**AMAT di SAN FILIPPO e SORSO, LUIGI**
Cardinal. Born in Cagliari to a family of Catalan origin on 20 June 1796, died in Rome on 30 March 1878. He was protected by Cardinal Consalvi, held several legations of the Papal States, and served as nuncio in Naples (1826) and Madrid (1833–35). Created cardinal in 1837, he accompanied Pius IX to Gaeta (1849). Bishop of Palestrina (1852), he restored discipline, promoted studies, and founded hospitals. In 1870 he became Bishop of Porto and Santa Rufina, in 1877 Bishop of Ostia and Velletri, and dean of the Sacred College.
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**AMATERASU**
To the Shintoists, Amaterasu is the “great august divinity that shines in the heavens,” namely the sun goddess.
At the time when Shintoism was still a pure religion of nature, it is probable that the ancestors of the imperial house worshipped the sun as their highest divinity. Later, in order to lend greater authority to the ruling house, either the sun goddess herself was recognized as the progenitor of the imperial family, or the true ancestor was deified and identified with the sun goddess. Thus Amaterasu Ōmikami became not only the progenitor of the Japanese dynasty but also revered as the highest divinity, although in original Shinto this role belonged to Ame-no-minakanushi (“the Lord of the August Center of Heaven”). However, this latter deity, recalling the era when the ancestors of the Japanese were monotheists, lent itself less than Amaterasu to the national aims of State Shinto, and so she was declared the highest divinity of Japan.
According to Japanese tradition, the cult and veneration of the sun goddess date back to a very early period. Initially, she was venerated in the imperial palace, where the sacred mirror, her symbol, was also kept.
By the first millennium CE, it was customary that on the most important occasions the emperor would send envoys to Ise—where her temple stands—with gifts and sacrifices for her. All events of significance, such as declarations of war or the conclusion of peace, had to be communicated by imperial messengers to the sanctuary of Ise, where the relevant documents were read aloud to the goddess.
When a new emperor ascends the throne, he himself travels in pilgrimage to Ise to announce the great event in person to the divine ancestor. During the Second World War, Emperor Hirohito again made a pilgrimage to Ise to pray to the sun goddess and implore her special aid for the prosperity of the Japanese empire.
All Japanese are encouraged to undertake at least once in their lives a pilgrimage to the national sanctuary of Amaterasu, from which they are said to receive special protection from the powerful helper for the people and the family.
Even in the imperial palace in Tokyo, in the so-called Kashikodokoro hall, there is a small shrine sacred to the sun goddess, where the emperor occasionally performs religious functions as the high priest of State Shinto.
Numerous are the temples dedicated to the goddess Amaterasu throughout the empire, and one often encounters memorial stones or stone lanterns inscribed with her name.
The people honor the goddess in various ways at sunrise, clapping their hands, bowing toward the east, and reciting prayers simultaneously. The army honored the emperor as the progenitor and highest goddess by presenting arms to the rising sun.