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

Tuesday 31 March 2020

Tuesday In Passion Week. The Lenten Station Is At Saint Cyriacus's (The Basilica Of Santa Maria-In-Via-Lata).





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

Tuesday in Passion Week.

Station at Saint Cyriacus's.

Indulgence of 10 Years and 10 Quarantines.

Violet Vestments.



English: Basilica of Santa Maria-in-Via-Lata, Rome.
Italiano: Roma, Santa Maria-in-Via-Lata.
Photo: December 2006.
Source: Own work.
Author: Lalupa
(Wikimedia Commons)


The Church, today, unites the memory of a Martyr with that of The Passion of Jesus, in making The Lenten Station in The Church of The Holy Deacon, Cyriacus, Martyred, under Emperor Diocletian, at The Gates of Rome.

This Church, one of the twenty-five Parish Churches of Rome in the 5th-Century A.D., having been destroyed by fire, the body of The Holy Martyr was Translated to beneath The High Altar of Santa Maria-in-Via-Lata, which became The Place of Assembly for this day.

The Epistle and Gospel tell us of the approaching Passion of The Messiah and of The Rejection of Israel, who are replaced by The Gentiles in The Church.

“Daniel, who has destroyed Bel and slain the Dragon” (Epistle), is Jesus, Who denounces the crimes and sins of the World (Gospel). The Babylonians sought to destroy the Prophet, by throwing him as food to the hungry lions. The Jews, also, “sought to kill Jesus” and, for this dark design, “their hour is always at hand”.


Basilica of Santa Maria-in-Via-Lata, Rome.
Photo: 26 March 2014.
Source: Own work.
(Wikimedia Commons)


But, like Daniel, full of fortitude, He awaits The Lord (Introit), and God, “Who does not abandon those who love and seek Him” (Epistle, Offertory), “delivers Him from unjust men and from all the ills that threaten Him” (Gradual, Communion). “Those who had wished to destroy Daniel were themselves thrown to the lions and devoured instantly” (Epistle). In the same way, the Deicide Nation suffered the penalty of its crime. Forty years later, Jerusalem was taken, by The Roman Legions, after five long months of famine.

Fearing the chastisements of Divine Justice, let us persevere in the expiatory practice of Fasting, in order that we may be made worthy of The Eternal Reward accorded to The Just (Collect).

Mass: Exspécta Dóminum.
Preface: Of The Holy Cross.


English: Engraving of the Minor Basilica of Saint Cyriacus
(Santa Maria-in-Via-Lata).
Italiano: Santa Maria-in-Via-Lata.
Engraver: Giuseppe Vasi (1710-1782).
Author: Giuseppe Vasi (1710-1782).
(Wikimedia Commons)


English: Santa Maria-in-Via-Lata, Rome.
Italiano: Roma, s. Maria-in-Via-Lata.
Photo: 20 June 2010.
Source: Own work.
Author: Lalupa
(Wikimedia Commons)

The following Text is from Wikipedia - the free encyclopædia.

Santa Maria-in-Via-Lata is a Church on the Via del Corso (the ancient Via Lata), in Rome. It stands diagonally across from the Church of San Marcello-al-Corso.

It is claimed that Saint Paul spent two years here, in the Crypt under the Church, whilst under house arrest waiting for his trial.


English: The Church of Santa Maria-in-Via-Lata, Rome.
Italiano: Chiesa di Santa Maria in Via Lata, Roma.
Facciata di Pietro da Cortona
Photo: 17 October 2005.
Author: Anthony Majanlahti.
(Wikimedia Commons)


The first Christian place of worship here was a 5th-Century A.D. Oratory, in the Roman building beneath the present Church. This was constructed within the remains of a large Roman warehouse, some 250 metres long, which has also been excavated. The Church's Upper Level was added in the 9th-Century A.D., and murals added to the Lower Level between the 7th- and 9th-Centuries A.D., (these have been detached for conservation reasons). The Cosmatesque Pavement from this phase survives.

