Disputation of the Blessed Sacrament shows what the Church has always believed

The Disputation of the Blessed Sacrament by the well-known Renaissance artist Raphael, was painted between 1509 and 1510. Raphael was commissioned by the Pope to decorate the papal apartments (now the Vatican Museum). The room where this fresco (paint applied to wet plaster on wall) can be found is called the Signature Room. This was the room where the important documents of the church were signed. The pope must have knowledge of theology and wisdom to make important decisions and this concept was then depicted on the walls of the room. The two main frescos in the room are the School of Athens and the Disputation of the Blessed Sacrament. The School of Athens depicts different philosophers discussing the wisdom of philosophy with the motto above reading “Seek Knowledge of Causes.” On the opposite wall is the Disputation of the Blessed Sacrament which depicts men of the Church discussing the source and summit of the Christian life—the Eucharist. The motto above reads, “Knowledge of Divine Things.”

We can see the fresco is in two parts, an upper heavenly level and a lower earthly level. This split in the fresco shares a similar composition with the apse mosaic that was in the old St. Peter’s Basilica before Pope Julius II rebuilt it. That apse mosaic also showed a heavenly realm separated by the same upward curving line to the earthly realm. It was suggested that Raphael was making a strong connection to the authority of the Church in the Blessed Sacrament fresco by using a similar structure to the one inside the Basilica.

In the middle stands the Blessed Sacrament on an altar with everything centered around it. In a straight line from top to bottom, our eyes gaze on the Holy Trinity. God the Father is at the top, Jesus as the resurrected Son, and the Holy Spirit appears in the form of a dove with rays coming down to rest on the Blessed Sacrament, thus showing us the true and Real Presence within.

The upper heavenly realm depicts the “Church Triumphant” with some recognizable characters from the Old Testament and others who knew Christ. One of these witnesses is St. Lawrence who was martyred for his faith. The ones who can be identified, from left to right are: Peter, Adam, John, King David, Lawrence, Mary, Jesus, John the Baptist, Judas Maccabees, Stephen, Moses, James or Matthew, Abraham, and Paul. They sit perched on a cloud remaining calm and seem to take notice of the discussions below. In the earthly realm, the “Militant Church” on earth is discussing the Eucharistic mystery. In the center around the altar are four great Early Church Fathers who wrote something about the Eucharist. On the left seated with a papal miter is St. Gregory the Great, who modified the Eucharistic Prayer number I in 595, still in use today. St. Jerome is next to him with a lion by his feet (his symbol). He wrote about the bread and the Real Presence. The third figure at the right of the altar is St. Ambrose, (340-397) who wrote that the Eucharist is the true flesh of Christ. St. Augustine is seated next to St. Ambrose. He wrote sermons describing the bread as the Body of Christ. These group of four around the altar attest to the importance of the belief of the True Presence of Christ in the Blessed Sacrament. 

St. Thomas Aquinas, known for his great wisdom, stands to the right of the altar facing a pope. On the right, behind Pope Sixtus IV is Dante Alergeri with a laurel wreath on his head. The inclusion of Dante may represent the beauty of literature in the Catholic Faith. The last figure to point out on the left end is another Dominican, Blessed Fra Angelico. He painted many scenes of the life of Christ, which may represent the beauty of art in the Catholic faith.

This fresco manifests what the Church has always believed and taught that the Eucharist is the true and Real Presence of Christ. This belief transcends all time and space and stands at the center of our Catholic Faith as source and summit.