Notre Dame de Rouen. The façade of the Gothic Church in France. Photographer: Hippo1947. Licence: SHUTTERSTOCK.

Monday 7 April 2014

Lenten Station At The Basilica Of Saint Chrysogonus. Monday In Passion Week.


Roman Text is taken from The Saint Andrew Daily Missal.

Italic Text, Illustrations and Captions, are taken from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia,
unless otherwise stated.


Indulgence of 10 years and 10 Quarantines.
Violet Vestments.



Basilica of San Crisogono,
Trastevere, Rome, Italy.
Photo: September 3006.
Source: Own work.
Author: Lalupa.
(Wikimedia Commons)


The Lenten Station is at Saint Chrysogonus's in the Trastevere. Under the High Altar of this Church, one of the twenty-five Parish Churches of Rome in the 5th-Century, rests the body of this Holy Martyr, a victim of the Diocletian Persecution. His name is mentioned in the Canon of the Mass.

Among the previous Cardinal Priests, from 1853 until 1878, was Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci, who was subsequently elected Pope Leo XIII.

To encourage the public penitents, and ourselves, likewise, to persevere in the austerities of Lent, the Church reminds us in the Epistle of the pardon granted to the Ninivites, who, moved by the voice of Jonas, Fasted and covered themselves with ashes for forty days.



Pope Leo XIII was a previous Cardinal-Priest 
of the Basilica of San Crisogono, Trastevere, Roma.
Photogram of the 1896 film, "Sua Santitá Papa Leone XIII", 
the first time a Pope appeared in a movie.
This image was copied from wikipedia:de. 
The original description was: Papst_Leo_XIII. um ca. 1898.
Public Domain. Library of Congress
This File: March 2006.
User: Crux.
(Wikimedia Commons)


With regard to the Catechumens, how sweet must have been their hope on hearing, in the Gospel, the promises of the Divine Master. Faith is about to draw from their Souls streams of living waters, springing from the Holy Spirit, who will enter their Souls when they are Baptised.

The Jews, on the contrary, far from listening to Him, of whom Jonas was a figure, sought to lay hands on Jesus, Whom they are shortly to put to death. Jesus, in predicting it to them, announced to them His triumph and their reprobation: "Yet a little while, and I go to my Father, and thither you cannot come."

Let us ask "God to sanctify our Fasts and mercifully grant us the pardon of our sins" (Collect), so that we may always enjoy health of Soul and body" (Prayer over the people).



Interior of the Basilica of San Crisogono,
Rome, Italy.
Photo: December 2006.
Source: Own work.
Author: Lalupa.
(Wikimedia Commons)


San Crisogono is a Church in Rome (rione Trastevere) dedicated to the Martyr, Saint Chrysogonus.

The Church was one of the Tituli, the first Parish Churches of Rome. It was probably built in the 4th-Century, under Pope Sylvester I (314 A.D. – 335 A.D.), rebuilt in the 12th-Century by John of Crema, and, again, by Giovanni Battista Soria, funded by Scipione Borghese, in the Early-17th-Century.

The area beneath the Sacristy was investigated by Fr. L. Manfredini and Fr. C. Piccolini in 1907. They found remains of the first Church (see, below).



Photo: July 2011.
User: Adam sk.
Author: at Sant'Apollinare Nuovo, Ravenna.
(Wikimedia Commons)


The Church is served by Trinitarians. Among the previous Cardinal-Priests was Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci (Cardinal-Priest from 1853–1878), subsequently elected Pope Leo XIII.

Art and architecture


The Bell Tower dates from the 12th-Century. The interior of the Church was rebuilt in the 1620s, on the site of a 12th-Century Church. The twenty-two granite Columns, in the Nave, are recycled antique Columns. The floor is
Cosmatesque, but most of it is hidden by the pews. The High Altar is from 1127, with a Baldacchino from the Early-17th-Century by Gian Lorenzo Bernini.