The Church's 13th-Century icon of The Virgin Advocate, is said to have performed many Miracles. The Arcus Novus (an Arch erected by Emperor Diocletian in 303 A.D. - 304 A.D.), which stood on this site, was destroyed by rebuilding of the Church in the Late-15th-Century. Antonio Tebaldeo, poet and friend of Raphæl, was buried at the end of the North Aisle in 1537, though his tomb was designed in 1776.


"The Virgin Advocate",
Church of Santa Maria-in-Via-Lata, Rome.
Photo taken from Google Images and cryptavialata.it


The Church was renovated in 1639 by Cosimo Fanzago, but the facade, with its Corinthian Columns imposing vertical emphasis, was completed (1658-1660) by a design from Pietro da Cortona. He appears to evoke a Triumphal Arch in the facade.

The High Altar's Madonna Advocata (1636) is one of the few paintings in Churches attributed to Bernini (perhaps by Santi Ghetti). The Ciborium in the Apse is made from alabaster and lapis lazuli. The first excavations of the site also occurred at this date, as commemorated by a Relief in the Crypt by Cosimo Fancelli. The families of Joseph and Lucien Bonaparte were buried here in the 18th-Century.


English: The Nave,
Santa Maria-in-Via-Lata, Rome.
Deutsch: Innenraum der Kirche.
Photo: 6 February 2011.
Source: Own work.
(Wikimedia Commons)


The first Altarpiece is a Martyrdom of Saint Andrew (1685), by Giacinto Brandi, while the second Altarpiece is of Saints Giuseppe, Nicola, and Biagio, by Giuseppe Ghezzi. In the Chapel, to the Left of the Apse, is a Madonna with Child and Saints Cyriac and Catherine, by Giovanni Odazzi.

The second Altar, on the Left, has a Saint Paul Baptising Sabine and Children, by Pier Leone Ghezzi, while the first Altarpiece is a Virgin and Saints, by Pietro de Pietri.

Monday 30 March 2020

Thanksgiving After Mass And Holy Communion.



From The Saint Andrew Daily Missal,
unless stated otherwise.

Prayer To Jesus Christ Crucified.

A Plenary Indulgence is attached to the recitation of this Prayer before a figure of Christ Crucified, subject to Confession, Communion, and Prayers for the intention of The Sovereign Pontiff.
(Popes Clement VIII, Benedict XIV, Pius VII, Blessed Pius IX, Leo XIII, Pius XI).
Since 1933, one Our Father, one Hail Mary, one Glory Be is sufficient.


Artist: René de Cramer.
"Copyright Brunelmar/Ghent/Belgium".
Used with Permission.

Behold, O most kind and most sweet Jesus,
I cast myself upon my knees in Thy sight,
and with the most fervent desire of my Soul.

I Pray, and beseech Thee, that Thou wouldst impress upon my heart lively sentiments of Faith, Hope, and Charity, with true contrition for my sins and a firm purpose of amendment; while, with deep affection and grief of Soul, I ponder within myself and mentally contemplate Thy Five Wounds, having before my eyes the words which David the Prophet put on Thy Lips concerning Thee: “They have pierced My Hands and My Feet, they have numbered all My Bones” (Psalm xxi. 17, 18).

Sunday 29 March 2020

“I AM”.



“I AM”.
Illustration: ROMAN CHRISTENDOM

The Re-Dedication Of England, As The Dowry Of Mary, On 29 March 2020.



Painting by Amanda de Pulford of Our Lady of Walsingham.
To be Blessed by Pope Francis.
Independent Catholic News.
8 February 2020.
Illustration: INSIDE THE VATICAN

The Re-Dedication of England as The Dowry of Mary,
on 29 March 2020, is both a personal promise of the people of our Country and a renewal of the Entrustment Vows made by King Richard II, per the Web-Site BEHOLD2020, The Official Companion of The Re-Dedication of England as Mary’s Dowry.

