It is with great joy that the Milan faithful attached to
traditional Ambrosian rite welcomed the announcement that His Eminence Angelo
Cardinal Scola, archbishop of Milan, has given them a new church more suited to
the needs of their liturgy and of their community.
It is the church of Santa Maria della Consolazione, also
known as Santa Maria al Castello and Madonna del Castello (as it is located
close to the Sforzesco Castle), which will host the liturgies celebrated in the
venerable and ancient rite of St. Ambrose.
This church was built on the esplanade of the castle as
its oratory in 1471 by Galeazzo Maria Sforza and dedicated to Our Lady of
Consolation by declaration of the Duke of Lombardy. The church was entrusted in
1492 to the Augustinian friars who added a small convent which was probably
demolished during expansions of the castle. In 1599 the present church was
rebuilt where it stands today.
The interior was decorated by some of the most prominent
artists of seventeenth century Lombardy. The coffered ceiling has paintings by
Camillo Procaccini (1561 † 1629). The exquisite altarpiece of the main altar of
the Virgin of Consolation dates back to 1502. The third chapel on the right
contains a valuable painting of Enea Salmeggia (1558 † 1626), the Martyrdom of Saint
Andrew the Apostle, painted in 1604. The neoclassical façade was rebuilt in
1836 by Giovan Battista Chiappa.
The church is ideally located in the center of Milan, close
to the Milan Cadorna subway station and several bus lines. By contrast, the traditional
Milanese community was previously housed in a modern concrete church of little
historical or architectural interest, San Rocco al Gentilino which is relatively
far from the city center. The Saint Cécile Schola
(Parish of Saint-Eugène – Sainte Cécile in Paris) had the
honor of singing in this church for Sunday Mass celebrated in the Ambrosian
rite by Fr Federico Gallo during his pilgrimage to Milan in 2013.
The traditional Ambrosian office begins at Santa Maria della
Consolazione on Sunday, January 11, 2015, the First Sunday after Epiphany. As
before, the Mass will be sung every Sunday and Holy Day of Obligation at 10am.
