Non-Italic Text taken from The Saint Andrew Daily Missal for Saturday of the Second Week in Lent
Pictures and italic text taken from Wikipedia (the free encyclopaedia) and from http://romanchurches.wikia.com/wiki/Santi_Marcellino_e_Pietro
Station at Saints Marcellinus and Peter
Indulgence of 10 years and 10 Quarantines
Violet Vestments
Santi Marcellino e Pietro al Laterano.
Built: 4th-Century, restored several times, rebuilt 1751 A.D.
Built: 4th-Century, restored several times, rebuilt 1751 A.D.
The Station is in the Basilica founded by Saint Helen on the Via Lavicana, where were buried the bodies of Saint Marcellinus, Priest, and Saint Peter, Exorcist, martyred at Rome during the Diocletian Persecution. Their names are mentioned in the Canon of the Mass. This Church was one of the twenty-five Roman Parish Churches in the 5th-Century.
Isaac had two sons. Esau represents the people of God who sell their birthright to gratify their carnal appetite. Jacob represents the Gentiles who check their passions and are blessed by Heaven.
Jesus, in the same way, said: "A man had two sons: The elder is the Jewish element of the primitive Church, which is scandalised at the vocation of the Gentiles and is loathe to associate with them; the prodigal is the pagan element. After having wasted all the gifts of God, these unhappy people mourn their sins and atone for them; they come to Jesus, who opens His arms to them, presses them to His Heart, and satisfies their hunger with His Sacred Body and Precious Blood in the eucharistic feast.
Let us ask God to bless our Lenten fast, so that the mortification of our flesh may bring health to our Souls (Collect).
Pope Alexander IV restored Santi Marcellino e Pietro in 1256
The first church here was built by Pope Siricius in the 4th-Century, close to the Jewish catacombs on the Via Labicana. A hospice, which became a centre for pilgrims, was located here. It was restored by Pope Gregory III in the 8th-Century.
The relics of the martyrs Marcellinus and Peter were brought to the church in 1256 A.D., and the church was restored the same years on order from Pope Alexander IV. Twenty years later, the hospice and church were given to the Confraternity of those Commended to the Saviour.
The present church is the result of Pope Benedict XIV's rebuilding in 1751. At that time, the church was given to the Discalced Carmelites, who served it until 1906. Since 1911, it has been a parochial church served by diocesan clergy.
The church was listed among the tituli as Nicomedis. Among its titular priests were Louis d'Albret, Oliviero Carafa, Jorge da Costa, Philippe de Luxembourg, Louis d'Amboise, Georges II d'Amboise, Pius IX and Jean-Marie Lustiger. The current titular is Aloysius Matthew Ambrozic, archbishop emeritus of Toronto.
Pope Gregory III (Papacy began 18 March 731 A.D. Ended 28 November 741 A.D.). Restored the Minor Basilica of Saints Marcellinus and Peter in the 8th-Century
The church stands below the present street-level, indicating its ancient foundation. The present building is on a square plan and is almost cube-shaped, the main body of it being slightly lower than it is wide and long. The fabric is rendered in pale orange with the architectural details in white travertine.
The entrance façade is embellished in a style close to Neo-Classicism, indicating that the Baroque was becoming unfashionable. It was designed by Girolamo Theodoli, an Italian nobleman as well as an architect who also designed the campanile at Santa Maria dei Miracoli (his best known work is the Teatro Argentina).
The central portion of the façade projects, and has two pairs of gigantic Ionic pilasters in shallow relief flanking the entrance. Another pair of these pilaster strips is folded into the internal corners created by the façade's projection, two more pairs decorate the outer corners of the façade and the last two are round the corners, where the side walls are recessed. These support a powerful and deep entablature which runs along the sides of the church but not round the back, where the building abuts onto the former convent. The frieze of this on the façade bears an inscription proclaiming Pope Benedict's rebuilding, and the pediment above the projecting portion contains his coat-of-arms. The doorway has a simple triangular pediment, too. There is a central rectangular window below the entablature, the lintel of which intrudes into the architrave.
The roofline of the church over the façade is higher than the cornice, and on either side of the pediment it bears a pair of stone flaming urns. Behind these is a pair of tiny lead saucer domes on cylindrical drums and bearing ball finials. The attractive and rather low main dome is set on a drum with four buttresses and four oeil-de-boeuf windows, and has five steps. Its lantern is tall, with four arched windows separated by volutes and topped by ogee curves. The cap is shaped like an upturned goblet, and supports another ball finial.
The side walls of the church are more simply treated, and the central section of each is recessed and has a rectangular window high up. The interior is clearly influenced by the work of Francesco Borromini. It has a Greek cross plan.
Interior of Santi Marcellino e Pietro showing the Martyrdom of SS. Marcellinus and Peter, by Gaetano Lapi, painted in 1751. Photo taken from http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/
The altarpiece by Gaetano Lapis, painted in 1751, depicts the Martyrdom of Sts Marcellinus and Peter. Underneath the mensa is an urn with relics of the martyr St Marcia.
The altar on the right side is dedicated to St Gregory the Great. The altarpiece shows The Mass of St Gregory, by Filippo Evangelisti. Next to it as a small chapel dedicated to Our Lady of Lourdes; the ceiling was painted by N. Caselli in 1903.
On the left side is an altar dedicated to the Blessed Virgin, with a copy of Guido Reni's The Virgin in Glory with Angels, St Joseph and St Rita. Next to it is the Chapel of Reconciliation.
On the first column on the left from the entrance is an image of SS Marcellinus and Peter, placed here in 1256, with an inscription recording Pope Alexander IV's restoration of that year. This is the Station Church for the third Saturday of Lent.
Feasts that are celebrated, with special solemnity, at this Minor Basilica, are those of Our Lady of Lourdes, 11 February, and SS Marcellinus and Peter, 2 June (celebrated here on the first Sunday in June, but in the general Church calendar with an optional memoria ). They are always celebrated and venerated together.
No comments:
Post a Comment