As the Web-Site further states:

This year, the Christians of England are called
to make a Personal Dedication to Mary,
taking up her example as Christ’s first disciple;

History shows us that, when the people Pray a surrender
to God’s Will for their lives, Society is transformed;

By taking up this Personal Dedication in 2020, you can be a part of the renewal of this Nation, drawing ourselves closer to
The Will of Our Loving God, through Mary;

King Richard II (Reigned 1377-1399) made a Prayer to Our Lady of Pew [Editor: Chapel of Our Lady of Pew is in Westminster Abbey], at the time of The Peasants’ Revolt in 1381, placing his Country under her Maternal Care and Consecrating England to her By Right, as The Bride of The Holy Spirit: England being a “Dowry,” as it were, the wealth a Bride brings to her Husband;

We talk about Catholic England in a Blog Post HERE;

The Independent Catholic News reported that Pope Francis will be Blessing a Painting of Our Lady of Walsingham on Wednesday, 12 February 2020, during his Weekly Audience;

The Painting will then return to The Shrine to Our Lady
of Walsingham for The Re-Dedication on 29 March 2020, and then embark on a journey to visit every Parish in the Country. LINK to full Article;

BEHOLD2020 has a Section on their Site listing activities
to participate in to prepare for The Re-Dedication,
that includes Prayer and Pilgrimage;

During our Mary’s Dowry Pilgrimage, in August 2020, we will visit The Shrine to Our Lady of Walsingham and pursue our own Re-Dedication to Mary. Join us ! For more information, follow this LINK;

If you live in The United States, consider visiting The National Shrine to Our Lady of Walsingham, located in Williamsburg, Virginia. LINK to Web-Site for more information and directions.

Our Lady of Walsingham,
Pray for us
and the Country of England.

Amen !

Thanksgiving After Mass And Holy Communion.



From The Saint Andrew Daily Missal,
unless stated otherwise.

Act of Resignation.

 By a special act of Pope Saint Pius X, on 9 March 1904, a Plenary Indulgence was attached “in articulo mortis” to the following Prayer, even when recited in full health long before death, after Confession and Communion.

O Lord, my God, from this moment do I accept from Thy Hands, with a quiet and trusting heart, whatsoever death Thou shalt choose to send me, with its pains and griefs.

Re-Dedication Of England To Our Blessed Lady. Sunday, 29 March 2020.



This Article is taken from, and can be read in full at,
OUR LADY OF LOURDES AND SAINT JOSEPH



On Sunday, 29 March 2020, at 12 noon,
The Re-Dedication will take place throughout the Country. 

King Richard II first gave England as a gift to Our Lady, in Westminster Abbey in 1381. We are now invited to give ourselves, as the people of this Country, to Mary. We respond to this invitation on The Day of Re-Dedication in two ways: By making a Personal Promise and a Communal Entrustment. 

Our Personal Promise brings us closer to Mary, the first Disciple of Christ. In this, we unite in her joy by following her openness to God’s calling. 

Our Communal Entrustment unites us together, as the people of our Country, in Prayer, by renewing The Vows of Dedication made to Mary by our ancestors. 

You can join in with The Act of Re-Dedication by using the Prayers at Behold 2020

This Re-Dedication will take place in our own Parish
during 11.30 a.m. Mass, Sunday, 29 March 2020.
Please join me, as families and individuals, 
during what is a challenging time for us all.

Mass.

No Public Worship:


SATURDAY VIGIL 5.30 P.M.

SUNDAY 11.30 A.M.

MONDAY-THURSDAY 09.00 A.M.

FRIDAY 12 NOON.

SATURDAY 10 A.M.


Fr. Kevin Hale.

Parish Priest.


Our Lady of Lourdes and Saint Joseph,
161, Leigh Road,
Leigh-on-Sea,
Essex SS9 1JF,
United Kingdom.

Web-Site: HERE.

Passion Sunday. The Lenten Station Is At The Basilica Of Saint Peter’s.




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

Passion Sunday.

Station at Saint Peter's.

Indulgence of 10 Years and 10 Quarantines.

Semi-Double.

Privileged Sunday of The First Class.

Violet Vestments.



“They took up stones, therefore, to cast at Him;
but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the Temple”.
Artist: René de Cramer.
"Copyright Brunelmar/Ghent/Belgium".
Used with Permission.



