ZEPHYRINUS.

16 March, 2026

Fr. Wilfrid (Wilf) Elkin (R.I.P.).

Fr. Wilfrid (Wilf) Elkin (R.I.P.).

Please remember in your Prayers

Fr. Wilfrid (Wilf) Elkin,

who died on Saturday, 13 March 2021.

Please Pray for the repose of his Soul.

May He Rest In Peace.

The Web-Site of The Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle

can be found HERE

Fr. Wilfrid (Wilf) Elkin (R.I.P.).

Zephyrinus had the privilege and pleasure of meeting Fr. Elkin at The Latin Mass Society’s Training Week for Priests and Servers at Ushaw College, Durham, in 2011.

Fr. Elkin told Zephyrinus how, in the Early-1960s, ON A DAILY BASIS, there were FOUR HUNDRED Priests and Seminarians attending The Divine Holy Mass in Saint Cuthbert’s Chapel, Ushaw College.

Mass in Saint Cuthbert’s Chapel,
Ushaw College, Durham, England,
during a Latin Mass Society Training Week
for Priests and Servers, April 2011.

Fr. Elkin was one of the Priests

on the Right-Hand Side in the Choir Stalls.

Photo: Latin Mass Society
http://www.lms.org.uk/

When Fr. Elkin told the above saga to Zephyrinus in 2011, there were only FOUR Priests and Seminarians at Ushaw College.

In 2011, said Fr. Elkin, the current Seminarians (FOUR) would attend the Modern Novus Ordo Mass in one of the Offices of the College, cluttered with hoovers, dust-pans and brushes, plastic dustbins, etc, because they thought “the Saint Cuthbert’s Chapel was too large”.

Such is the success of The Modern Novus Ordo Mass and the outstanding success of “. . . the breath of fresh air through the windows of The Catholic Church”, as regaled in Vatican II.

Fr. Elkin was, for many years, the Author of a well-regarded Catholic Blog, entitled “Let The Welkin Ring”. His Blog can be found HERE

Fr. Elkin, whose nickname was “The Welkin” (there is a long and convoluted explanation of this epithet), was Ordained at Ushaw College, Durham, in 1959.

He Served in Pennywell, Sunderland; North Kenton, Newcastle; Consett; Ryhope, Sunderland; then, finally, in Barnard Castle.

Requiescat In Pace.

May He Rest In Peace.

The Monday Of The Fourth Week In Lent. The Lenten Station Is At The Basilica Of The Four Holy Crowned Martyrs (Santi Quattro Coronati). Violet Vestments.

Peterborough Cathedral.
© Chel@SweetbriarDreams
www.sweetbriardreams.blogspot.co.uk

Text from The Saint Andrew Daily Missal,
unless otherwise stated.

Monday of the Fourth Week in Lent.

Station at the Four Holy Crowned Martyrs.

Indulgence of 10 Years and 10 Quarantines.

Violet Vestments.

The First Courtyard, with The Guard Tower,
The Basilica of Santi Quattro Coronati
(The Four Holy Crowned Martyrs), Rome.
Photo: November 2005.
Source: Own work.
Author: Lalupa
(Wikimedia Commons)

The Station is on Mount Cælius, in a Church erected in the

7th-Century A.D. in honour of The Four Officers of The

Roman Army, who, having refused to adore a statue of Aesculapius, received The Crown of Martyrdom. These were "The Four Crowned Ones", whose Relics are Venerated in this Sanctuary, together with the head of the Martyr, Saint Sebastian, an Officer of The Army of Emperor Diocletian. This Basilica was one of twenty-five Parish Churches of Rome in the 5th-Century A.D.

The Epistle relates to us the famous Judgement of Solomon. One of the two women who appealed to his justice, having suffocated her child, whilst asleep, was jealous of her rival, whose son was living. She represents the Synagogue, whose rulers, by their indifference, had stifled Religious Life in Israel and who were jealous of the Gentiles, to whom the Church had given life through Baptism and Penance. Penitents and Catechumens prepared themselves for Baptism and Penance during Lent. Let us also prepare ourselves for our Easter Confession.

The Wisdom of Solomon, admired by the whole World, is a figure of the wisdom of the true Solomon, whose doctrine comes to regenerate the world. The Gospel of today establishes another superiority of Jesus over His Royal Ancestor: Solomon had built a Temple, rich beyond compare. Jesus, speaking of His Own Body, throws this challenge to His enemies: "Destroy this Temple, and in Three Days I will raise It up." He Rises, indeed, The Third Day after His Death. From The Church, His Mystical Body, He drives out the unworthy, as He had driven out The Sellers from the Temple, and receives into it all those who believe in Him.

