Enciclopedia Cattolica

FORTEM VIRILI PECTORE

Volume V · p. 914 · 1950

English translation · Testo originale italiano

Machine translation of the 1948–1954 Italian original. The original text is authoritative.

« FORTEM VIRILI PECTORE ». — This is the hymn for Vespers and Lauds in the Office of holy non-virgins, composed by Cardinal Silvio Antoniani (d. 1603) and inserted into the Breviary by Clement VIII in 1602, replacing a much older one.

Article illustration
(Int. Alimari) FORTEZZA — The Fortitude. Panel of the first bronze door of the Baptistery, a work by Andrea Pisano (1536) — Florence.
The author certainly drew inspiration from Prov. 31:10-31: Mulierem fortem quis inveniet? which extols the virtues of the wise woman. Forceful is that initial Forte, which stands in contrast to the deceit, beauty, and vanity of the woman of the world! The saint scorns profane love and is imbued with divine love, suppresses the demands of the body, and nourishes the spirit with the sublime sweetness of prayer.

BIBL.: G. Belli, Gli inni del Breviario tradotti, Roma 1856, p. 304 ff.; V. Terreno, Gli inni dell'Ufficio divino, Mondovì 1932, p. 330 ff.; A. Mitra, Gli inni del Breviario romano, Napoli 1947, p. 262 ff. Silverio Mattei
Cite this article

“FORTEM VIRILI PECTORE.” Enciclopedia Cattolica, vol. V (1950), p. 914. Azione Romana digital edition, https://azioneromana.com/article/fortem-virili-pectore.