English: Saint Peter's Basilica, Rome.
The iconic dome dominates the skyline. Christianity became
the dominant religion of Western Civilisation when
The Roman Empire converted to Christianity.
Magyar: Vatikánváros látképe.
Italiano: Veduta del Vaticano dal Tevere.
한국어: 테베레 강 방향의 성 베드로 대성전. 로마의
지평선을 압도하는 전통적인 돔 양식이다.
Kiswahili: Vatikani ikitazamwa kutoka mto Tiber.
中文: 从台伯河遥望梵蒂冈.
Photo: January 2005.
Source: Flickr
Reviewer: Andre Engels
(Wikimedia Commons)




Saint Peter's Basilica.
Artist: Giovanni Paolo Panini (1692–1765).
Date: 1731.
Current location: Saint Louis Art Museum, Missouri, United States of America.
(Wikimedia Commons)



"We are not unaware", says Saint Leo, "that, among all Christian celebrations, The Paschal Mystery holds the first place. Our manner of living throughout the whole year, by reforming our ways, ought to give us the dispositions for keeping it worthily and in a fitting manner. These present days, which we know to be close to that most sublime Sacrament of Divine Mercy, require Devotion in a yet higher degree" (Second Nocturn).

The Mystery, of which Saint Leo speaks, is Our Redeemer's Passion, whose Anniversary is close at hand. Priest and Mediator of The New Testament, Jesus will soon ascend His Cross, and The Blood, which He will shed, He will offer to His Father, entering into The Holies, which is Heaven itself (Epistle).

The Church sings: "All hail, thou Mystery adored ! Hail, Cross !, on which The Life Himself died, and by death our life restored ! " (Hymn of Vespers). The Eucharist is the Memorial of this boundless love of a God for men, for, when instituting it, Our Lord said: "This is My Body, which shall be delivered for you; this Chalice is The New Testament in My Blood. Do this . . . in Commemoration of Me " (Communion).

What is the response of Man to all these Divine Favours ? "His own received Him not," says Saint John, speaking of the welcome which the Jews gave Jesus. "For good, they rendered Him evil, and prepared for Him nothing but insults." "You", Our Lord told them, "dishonour Me," and, in fact, the Gospel shows us the ever-growing hatred of the Sanhedrin.


English: Sangallo's design for Saint Peter's Basilica.
Italiano: Progetto di Antonio da Sangallo per San Pietro in Vaticano.
Date: 30 June 2007 (original upload date).
Source: Transferred from it.wikipedia; transferred to Commons
Author: Original uploader was Etienne (Li) at it.wikipedia
(Wikimedia Commons)



Abraham, the father of God's people, firmly believed The Divine Promises, which heralded the future Messias, and, in Limbo, his Soul, which, as believing was beyond the reach of eternal death, rejoiced to see these promises fulfilled in The Coming of Christ.

But the Jews, who ought to have recognised in Jesus, The Son of God, greater than Abraham and The Prophets, because eternal, misunderstood the meaning of His words, insulted Him by treating Him as a blasphemer and "possessed", and tried to stone Him (Gospel). And God tells Him, in the person of Jeremias: "Be not afraid at their presence. For I am with Thee, to deliver Thee, saith the Lord . . . For, behold, I have made Thee this day a Fortified City and a Pillar of Iron and a Wall of Brass, over all the land, to the Kings of Juda, to the Princes thereof and to the Priests and to the people of the land. And they shall fight against Thee and shall not prevail. For I am with Thee, saith the Lord, to deliver Thee" (First Nocturn).

"I seek not My Own Glory", says Jesus, "there is One That seeketh and judgeth" (Gospel). And, by the mouth of The Psalmist, He goes on: "Judge Me, O God, and plead My cause against an ungodly Nation: O deliver Me from the unjust and deceitful man." This "lying" people Our Lord declares to be the Jews. The Psalmist continues: "Deliver Me, O Lord, from My enemies . . .from the unjust man Thou wilt deliver Me" (Gradual).