Let us make ourselves pleasing to God, in body and in Soul, by the Religious Observance of The Holy Practices of Lent.

Mass: Deus, in nómine.
Preface: Of Lent.

Internal Courtyard,
The Basilica of Santi Quattro Coronati
(The Four Holy Crowned Martyrs), Rome.
Photo: September 2006.
Source: Own work.
Author: Lalupa
(Wikimedia Commons)

The following Text is from Wikipedia - the free encyclopædia.

Santi Quattro Coronati is an ancient Minor Basilica in Rome. The original Church dates back to the 4th- or 5th-Century A.D., and is devoted to four anonymous Saints and Martyrs.

The complex of the Basilica, with its two Courtyards, the fortified Cardinal Palace with the Saint Sylvester Chapel, and the Monastery, with its cosmatesque Cloister, is built in a silent and green part of Rome, between the Colosseum and San Giovanni-in-Laterano.

“Santi Quattro Coronati” means “The Four Holy Crowned Ones” [i.e. Martyrs], and refers to the fact that the Saints’ names are not known, and therefore referred to with their number, and that they were Martyrs, since the Crown, together with the Branches of Palm, is an ancient symbol of Martyrdom.

According to the Passion of Saint Sebastian, the Four Saints were Soldiers, who refused to sacrifice to Aesculapius, and therefore were killed by order of Emperor Diocletian (284 A.D. - 305 A.D.).

The bodies of the Martyrs were buried in the Cemetery of Santi Marcellino e Pietro, on the fourth mile of via Labicana, by Pope Miltiades and Saint Sebastian (whose Skull is preserved in the Church).

Pope Miltiades decided that the Martyrs should be Venerated with the names of Claudius, Nicostratus, Simpronianus and Castorius.

The bodies of the Martyrs are kept in four ancient Sarcophagi in the Crypt. According to a Lapid, dated 1123, the Head of one of the Four Martyrs is buried in Santa Maria-in-Cosmedin.

Tradition holds the first Church was begun by Pope Miltiades in the 4th-Century A.D., on the North Side of The Cælian Hill. One of the first Churches of Rome, it bore the Titulus "Aemilianæ", from the name of the Foundress, who probably owned the elaborate Roman villa, whose structure is evident under the Church. The Church was completed at the end of the 6th-Century A.D., and, because of its proximity to the Mediæval Papal residence of The Lateran Palace, it became prominent in its day.

The first renovations occurred under Pope Leo IV (847 A.D. - 855 A.D.), who built the Crypt under the Nave, added Side Aisles, enclosed the Courtyard before the facade, and built the Bell-Tower and the Chapels of Saint Barbara and Saint Nicholas. The Basilica, Carolingian in Style, was ninety-five metres long and fifty metres wide.

Basilica of The Four Holy Crowned Martyrs,
Rome.
Photo: May 2008.
Source: Own work.
Author: Lalupa
(Wikimedia Commons)

This Church, however, was burned to the ground by Robert Guiscard's Troops during the Norman Sack of Rome (1084). Instead of re-building the original Basilica to scale, Pope Paschal II built a smaller Basilica with two Courtyards, one in front of the other; the first corresponding to the original 9th-Century A.D. Courtyard, while the second was sited over the initial part of the Nave.

The two Aisles were included in The Cardinal Palace and in The Benedictine Monastery, Founded by Pope Paschal II. The original Apse of The Basilica, however, was preserved, and seems over-sized for the new Church, whose Nave was divided into three parts by means of Columns. The new Church was Consecrated on 20 January 1116. In 1338, it was a possession of Sassovivo Abbey.

English: Sassovivo Abbey, Perugia, Italy. This Abbey owned The Basilica of The Four Holy Crowned Martyrs in 1338.
Italiano: Abbazia di Sassovivo,
Foligno, Perugia, Umbria, Italy.
Photo: September 2007.
Source: File:Vista abbazia.JPG
This File: 29 September 2007.
User: Cantalamessa
(Wikimedia Commons)

In the 13th-Century, a Cosmatesque Cloister was added. “Cosmatesque”, or, “Cosmati”, is a Style of geometric decorative inlay stonework, typical of Mediæval Italy,
and especially of Rome and its surroundings.

