Fiona Whyte

Thanks to everyone who came to the launch of my novel Let These Things Be Written. It was a fantastic evening and wonderful to have such great support. Special thanks to Mary Morrissy, Patricia Looney and staff of @corkcitylibrary, everyone at @EyeAndLightning and @cor_lae_nua.

It's Spy Wednesday, let's look at how Italian masterpiece "The Taking of Christ" by murderous hellraiser Caravaggio ended up hanging in a dining room in Leeson Street! The iconic scene depicts Judas Iscariot betraying Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, identifying him to the Roman soldiers with a kiss. The work was commissioned by Ciriaco Mattei, a Roman nobleman in 1602. Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (1571-1610) had a life as full of shadows and violence as his paintings. The master of baroque was a notoriously violent criminal. His signature technique was manipulating shadow, utilising tenebrism and chiaroscuro. When he wasn't in exile or prison for assault or murder, he was one of the most famous and sought-after artists in Rome. Whether you are a Christian or not, the masterpiece has an astonishing power within it. The vividness of the moment, the chemistry of the interrelationships depicted, has a universal quality. And of course, that mesmerising play of light and shadow. Incidentally, the man on the right holding the lantern is believed to be Caravaggio himself! Perhaps it takes a sinner to truly capture the drama and betrayal of such a moment. The masterpiece was lost and presumed destroyed for centuries. In 1786, an 18th-century engraver and topographer called Giuseppe Vasi misattributed the painting, not merely as a Dutch copy, but to a specific artist: Gerrit van Honthorst, known in Italy as Gherardo delle Notti, one of Caravaggio's own followers. The label stuck, repeated in every successive inventory, including a Mattei family stock-taking in 1793. There was even a telling typo that would prove crucial centuries later: the label consistently misspelled Honthorst's nickname as "Gherardo della Notte" rather than the correct "Gherardo delle Notti." That small error, faithfully copied across generations of documents, would become one of the key clues in the eventual authentication. In 1802, Duke Giuseppe Mattei, needing to pay his debts, sold the painting along with others to William Hamilton Nisbet, a wealthy Scottish art collector then in Rome. The "Honthorst" hung in his Scottish home until 1921, when it was sold at auction in Edinburgh, passing through one more set of hands before ending up with a Dublin woman named Marie Ryan, better known by her married name, Marie Lea-Wilson. She had a heartbreaking reason to be in Scotland. Her husband, Captain Percival Lea-Wilson, had been a District Inspector of the Royal Irish Constabulary, shot dead on a Gorey street in June 1920 by the IRA on the direct orders of Michael Collins. The killing was revenge for Lea-Wilson's treatment of republican prisoners after the Rising, when he famously ordered the elderly Proclamation signatory Tom Clarke to strip naked in public. Collins, who had witnessed the humiliation, waited four years to settle the account. In the aftermath of that devastating loss, Marie received spiritual support from the Jesuits, particularly Father Thomas Finlay SJ at the Leeson Street community house. When she had qualified as a doctor she gifted the religious painting to Fr Finlay as a token of her gratitude. It hung on the wall of the dining room at 35 Leeson Street, where it would sit quietly for the next six decades, admired as a fine old Honthorst by anyone who thought about it at all. In 1990, Father Noel Barber, then Superior of the Leeson Street community, contacted the National Gallery of Ireland about restoring some paintings. The Gallery's Assistant Director, Dr Brian Kennedy, came to it with senior conservator Sergio Benedetti. Benedetti took one look at the canvas and felt his pulse quicken. After 3 of painstaking analysis, it was confirmed an original. Much of the archival credit belongs to Francesca Cappelletti and Laura Testa, PhD students at the University of Rome. You can view it in National Gallery of Ireland in Dublin. Buy the Dublin Time Machine a pint and support the DTM Book ko-fi.com/buchanandublin…

Colman and 30 monks of Saxon and Irish heritage take off for Iona initially, taking with them half of the relics of St Aidan. After two years of contemplation, Colman relocates to the island of Inishbofin, off the Connemara coast, Co. Galway. However, tensions arose by 668 ...

@LindaRosewood This is fab, Linda. I hope @kclr96fm picks up on it.

Today begins the Anne Lister Birthday Weekend in Halifax. In 1822, Anne visited Eleanor Butler and Sarah Ponsonby, known as The Ladies of Llangollen. That visit is the subject of a new short film by Hil McKinley, written and narrated by me. youtu.be/KPkhJfIH4Oo?si…

I’ll never forget the first time I saw St Cuthbert’s coffin in @durhamcathedral. It felt like a sacred moment to be so close to the carved wood that once held the body of the saint. It might sound fanciful but there is a profound sense of presence in the cathedral.

