Novo-Hispanic School. Mexico. Late 17th century. Nicolás Correa Juárez Circle. "The Mass of Saint Gregory". Oil on copper. 29,5 x 23,8 cm. An exquisite and very unusual, unique depiction of the well-known Mass of Pope Saint Gregory, as the vision of the Blessed Souls being rescued from Purgatory by angels and taken to heaven also appears in the scene. The composition is designed to save space, as it could have been distributed over two sections of a small diptych. To the right of the scene, as is customary, we see a door with a landscape and figures, and/or members of the papal entourage or donors joining in the main act of the Eucharistic miracle. The 'pray for the souls, present and absent, and pray for their tribulations' scene is depicted with a great deal of light in order to attract attention. The painter depicts the apparition of Christ to Pope Saint Gregory the Great while he is celebrating mass on Christmas Day in the Roman Basilica of the Holy Cross in Jerusalem with detail and finesse. His assistants also appear, one carrying the cross to guide them and the other with a halo, who also participate in the miracle. Christ, surrounded by the symbols of his Passion, shows his stigmata to assuage the doubts of some of the people present or the Pope's own doubts about Transubstantiation. In some paintings blood appears to flow from the arma christi and is collected in a chalice, but not in this case. Due to its small format, the painting could have been a devotional copper commissioned by a member of the Church, with the aim of moving his soul to devotion and capturing the essence and depth of the Eucharistic celebration at all times, and, at the same time, the vision of hell/purgatory. With it, following the catholic doctrine, he would not forget the sacrament of forgiveness and mercy and would save all souls from their sins and evils that keep them in a constant purgatory. In short, a small copper that embodies the symbol of the Eucharist as a renewal of Christ's sacrifice to save humanity.