It was used most extensively for the decoration of Church Floors, but was also used to decorate Church Walls, Pulpits, and Bishop's Thrones.

The name derives from the Cosmati, the leading family workshop of Marble Craftsmen in Rome, who created such geometrical decorations.

The style spread across Europe, where it was used in the most prestigious Churches: The High Altar of Westminster Abbey, for example, is decorated with a Cosmatesque Marble Floor.

The Cardinal Palace was enlarged by Cardinal Stefano Conti, a nephew of Pope Innocent III. Cardinal Conti also transformed the Palace into a Fortress, to shelter Popes in the Lateran during the Conflict with the Hohenstaufen Emperors.

In 1247, the Chapel of Saint Sylvester, on the Ground Floor of the Fortress, was Consecrated; it contains frescoes depicting stories of Pope Silvester I and Emperor Constantine I.

Painted in the backdrop of political struggles between Pope Innocent IV and the freshly-excommunicated Holy Roman Emperor, Frederick II, the frescoes are meant to underscore the desired Sovereignty of The Church (Pope Silvester I) over the Empire (Emperor Constantine).

In the 13th-Century, a Cosmatesque Cloister
was added to The Basilica of The Four Holy
Crowned Martyrs. Above, a Cosmatesque Screen,
Basilica di San Giovanni-in-Laterano, Rome.
Photo: September 2005.
Source: http://flickr.com/photos/
antmoose/42276311/
Author: Anthony Majanlahti
(Wikimedia Commons)

When the Popes moved to Avignon (14th-Century), the Cardinal Palace fell into ruin. Thus, upon the return of the Popes to Rome, with Pope Martin V, a Restoration was necessary. However, when The Papal Residence moved from the Lateran to the Vatican Palace, this Basilica lost importance.

In 1564, Pope Pius IV entrusted the Basilica and the buildings to the Augustinians, who still serve it.

The interest in the history of this complex renewed in 1913, thanks to the work of The Fine Arts Superintendent, Antonio Muñoz.

Once the building became an orphanage, The Augustinian Nuns put a revolving drum by its entrance, which was used as a “Deposit Box” for unwanted babies.

The Apse contains the frescoes (1630) by Giovanni da San Giovanni of the Four Patron Martyr Saints. The Altarpiece on the Left Nave, of San Sebastiano curato da Lucina e Irene, was painted by Giovanni Baglione.

The Second Courtyard holds the entrance to the Oratorio di San Silvestro, with frescoes of Mediæval origin, as well as others by Raffaellino da Reggio.

Pope Pius IV (Pope from 1559-1565)
entrusted The Basilica to The Augustinians.
Date: Circa 1560.
Source: [1] - Olio su tela, cm. 104 x 79.
Author: Cerchia di Tiziano - Cantalupo in Sabina
(Rieti), Collezione Camuccini.
(Wikimedia Commons)

Santi Quattro Coronati has belonged to the Titular Churches of Rome from at least the end of the 6th-Century A.D.

Among the previous Titulars are Pope Leo IV (847 A.D.), King Henry of Portugal, who, in 1580, donated the magnificent Wooden Ceiling, and Pope Benedict XV (1914). The full list is known only from the Pontificate of Gregory VII (1073-1085).

In 2002, art historian Andreina Draghi discovered an amazing display of frescoes, dating back to the 13th-Century, while restoring the Gothic Hall of the Monastery.

Most of the scenes were well-preserved under a thick layer of plaster, and represented the Twelve Months, the Liberal Arts, the Four Seasons and the Zodiac.

The image of King Solomon, a pious judge, painted on the Northern wall, led scholars to argue the room was meant to be a Hall of Justice.

Plaster was possibly laid after the 1348 Black Death for hygienic reasons, or, perhaps in the 15th-Century, when the Camaldolese left the Monastery.

Our Lady Of The Atonement Cathedral,
Baguio, Philippines.
Photo: 29 March 2024.
Source: Own work.
This File is made available under the
Creative Commons CC0 1.0
Universal Public Domain Dedication.
Author: Galaxiaria
(Wikimedia Commons)

Wells Cathedral.
Photo: August 2006.
Source: Own work.
This File is licensed under the
Creative Commons Attribution-
Share Alike 3.0 Unported licence.
Author: Steinsky
(Wikimedia Commons)

15 March, 2026

Lætare Sunday. The Fourth Sunday In Lent. Rose Vestments.