English: The Baroque Coffered-Ceiling
with a centre painting by Guercino.
Italiano: Roma, San Crisogono (rione Trastevere):
soffitto a lacunari con stemmi del cardinale Scipione Borghese.
Photo: March 2007.
User: Lalupa.
(Wikimedia Commons)


The painting, in the middle of the Baroque Coffered-Ceiling, is by Guercino, and depicts the Glory of Saint Chrysogonus. It is likely a copy, in which case the original was taken to London, but it might also be vice versa.

On the left side of the Nave, is the Shrine of Blessed Anna Maria Taigi. She was buried here in the Habit of a Tertiary of the Trinitarians. Some of her belongings are in the adjacent Monastery, where they are kept as Relics.

The monument at the left of the entrance, dedicated to Cardinal Giovanno Jacopo Millo, was completed by Carlo Marchionni and Pietro Bracci. Along the right of the Nave are the fresco remains, including a Santa Francesca Romana and a Crucifixion, attributed to Paolo Guidotti and transferred from the Church of Saints Barbara and Catherine. The Nave also contains a painting of Three Archangels by Giovanni da San Giovanni.



English: The Cosmatesque floor
of the Basilica of Saint Chrysogonus, Rome.
Italiano: Roma, Basilica di san Crisogono in Trastevere:
pavimento cosmatesco.
Photo: December 2006.
User: Lalupa.
(Wikimedia Commons)


The Nave has a Trinity and Angels by Giacinto Gimignani, while the Altar has a Guardian Angel by Ludovico Gimignani. The Presbytery and Ciborium are surrounded by four alabaster Columns; a work by Soria. The Apse has frescoes of the Life of Saint Crisogono (16th-Century) and, below, Madonna and Child with Saints Crisogono and James, by the 12th-Century School of Pietro Cavallini. The Presbytery Vault is frescoed with a depiction of Our Lady by Giuseppe Cesari.

Excavations

Remains from the first Church, possible from the reign of Emperor
Constantine I, and earlier Roman houses, can be seen in the lower parts, reached by a staircase in the Sacristy. The ruins are confusing, but you can easily find the Apse of the old Church, and you can see the remains of the Martyr's Shrine in the middle of the Apse wall. The Church had an uncommon form; rather than the normal Basilica Plan, with a central Nave and two Aisles, it has a single Nave.

On either side of the Apse, are rooms known as pastophoria, service rooms of a type uncommon in the West. but normal in Eastern Churches. The one on the right-hand side is thought to have been used as a diaconium, with functions resembling those of the
Sacristy in later Churches. The other would probably have been a protesis, where Holy Relics were kept.



Mosaic of Virgin and Child
with Saint Chrysogonus (left)
and Saint James the Greater (right).
At the Church of San Crisogono,
Rome, Italy, circa 1273-1308.
Photo: July 2011.
User: Adam sk.
Author: Church of San Crisogono-in-Trastevere, Rome.
(Wikimedia Commons)


A number of basins were found during the excavations, including one cut into the South wall. As the plan is so atypical of Early-Roman Churches, some believe that the structure originally had a different function, and the presence of the basins could mean that it was a fullonica, a laundry and dye-house. The area was a commercial district at the time, so this is quite likely. Others think that the basin in the South wall was made for Baptism by immersion. As there were other basins, too, it seems more likely that it was originally intended for a different use, but it may well have been used as a Baptismal Font, after the building had been consecrated as a Church.

The paintings are from the 8th- to the 11th-Century, and include
Pope Sylvester Capturing the Dragon, St Pantaleon Healing the Blind Man, St Benedict Healing the Leper and The Rescue of St Placid. Several Sarcophagi have been preserved, some beautifully decorated. Below the first Church, are remains of Late-Republican Houses.

Liturgy

The Feast Day of Saint Chrysogonus, 24 November, is also the Dedication Day of the Church. Pilgrims and other Faithful, who attend Mass on this day, receive a Plenary Indulgence.


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