order. A reproduction of that icon is in Loyola’s campus chapel.
The original fresco of Madonna della Strada (ca. 13th-14th centuries) in the Church of the Gesù in Rome (2015). Credit: Christian Ender. Getty Images.
Façade at sunset: Church of the Gesù in Rome, “mother church” of the global Jesuit order (2015). Credit: Christian Ender. Getty Images.
Aerial view of Madonna della Strada Chapel under construction (ca. September 15, 1938). Credit: Loyola Archives & Special Collections.
Frs. James J. Mertz, S.J., and Samuel K. Wilson, S.J. (President of Loyola) look at model of proposed Madonna della Strada chapel (1930s). Credit: Loyola Archives & Special Collections.