Peterborough Cathedral.
© Chel @ Sweetbriar Dreams
www.sweetbriardreams.blogspot.co.uk

Saint Rose of Lima.
Illustration: CATHOLIC ONLINE

The above Text is from The Lenten Lessons from
INSTITUTE OF CHRIST THE KING SOVEREIGN PRIEST

The following Text is from Wikipedia - the free encyclopædia.

Lætare Sunday is the Fourth Sunday of Lent, in the Western Christian Liturgical Calendar.

Traditionally, this Sunday has been a day of Celebration, within the austere period of Lent. This Sunday gets its name from the first few words (Incipit) of the Traditional Latin entrance (Introit) for the Mass of The Day. “Lætare Jerusalem” (“Rejoice, O Jerusalem”) is Latin from Isaiah 66:10.

This Sunday is also known as Mothering Sunday, Refreshment Sunday, Mid-Lent Sunday (in French “Mi-Carême”), and Rose Sunday (either because the Golden Rose (sent by Popes to Catholic female Sovereigns) used to be Blessed at this time), or because the use of Rose-Coloured (rather than Violet) Vestments was permitted on this day).

The Station Church at Rome for this day is Santa Croce-in-Gerusalemme, one of the seven main Basilicas; the Golden Rose, sent by Popes to Catholic female Sovereigns, used to be Blessed at this time and for this reason the day was sometimes called “Dominica de Rosa”.

Whilst the word “Rose” is appended to today’s Vestment colour, here is a brief resumé of Saint Rose of Lima (Feast Day 30 August).

Saint Rose of Lima (20 April 1586 – 24 August 1617), was a Member of the Third Order of Saint Dominic, in Lima, Peru, who became known for her life of severe asceticism and her care of the needy of the City.

A Lay Member of the Dominican Order, she was declared a Saint by The Catholic Church, being the first person born in the Americas to be Canonised as such.

As a Saint, Rose of Lima was designated as a Co-Patroness of The Philippines, along with Saint Pudentiana; both Saints were moved to Second-Class Patronage in September 1942 by Pope Pius XII, but Saint Rose remains the Primary Patroness of Peru and of the local people of Latin America.

Lætare Sunday. Divine Holy Mass For The Fourth Sunday In Lent. Sainte Messe Du Quatrième Dimanche De Carême. Rose Vestments.

Lætare Sunday.
Divine Holy Mass for the Fourth Sunday in Lent.
Church of Saint-Eugène-Sainte-Cécile, Paris.
Sunday, 30 March 2025.
Sainte messe du quatrième dimanche de Carême.
Available on YouTube
HERE

The Mass Booklet can be found
HERE

“Perfect”. By: Andrea Bocelli And Ed Sheeran.

“Perfect”.
Sung by:
Andrea Bocelli and Ed Sheeran.
Available on YouTube
HERE

Thanksgiving After Mass And Holy Communion.

From The Saint Andrew Daily Missal,

unless stated otherwise.

Offering Of All Masses In The World.

I unite myself with every Mass

which at this time is being offered throughout the World.

I place them in the hands of Mary, Mediatrix of All Graces,

that she may obtain, by this presentation of The Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity, of Christ to The Most Holy Trinity,

the deliverance of Souls from Purgatory, relief for the sick,

and the dying, the conversion of infidels and sinners,

and the perseverance of all The Faithful.

The Fourth Sunday In Lent (Lætare Sunday). The Lenten Station Is At The Basilica Of The Holy Cross-in-Jerusalem. Rose Vestments.

Text from The Saint Andrew Daily Missal,
unless otherwise stated.

The Fourth Sunday in Lent

(Lætare Sunday).

Station at the Church of The Holy Cross-in-Jerusalem.

Indulgence of 10 Years and 10 Quarantines.

Semi-Double.

Privileged Sunday of the First Class.

Violet, or Rose, Vestments.

English: Basilica of The Holy Cross-in-Jerusalem.
Italiano: Basilica di Santa Croce-in-Gerusalemme, Rome.
Latin: Basilica Sanctæ Crucis-in-Hierusalem.
One of the masterpieces of the “Barochetto Romano”,
by Pietro Passalacqua and Domenico Gregorini, from 1743.
Photo: February 2006.
Source: facade, s. croce in gerusalemme.
Author: Anthony M. from Rome.
(Wikimedia Commons)

During this week, the history of Moses is read by The Church in the Divine Office, in which two main lines of thought are summarised. On the one hand, we see Moses rescuing God’s people from the bondage of Egypt and bringing them safely across the Red Sea. On the other, we see him nourishing them with Manna in the desert; foretelling to them that God will send “The Prophet” (Gospel), in other words, the Messias; giving them the Law of Sinai; and leading them towards the Promised Land, flowing with milk and honey.

