Thursday, 13 March 2014

Lenten Station At Saint Laurence's In Panisperna. Thursday, The First Week In Lent.


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.


File:Eglise San Lorenzo in Panisperna.JPG

Church of San Lorenzo in Panisperna in rione Monti, Rome.
Photo: March 2010.
Source: Own work.
Author: LPLT
This file is licensed under the 
(Wikimedia Commons)


The Station at Rome was established by Pope Gregory II, in the old Church of Saint Laurence in Panisperna, erected to the glory of the heroic Deacon, on the very spot where he suffered martyrdom.

The Church reminds the Catechumens that, since the coming of Jesus, it is no longer the race of Israel, alone, that has the promise, but that all can enter the Church by Baptism and partake of the Eucharistic bread of the children of God.

If the heathen will solemnly deny the evil deeds of his fathers and practise the Christian law of Penance and Charity (Epistle), his Prayer will be granted, as was that of the woman who belonged to the accursed race of Canaan, but whose faith was great (Gospel).

Let us seek in the Eucharist the strength required to observe Lent. For it is our Fasting, in conjunction with the sacrifice of Jesus, that will obtain for us salvation (Secret, Communion, Postcommunion).


File:Martyre de Saint-Laurent par Pasquale Cati di Jesi.JPG

Saint Laurence's Martyrdom, 
by Pasquale Cati (1589), 
in the Church of San Lorenzo in Panisperna, Rome.
Photo: March 2010.
Source: Own work.
Author: LPLT
This file is licensed under the 
(Wikimedia Commons)


San Lorenzo in Panisperna, or San Lorenzo in Formoso, is a Church on Via Panisperna, Rome, Italy. It was built on the site of Saint Laurence' Martyrdom.

Panisperna most probably refers to the tradition of the Poor Clares (in the adjacent Convent) of distributing bread and ham (pane e perna) on 10 August, Lawrence's Feast Day, in remembrance of his distributing funds from the Church to the poor. "Formoso" refers to Pope Formosus who built the first attested Church here.


Tradition states that the first building was constructed during the reign of Emperor Constantine I, only 100 years after the martyrdom of Saint Lawrence, though the first written evidence is from 1300, when Pope Boniface VIII rebuilt the Church and annexed an Abbey to it. That Abbey was given to the Benedictines in 1451, and then had the Poor Clares settled in it by Cardinal Jacopo Colonna in 1896, who also restored the Church and Monastery.


File:SanLorenzoinPanisperna.jpg

English: The Chapel of Saint Brigid 
in the Church of Saint Laurence in Panisperna, Rome.
Italian: Chiesa di San Lorenzo in Panisperna, 
Cappella di Santa Brigida.
Photo: 1996.
Source: Own work.
Author: Torvindus
(Wikimedia Commons)


The Franciscans now serve the Church. In the 5th-Century, this Church was one of Rome's Stational Churches and was visited by the Pope on its Titular day,  the Thursday of the First Week in Lent. Recent Popes have revived this ancient custom.

The present Church is a result of a re-building by Carlo Rainaldi in 1575–1576, under Pope Gregory XIII. It was at this time that it became known as 'in Panisperna' rather than 'in Formoso', and that the present Facade was built. 

A new Outer Portico was added in the 17th-Century, then restored and decorated with images of Saint Lawrence and Saint Francis of Assisi in 1893–1894 by Pope Leo XIII, who, in 1843, had been ordained Bishop in this Church. Pope Leo XIII also added a steep flight of steps, in front of the Church, leading to a tree-lined Courtyard. There is a modern bronze statue of Saint Bridget of Sweden, here.

A Mediaeval house is preserved, next to the Church, with an exterior staircase, one of the few such houses to have been preserved in Rome.


File:Porte San Lorenzo in Panisperna.JPG

Entrance door of the Church of San Lorenzo in Panisperna, Rome.
Photo: March 2010.
Source: Own work.
Author: LPLT
This file is licensed under the 
(Wikimedia Commons)


The Church has a single Nave with three Chapels on each side.


South side

Includes a painting of Saint Clare of Assisi (1756) by Antonio Nessi, and a Ceiling fresco of Glory of Saint Lawrence by Antonio Bicchierai.
Contains the Tomb of the brothers, Saint Crispin and Saint Crispinian, with a painting by Giovanni Francesco Romano.
Painting of the Immaculate Conception by Giuseppe Ranucci.

North side


Painting of stigmata of Saint Francis by Niccolò Lapiccola.
Chapel of Saint Bridget, where she was buried before her body was moved to Sweden. She had used to beg for alms for the poor outside this Church, and prayed before the Crucifix by the High Altar. Now, a martyr, named Victoria, lies underneath the Altar in the Chapel. 
The painting of Saint Bridget Praying before the Crucifix is by Giuseppe Montesanti and was painted in 1757.
Includes an 18th-Century Crucifix of the Roman School.

Under its Porch is a Chapel containing the oven, said to have been used for Saint Laurence's Martyrdom. A Late-16th-Century fresco of the Martyrdom of Saint Laurence stands behind the High Altar (by Pasquale Cati, a mediocre pupil of Michelangelo). The Crucifix, by the High Altar, is from the 14th-Century.



No comments:

Post a Comment