Dante's Divine Comedy: A Journey Through Heaven

Canto XXXI: The White Rose

The Beatific Vision

In the concluding canto of Paradiso, Dante ascends to the Empyrean, the highest level of Heaven, where he witnesses the beatific vision of God. This vision is symbolized by a white rose, which contains the souls of all the saints.

Saint Bernard, a renowned monk and mystic, guides Dante through the Empyrean. Bernard explains that the saints are arranged in the rose according to their merit. The petals of the rose are divided into nine circles, with each circle representing a different heavenly hierarchy.

At the center of the rose is the Virgin Mary, who is surrounded by the archangels Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael. Above Mary is God himself, who appears as a point of pure light. Dante gazing upon this ineffable light is the culminating moment of his journey through Heaven.