There, one day, Jerusalem (Communion) will rise from the ground with its Temple made after the pattern of the Tabernacle in the desert, and thither will the tribes of Israel go up to sing of what God has done for His people (Introit, Gradual, Communion). “Let my people go, that they may sacrifice to Me in the desert,” said God to Pharao, through Moses.

In today’s Mass, we see how these types have been fulfilled. For the true Moses is Christ, Who has delivered us from the bondage of sin (ibid.); and made us pass through the Waters of Baptism; Who feeds us with His Eucharist, of which the multiplication of the loaves is a type, and Who has brought us into the true Jerusalem, The Church, Figure of Heaven, where we shall sing forever the “Canticle of Moses and of The Lamb” (Apocalypse) in thanksgiving to The Lord for His Infinite Mercies to us.

It is, therefore, quite natural that the Station, today, should be made in Rome at the Church of The Holy Cross-in-Jerusalem. For Saint Helena, the mother of Emperor Constantine, who lived on Mount Coelius, in a Palace known as the Sessorian Mansion, with the purpose of placing there some Relics of The True Cross, converted it into a Sanctuary, which in some sense represents Jerusalem in Rome.

Basilica di Santa Croce-in-Gerusalemme, Rome.
Photo: September 2006.
Source: Own work.
Author: Lalupa
(Wikimedia Commons)

The Introit, Communion, and Tract, speak to us of Jerusalem, compared to Mount Sinai by Saint Paul in the Epistle for today. There, will the Christian people best raise their song of joy, “Laetare” (Introit, Epistle) on account of the victory won by Our Lord on The Cross at Jerusalem, and there, most easily, will be roused the memory of the Heavenly Jerusalem, whose gates have been opened to us by the Death of Christ.

It is for this reason, that, formerly on this day, it was the custom, in this same Church, Solemnly to Bless a Rose, the Queen of Flowers. For, as we are reminded by the forms used for the Blessing, in the Traditional practice of Christian iconography, Heaven is usually represented by a garden, beautiful with flowers. For this Blessing, Rose-Coloured Vestments were used, and on this day a Priest may Celebrate Mass and The Office in Vestments of this colour.

Formerly on this day, it was the custom, in this same Church (Basilica of The Holy Cross-in-Jerusalem), Solemnly to Bless a Rose, the Queen of Flowers. For, as we are reminded by the forms used for the Blessing, in the Traditional practice of Christian iconography, Heaven is usually represented by a garden, beautiful with flowers. for this Blessing, Rose-Coloured Vestments were used, and, on this day, a Priest may Celebrate Mass and The Office in Vestments of this colour. Lætare Sunday (Fourth Sunday in Lent) and
Gaudete Sunday (Third Sunday in Advent).
Image:
BLESSED JOHN HENRY NEWMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH

Hence, this custom was extended to the Third Sunday of Advent, “Gaudete”, or, “Rejoicing” Sunday, which, coming in the middle of Advent, stimulates us with a Holy Joy, to continue with courage our toilsome preparation for the Coming of The Lord. And, in its turn, “Lætare”, also “Rejoicing” Sunday, is a halting place in the midst of the Lenten Observance.

English:
The Ceiling, Basilica of The Holy Cross-in-Jerusalem.
Italiano: Santa Croce-in-Gerusalemme (Rome).
Painting by Corrado Giaquinto, from 1744,
“The Virgin presents Saint Helena
and Emperor Constantine to The Trinity”.
Photo: February 2006.
Source: nave painting, s. croce in gerusalemme
Author: Anthony M. from Rome, Italy.
(Wikimedia Commons)

Here, in the Church of Calvary at Rome, that is, of The Cross, our hope, The Church, sends a Ray of Light upon our Souls to stir us up to persevere in the struggle against the World, the flesh and the devil, until the Great Feast of Easter is reached.

“Rejoice, rejoice with joy,” we are told in the Introit, for, having died to sin with Our Lord during Lent, we are shortly to rise with Him by the Paschal Confession and Communion. The Gospel speaks at one and the same time of the multiplication of the loaves and the fishes, symbols of The Eucharist and of Baptism, which were formerly received on the same occasion at Easter, and, in the Epistle, allusion is made to our deliverance by the Sacrament of Baptism, which the Catechumens formerly received at this Season.

