Connected with the sacred theme are Sassu’s paintings on the subject of the council. The point of departure for the series is The Council of Trent, painted in the early 1940s, whose horizontal format could perhaps be interpreted as a recognition of the wholly terrestrial characteristics of the Church, which often move away from the pure values of the spirit. This Bishop's Council of 1959 is an exemplary representation of the Church’s temporal power, laden with meaning. It is a variation on the earlier version - the whole room is not depicted - in which cardinal red and gold envelope sinister plottings in darkly disquieting cocoons.