History of the Catholic Church in Spain who was active in many different modes of religion, including organizing convents and new congregations, and developing the theology of the Counter Reformation in Spain that permanently minimized the Protestant influence there. In the 1620s Spain debated who should be the nation's patron saint- the current patron Saint James Matamoros (Saint James the Moor-slayer) or a combination of him and the newly canonized Saint Teresa of Ávila. Teresa's promoters said Spain faced new challenges, especially the threat of Protestantism, and the declining society at home and needed a modern patron saint who understood these problems and could lead the Spanish
The Patron Saints of Naples Adoring Christ on the Cross The Patron Saints of Naples Adoring Christ on the Cross The Patron Saints of Naples Adoring Christ on the Cross is a 1660-1661 painting by Luca Giordano, now in the National Museum of Capodimonte in Naples. In the bottom left are the saints Baculus, Euphebius, Francis Borgia, Aspren and Candida, whilst in the top left is God the Father. The work and "Saint Januarius Interceding" were commissioned by Gaspare de Bracamonte, Spanish viceroy of Naples. They were originally intended for the side altars of the new church of Santa Maria del Pianto in Poggioreale, where most of the plague victims