And, if we have had the misfortune to grievously offend Almighty God, we shall recover our freedom by means of our Easter Confession. In the Epistle, the story of Sara and Agar becomes thus an allegory, reminding us that Christ has freed us from the bondage of sin.

Every Parish Priest Celebrates Mass for the people of his Parish.

Mass: Lætáre, Jerúsalem.
Preface: Of Lent.

Pope Lucius II (1144 - 1145)
restored the Basilica of The Holy Cross-in-Jerusalem.
(Wikimedia Commons)

The following Text is from Wikipedia - the free encyclopædia.

The Basilica of The Holy Cross-in-Jerusalem (Latin: Basilica Sanctæ Crucis in Hierusalem, Italian: Basilica di Santa Croce in Gerusalemme) is a Roman Catholic Parish Church and Minor Basilica in Rome. It is one of the Seven Pilgrim Churches of Rome.

According to Tradition, the Basilica was Consecrated around 325 A.D., to house the Passion Relics brought to Rome from The Holy Land by Saint Helena of Constantinople, mother of the Roman Emperor, Constantine I.

At that time, the Basilica floor was covered with soil from Jerusalem, thus acquiring the Title “in Hierusalem” - it is not dedicated to the Holy Cross, which is in Jerusalem, but the Church itself is “in Jerusalem” in the sense that a “piece” of Jerusalem was moved to Rome for its foundation.

The Church is built around a room in Saint Helena’s Imperial Palace, Palazzo Sessoriano, which she adapted to a Chapel, around the year 320 A.D. Some decades later, the Chapel was turned into a true Basilica, called the Heleniana or Sessoriana. After falling into neglect, the Church was restored by Pope Lucius II (1144-1145). It assumed a Romanesque appearance, with a Nave and two Aisles, a Belfry and a Porch.

The Church was also modified, in the 16th-Century, but it assumed its current Baroque appearance under Pope Benedict XIV (1740-1758), who had been the Titular of the Basilica, prior to his elevation to the Papacy.

New streets were also opened to connect the Church to two other Major Roman Basilicas, San Giovanni in Laterano and Santa Maria Maggiore.

The façade of Santa Croce, designed by Pietro Passalacqua and Domenico Gregorini, shares the typical Late-Roman Baroque taste with these other Basilicas.

Archduke Albert. Archduke of Austria, Albrecht der

Fromme, Erzherzog von Österreich München, Duke of Lothier, Brabant, Limburg, Luxemburg and Guelders; Count of Flanders, Artois, Count Palatine of Burgundy; Hainaut and Namur. Peter Paul Rubens, who arrived in Rome in 1601, was commissioned by Albert of Austria to paint an Altarpiece for the Chapel of Saint Helena.

Artist: Juan Pantoja de la Cruz
Source: Alte Pinakothek.
Author: Juan Pantoja de la Cruz (1553 - 1608).
(Wikimedia Commons)

The Relics at Santa Croce were once in the ancient Saint Helena’s Chapel, which is partly under ground level. Here, the founder of the Church had some earth from Calvary dispersed, whence the name “in Hierusalem” of the Basilica.

In the Vault, is a mosaic designed by Melozzo da Forlì (before 1485), depicting Jesus Blessing, histories of The Cross and various Saints.

The Altar has a huge statue of Saint Helena, which was obtained from an ancient statue of Juno, discovered at Ostia. Mediæval Pilgrim Guides noted that the Chapel was considered so holy, that access to the Chapel by women was forbidden.

The Apse of the Church includes frescoes telling the legends of the True Cross, attributed to Melozzo, to Antoniazzo Romano and Marco Palmezzano.

The Museum of the Basilica houses a mosaic icon from the 14th-Century. According to the legend, Pope Gregory I had it made after a vision of Christ. Notable is the tomb of Cardinal Francisco de los Ángeles Quiñones, by Jacopo Sansovino (1536).

Peter Paul Rubens, who had arrived in Rome by way of Mantua in 1601, was commissioned by Archduke Albert of Austria to paint an Altarpiece with three panels for the Chapel of Saint Helena. Two of these paintings, Saint Helena with the True Cross and the mocking of Christ, are now in Grasse, France. The third, the elevation of The Cross, is lost. Before his marriage, the Archduke had been made a Cardinal in this Church.