The Pope and the Archbishop of Canterbury have exchanged letters expressing their commitment to Christian unity and Anglican-Roman Catholic dialogue. The greetings come as Lambeth Palace confirmed today that Archbishop Sarah will visit Rome from 25 – 28th April. During the visit, the Archbishop will meet with Pope Leo at the Vatican. Pope Leo XIV wrote to Archbishop Sarah Mullally on the occasion of her Installation, held at Canterbury Cathedral yesterday. The message was delivered by the Pope’s envoy, Cardinal Kurt Koch, Prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, on Thursday, 26 March at the conclusion of a prayer service in Canterbury Cathedral. In response, Archbishop Sarah thanked the Pope for his prayers and assured him of her own. 'I am deeply grateful for your gracious letter, and for the assurance of your prayers at the time of my installation as Archbishop of Canterbury,' she wrote. In response, Archbishop Sarah thanked the Pope for his prayers and assured him of her own. 'I am deeply grateful for your gracious letter, and for the assurance of your prayers at the time of my installation as Archbishop of Canterbury,' she wrote. Read more on Anglican News: bit.ly/4lQvnLY @acrrome @ArchbishopSarah Photo: Neil Turner / Lambeth Palace

A new essay from me "The Grief of Finishing a Novel". Inspired by reading "Ocean" by @MsPollyClark Link next.

@LindaRosewood Sounds great. Congrats Linda.

I am grateful to the Sentinel and the Good Times for running stories about my novel and this show. I wanted my book launch to be something that would uplift anyone who took the time to support us and our work. If you want to know more, see lindarosewood.com

We're so excited this day has finally come. And the 75 seat hall is sold out! I admit the show is free, but we are thrilled that so many people wanted to come together to appreciate redwoods through connection, photography, and fiction.

It was an honour to talk about St Cuthbert’s cult and medieval pilgrimage yesterday at the English premier of ‘The Way of St Cuthbert’! Part of the ‘Hearts in Search of God’ Spring Walking Pilgrimage Gathering in Southwark. Link to the film: ewtn.com/programs/9789-…

Happy St Cuthbert’s Day everyone. What better way to celebrate than with a good book? “A cracking debut” - Irish Independent

Mar 20: Feast of Hereberht (†687), anchorite. He lived on an island in Derwentwater, Cumbria, and died on the same day as his friend Cuthbert, bishop of Lindisfarne. St Herbert's Island. 📸Keswick Launch Co

Nice homily here to celebrate the Feast of St Cuthbert.

Another lovely church I visited when carrying out research for my novel. So many wonderful sacred spaces associated with St Cuthbert.

St Cuthbert’s grave in St Peter’s, Lindisfarne, was opened #OTD in 698 for the translation of his remains. The brethren clothed his incorrupt body in new vestments and lay it in a wooden coffin engraved with angels and apostles. This was placed above ground near the high altar.

Today, March 20, in the Catholic Church ✝️ is the feast day of Saint Herbert of Derwentwater 😇 died 20 March 687 in Cumbria, England 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 An Anglo-Saxon priest and hermit who spent his life in prayer and fasting on a small island in Derwentwater Lake. 🙏 We know Herbert's story largely because Saint Bede wrote about him — and the detail Bede chose to preserve says everything. Each year, Herbert would travel to visit his dear friend Saint Cuthbert, Bishop of Lindisfarne, the two men bound by their shared love of solitary prayer. On their final meeting, Herbert begged God that death would not separate them. Cuthbert, moved, prayed the same. Both men died on the same day: March 20, 687. 😇 Herbert never sought influence or recognition. His entire life unfolded on a small island, far from courts, councils, and chronicles. The island on Derwentwater still bears his name, and pilgrims visited it for centuries — drawn not by miracles or great deeds, but simply by the memory of a man who prayed. ✝️ Saint Herbert reminds us that heaven is full of the unknown and the quiet — saints whose names barely appear in history, but whose lives were entirely known to God.

@adberginwriter Can I cheekily recommend my own novel, Let These Things Be Written? The story is told from the perspective of the anonymous monk who wrote the first Life of St Cuthbert.

St. Cuthbert’s Day. Good day to re-read ‘Cuddy’ by @benmyers76 and think about who we were, are and will be.

I visited Newcastle Anglican Cathedral a few years ago and met one of the priests attached there. Turned out he was from Cork! It’s a lovely space, and the stained glass image of Cuthbert is beautiful.

This will be a beautiful service in the sacred resting place of St Cuthbert. Would love to be there today.

This is very childish of me ... but I am pretending to 'adult' & sort out the photos on my old phone (which in fairness I changed 3 years ago so probably should have done before now) & I found this -

@holland_tom Excellent news. Congratulations!

Bede Librarian!!!