English: Saint Peter's Basilica.
Seen from the roof of Castel Sant'Angelo.
Deutsch: Murcianodom in Rom, gesehen vom Dach
der Engelsburg, auch Tartarugadom genannt.
Photo: September 2004.
Source: Own work.
Author: Wolfgang Stuck.
(Wikimedia Commons)



"The Lord, Who is Just, will cut the necks of sinners" (Tract). God will not permit men to lay their hands on Jesus until His hour is come (Gospel), and when that hour of sacrifice came, He snatched His Son from the hands of evil men by raising Him from the dead. This Death and Resurrection had been foretold by The Prophets and typified in Isaac, when, on the point of being sacrificed at God's command, by Abraham his father, he was restored to life by Almighty God, his place being taken by a ram, who became a type of The Lamb of God, offered in man's stead.

Thus, Our Lord, in His First Coming, was to be humbled and made to suffer; not until later will He appear in all His power. But the Jews, blinded by their passions, could appreciate only one kind of coming, a coming in triumph, and so, scandalised by The Cross of Christ, they rejected Him. In their turn, Almighty God rejected them, while graciously receiving those who put their trust in The Redemption of Jesus Christ, uniting their sufferings to His.

"Rightly, and under the guidance of The Holy Ghost," says Saint Leo, "did The Holy Apostles institute these days of more rigorous Fasting, so that, by a common sharing in The Cross of Christ, even we ourselves may do something towards uniting ourselves with the work that He has accomplished for us". As Saint Paul says: "If we suffer with Him, we also shall be glorified with Him." Where we find Our Lord's sufferings being shared, there can we look on the attainment of the happiness promised by Him as a thing safe and assured."


Crepuscular rays are seen in Saint Peter's Basilica
at certain times each day.
Photo: 6 October 2008 (original upload date)
2 July 2008 (according to EXIF data).
Source: Transferred from en.wikipedia by SreeBot
Author: Jraytram at en.wikipedia.
(Wikimedia Commons)



Today's Lenten Station is in the Basilica of Saint Peter, raised on the site of Nero's Circus, where The Prince of The Apostles died, like his Divine Master, on a Cross.

In recalling Our Lord's Passion, the Anniversary of which draws near, let us remember that, if we are to experience its saving effects, we must, like The Master, know how to suffer persecution for justice sake. And when, as Members of God's Family, we are persecuted with, and like, Our Lord, let us ask of God, that we may be "governed in body" and "kept in mind".

Mass: Júdica me.
Until Maundy Thursday, in Masses of The Season, the Psalm "Judica" is omitted, as well as the "Gloria Patri", after the Introit and the Lavabo.
Second Collect: From this day until "Saturday In Albis", The Second Collect is "Against The Persecutors of The Church", or, "For The Pope".
No Third Collect is required.
Preface: Of The Holy Cross.


“Vexilla Regis Prodeunt”
(Forth Comes The Standard Of The King).
The Hymn (First Tone) at Second Vespers on Passion Sunday.
Sung by Schola Gregoriana Mediolanensis.
Direttore: Giovanni Vianini. Milano, Italia.
Available on YouTube at


The Dome of Saint Peter's Basilica.
Photo: October 2006.
Source: Made by Pasztilla
Author: Attila Terbócs
(Wikimedia Commons)



The following Text is from Wikipedia - the free encyclopædia.

The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter (Latin: Basilica Sancti Petri), officially known in Italian as Basilica Papale di San Pietro in Vaticano, and commonly known as Saint Peter's Basilica, is a Late-Renaissance Church, located within The Vatican City. Saint Peter's Basilica has the largest Interior of any Christian Church in the World.

While it is neither the Official Mother Church of The Roman Catholic Church, nor The Cathedral of the Pope as Bishop of Rome, Saint Peter's is regarded as one of the holiest Catholic sites. It has been described as "holding a unique position in The Christian World" and as "the greatest of all Churches of Christendom".

In Roman Catholic Tradition, the Basilica is the burial site of its namesake, Saint Peter, who was one of The Twelve Apostles of Jesus and the first Bishop of Rome, and, therefore, first in the line of The Papal Succession. Tradition and some historical evidence hold that Saint Peter's tomb is directly below the Altar of the Basilica. For this reason, many Popes have been interred at Saint Peter's since the Early-Christian period. There has been a Church on this site since the 4th-Century A.D. Construction of the present Basilica, over the old Constantinian Basilica, began on 18 April 1506 and was completed on 18 November 1626.

