The beauty of the iconographic program of the altarpiece made for CUN Madrid

As we told you recently, the recently constructed building for the the Clínica Universidad de Navarra in Madrid has premiered its oratorioa project whose style seeks to establish a dialogue and a balance between tradition and modernitybetween the classic and the contemporary. Today we want to delve a little deeper by discovering the symbolism hidden in the reliefs of the altarpiece.

In spite of having opted for a classical languageThe reliefs are inspired by the Italian baroque style, and the aim is to create a contemporary plastic arts for the whole. The characters are interrelated through the connection of the hands and the triangular composition that culminates in the Trinity, which has always been very present in the tradition of Don Félix Granda.

In each of the three reliefs a different theme is developed, interwoven within the iconographic program.

The visitation

On the left side is represented the Visitation of the Virgin Mary to his cousin St. Elizabeth, who emphasizes first of all the maternityThe hospital center is the protagonist in this hospital.

This Gospel passage also contains great symbolism. It makes clear the work of Mary as mediator between us and her Son. He is the hidden protagonist of this episode in which the Virgin, "living tabernacle of the incarnate God". (Benedict XVI), goes to meet St. Elizabeth and thus makes her an immediate sharer in Salvation. It is impregnated, therefore, with a profound Eucharistic message, and the architecture of the scene, which suggests a space under a dome, refers to that living temple that is Mary. The hug between the two holy women also represents the encounter between the Old and New Testamentsthe renewal of the divine covenant.

The Visitation teaches us that the Virgin Mary listens attentively to God, but also attends to those in the world. In setting out to help St. Elizabeth, "she is transformed into model of those in the Church who set out on a journey to bring the light and joy of Christ to people everywhere and at all times" (St. John Paul II).

St. Josemaría at the King's Hospital

The mission and expression of Charity is the theme of the relief on the right. It depicts one of the visits that St. Josemaría made in his youth to the sick at the King's Hospital in Madrid. "I went to seek strength in the poorest neighborhoods of Madrid," said St. Josemaría, recalling how Opus Dei began among the poor and sick of this city. "Those were intense years, in which Opus Dei grew inside without our realizing it. But I wanted to tell you (...) that the human strength of the Work has been the human strength of Opus Dei. the sick in hospitals of Madrid".

The Holy Trinity

The third relief is the culmination of the iconographic program, showing the Holy Trinity, completed with the Holy Family, the "trinity of the earth". through which St. Josemaría proposes to arrive at the divine. Life, the world, arises from the "current of Trinitarian Love" (St. Josemaría), that is, from the infinite Love of the three divine Persons. For this reason, all love that is true ultimately refers back to the Trinity. The family is thus an image that leads us to the Mystery, for "God the Trinity is a communion of love, and the family is its living reflection" (Pope Francis).

The love of the Holy Family was, therefore, the path to which St. Josemaría was committed: "I try to reach the Trinity of Heaven through that other trinity on earth: Jesus, Mary and Joseph. They are, as it were, more accessible." Around the Sagrada Familia you can see the ruins of an ancient temple, that represent the past that disappears, like a day that declines while dawn heralds the arrival of a new daythat is, of the new City, the heavenly Jerusalem towards which the Church is moving.