Vincenzo Carducci

(1585 - 1638)

After hours of fervent prayer near the north door of Speyer Cathedral in the year 1146, Mary, the Virgin Mother of God appeared incarnate to the Abbot of Clairvaux, and with milk from her breast, soothed the parched lips of St Bernard.

One school of thought adheres to the belief; Mary was simply giving comfort to an overtired ascetic; thereby reinforcing her existence as a living entity. While another school of thought believes the Virgin Mother through her milk, bestowed the wisdom of God on Bernard of Clairvaux.

A vision is the conscious mind's interpretation of a metaphysical event occurring in a plane of existence beyond our physical world. When a vision occurs, because its meaning is not always clear, it must be contemplated and understood.

This incarnation of the Virgin Mother was painted by Vincenzo Carducci in 1634.