Mary Gives the Holy Belt to St. Monica, Leonardo Corona, 16th century

Leonardo Corona
The Virgin Gives the Holy Belt to St. Monica

Late 16th century
Church of St. Stephen, Venice, Italy

In the legend it is St. Monica who received the Holy Belt, but here the principal figure below is Augustine. To his left Monica kneels while behind her stand St. Nicholas of Tolentino (black habit, lily stalk) and a third saint identified by the church's guide book as "William of Aquitania."

"William of Aquitania" is most likely Blessed William of Toulouse, a 14th-century Augustinian. (Toulouse was the capital of Aquitaine.) His feast day is May 18. See Butler, II, 343 and Acta Sanctorum, May vol. 4, 197-203.

According to the guide book the boy in white would be a novice of the order. This painting is the altarpiece for the altar at which novices served Mass during the week after Christmas.

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Photographed at the church by Richard Stracke, shared under Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license.