The Five Wounds of Holy Church

This is undoubtedly the most famous of Rosmini's books, in which he notes defects and abuses in the Church, but in a twofold spirit of suffering and hope. Saddened by the inevitable shortcomings of churchmen, he believed and trusted with complete certainty in the infinite power of the Holy Spirit at work in the Church. It caused him immense personal damage, but he felt that the renewal of the Church was of such great urgency that he had to be prepared to suffer for it. Rosmini borrowed the image of the "crucified Church" from Pope Innocent IV (1243-1254).