Barbelin at the Prep

A card-sized, collectible photograph of founder Felix Barbelin, S.J., on loan from the Philadelphia Archdiocesan Historical Research Center.

Felix-Joseph Barbelin, S.J., the "Apostle of Philadelphia," was both a great man and the 'founder' of St. Joseph's Preparatory School - but would you have kept a trading card of him had you known him?  That is precisely what 19th century Philadelphians did - in addition to being able to own card-sized copies of the portraits of famous civil war generals and well-liked presidents - images of Barbelin would have been available for a popular market.  How do we know that?  Because of a generous loan from the Philadelphia Archdiocesan Historical Research Center (PAHRC), we currently have a small exhibit of Barbelin relics on display in front of the Prep's main office, including a number of these small images.

The locks of hair.

The 'elephant in the room' of this exhibit, and the most commonly commented upon item since it has been installed this fall, is a lock of Barbelin's hair.  Why would anyone, let alone an archive save a lock of hair from a French-born Jesuit priest who died in 1869 Philadelphia?  There are many potential answers, but seemingly no definitive one, as no details concerning the origin of this artifact have been saved with it. Speculation about the creation and preservation of this relic points towards the respect and fame that Barbelin earned during his career in Philadelphia, as well as the 19th century Catholic culture of relics.  A glowing (if not hagiographical) biography of Barbelin that was written after his death, and his biography published in the "Catholic Encyclopedia" (linked to earlier in this article) both point towards his popularity.  Although when, where, and why this lock of hair was clipped is speculation, it seems probable that it was taken after he had died in Philadelphia, as it appears in the same frame as a lock of hair from the Rev. John P. Dunn, who also died in 1869.

Also included in the display, are the coffin plates from Barbelin and Rev. John Blox, S.J., a pastor at St. John's who died nine years earlier than Barbelin.  Because of that time difference, and the fact that they are physically framed together, perhaps they were removed from the coffins when the graves were moved, as we discussed on this blog before (see "Villiger Buried Twice in Elysian Fields!")  There is, however, no documentation to prove this.

A particularly dapper image of the founder of St. Joe's Prep, Felix Barbelin, S.J., on loan from the Philadelphia Archdiocesan Historical Research Center

The collection will be on display until the summer, when the majority of the relics need to return to the PAHRC, who generously loaned them and allowed us to put this information online.  We placed the exhibit directly underneath the school's portrait of Barbelin (seemingly from the 1960's or 1970's - I am unsure of the exact history of that painting).  Viewing the exhibit as a whole, I was particularly struck by how life-like the later portrait is, even when displayed next to multiple contemporary images of Barbelin.  This exhibit has forever changed the way that I look at that portrait.

UPDATE: Painting of Ignatius

At the end of October 2011, we posted an entry with photos and a request for information about a painting that we thought depicted St. Ignatius of Loyola.  We are grateful for the following opinion from a Spanish art expert with connections to Prep teacher Jaime Ball: "Well, I'm still not positive if it's New World or Spanish, but I've come to the conclusion that it is not a painting of St. Ignatius Loyola, but instead an image of the Virgin and Child Appearing to St. Philip Neri by Guido Reni."

The image of the Reni portrait of St. Philip Neri, along with the images of the painting in our collection, are included here.  Any light that you might be able to shed on this mystery would be greatly appreciated.

Unidentified painting in the Villiger Archives

Guido Reni (1575-1642)'s portrait of St. Philip Neri

Painting found, information needed!

     

     In October of 2009, while searching a storage area on the 4^th floor of Villiger Hall (the name students selected for the 1968 post-fire Prep building, and, yes, there is a partial 4^thfloor!), I came across the painting of St. Ignatius of Loyola pictured here.  No one seems to know anything about this 25” x 19” work, and I could find no artist’s signature or date.  My hunch is that this is a European work from the late 18th century. 

     Jaime Ball, one of the art teachers at the Prep, has a friend on the staff of the Philadelphia Museum of Art who has graciously volunteered to take a look at it, give an assessment of the age and origin, and make recommendations for proper conservation. 

     If you have any ideas or information, please get in touch.