The illustration from the Compendium that we explore in this issue of The Sower is the dramatic crucifixion mosaic used to introduce section one of Part Two of the Compendium. Part Two is the ‘Celebration of the Christian Mystery’; section one of this part is entitled ‘The Sacramental Economy’.

At first glance this piece of art might be mistaken for an ancient mosaic; it is in fact the work of a brilliant contemporary Slovakian artist, a Jesuit priest, Father Marko Ivan Rupnik. It is to be found as part of an enormous mosaic, clothing all four walls, and also the gently curving ceiling, of the Redemptoris Mater chapel in the Apostolic palace of the Vatican City. Although this vast work covers some 7,150 square feet (664 square metres) of wall space, it was completed in less than three years, between 1996 and 1999. It is a magnificent and deeply impressive chapel, its theme covering the whole of salvation history.