2. The chapel of the Anglo-Bavarian Langue
The chapel assigned to the Anglo-Bavarian Langue was originally the shrine where the Order’s holy relics were kept. At some stage the relics had been moved to the sacristy on account of the humidity within this chapel. In the late 17th century the altar dedicated to St Charles was brought to this site from the passage in front of the oratory. The altarpiece represents St Charles Borromeo Cardinal Archbishop of Milan, the renowned reformer of the Catholic faith, being presented to the Virgin Mary. The painting has recently been attributed to the French artist Claudio Francesco Beaumont.
It was only in 1782, after several years of suppression within the Order on account of the English Reformation, that Grand Master Emmanuel de Rohan-Polduc obtained a papal bull to revive the English langue which included the kingdom of Scotland, Wales and Ireland. The decoration of the chapel commenced in the early years of the 17th century after Fra Raymundo de Vere, bailiff of Majorca left funds in his will of 1598. The frieze holds an inscription of his donation and his coat-of-arms was installed above the cornice. The bronze gate mounted on to the marble balustrade once belonged to the Chapel of Philermos where it served as an iconostasis. It was brought to this chapel when the silver gate was installed in its stead.
The reredos was designed to hold two important rare caskets containing saints’ relics. The altar was installed in 1739 and is typical of the high baroque style. The entire remains of St Clement, the gift of Fra Vincenzo Rospigliosi in 1669, were installed within the altar table. The altar also holds a bronze gilt crucifix which hails from the workshop of Alessandro Algardi, a renowned Roman sculptor.
The chapel contains only one tombstone belonging to Fra Francois Collongue de Foresta who died in 1687.