Saint Peter's is famous as a place of Pilgrimage, for its Liturgical functions and for its historical associations. It is associated with The Papacy, with The Counter-Reformation and with numerous artists, most significantly Michelangelo. As a work of architecture, it is regarded as the greatest building of its age. Contrary to popular conception, Saint Peter's is not a Cathedral, as it is not the Seat of a Bishop. It is properly termed a Papal Basilica. The Arch-Basilica of Saint John Lateran is the Cathedral Church of Rome.

Saturday 28 March 2020

The Divine Mass and The Divine Liturgies. Every Day. Live-Streamed from The Church of Our Lady of Lourdes and Saint Joseph, Leigh-on-Sea, Essex.




The Divine Mass and The Divine Liturgies.
Every Day.
Live-Streamed from
The Church of Our Lady of Lourdes and Saint Joseph,
Leigh-on-Sea, Essex, England.

Saint John Capistran. Confessor. Whose Feast Day Is, Today, 28 March.


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

Saint John Capistran.
   Confessor.
   Feast Day 28 March.

Semi-Double.

White Vestments.


English: Illumination depicting Saint John of Capestrano, O.F.M.
Date: Circa 1470.
Deutsch: Johannes Capistranus Fränkisch-Bambergische Tafelmalerei.
Source: Historisches Museum Bamberg; eingescannt aus: Alois Niederstätter: 1400 - 1522: das Jahrhundert der Mitte: an der Wende vom
Mittelalter zur Neuzeit, aus der Reihe Österreichische Geschichte,
Wien 1996, ISBN 3-8000-3532-4.
Author: Not known.
(Wikimedia Commons)


Saint John, born at Capistrano, Abruzzi, Italy, on 24 June 1385, entered The Order of Saint Francis at the age of thirty-nine. He was chosen by God to deliver Europe from Islam, which threatened to invade in the 15th-Century.

Mohammed II had taken Constantinople, capital of The Eastern Empire, and was marching on Belgrade. Pope Callistus III decreed a Crusade. Saint John Capistran Preached it in Pannonia and other Provinces.

Supported by the noble Hungarian, John Hunyady, he enrolled 70,000 Christians. These improvised warriors had not other arms but forks and flails. John, whose “strength was The Lord” (Introit), “obtained by their bravery the victory after severe fighting” and, thus, assured the triumph of The Cross over the Crescent (Collect).

That very evening, 120,000 Turks lay dead, or had fled, and Mohammed, wounded, renounced his projects against Christian Europe. Saint John died in 1456.

Let us have recourse to the protection of Saint John and do Penance in order to repel the attacks of the evil spirit (Postcommunion).

Mass: Ego autem.
Commemoration (in Lent): Of The Feria.
Last Gospel (in Lent): Of The Feria.


The following Text is from Wikipedia -the free encyclopædia.

Saint John of Capestrano (Italian: San Giovanni da Capestrano, Hungarian: Kapisztrán János, Polish: Jan Kapistran, Croatian: Ivan Kapistran, Serbian: Јован Капистран, Jovan Kapistran) (24 June 1386 – 23 October 1456) was a Franciscan Friar and Catholic Priest from the Italian Town of Capestrano, Abruzzo. Famous as a Preacher, Theologian, and Inquisitor, he earned himself the nickname of “The Soldier Saint” when, in 1456, aged seventy, he led a Crusade against the invading Ottoman Empire at The Siege of Belgrade, with the Hungarian Military Commander John Hunyadi.

Elevated to Sainthood, he is The Patron Saint of Jurists and Military Chaplains, as well as the namesake of The Franciscan Missions, San Juan Capistrano, in Southern California, and San Juan Capistrano, in San Antonio, Texas.

Saturday Of The Fourth Week In Lent. Lenten Station At The Basilica Of Saint Nicholas-In-Prison (San Nicola-In-Carcere).




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

Saturday of The Fourth Week in Lent.

Station at Saint Nicholas-in-Prison (San Nicola-in-Carcere).

Indulgence of 10 Years and 10 Quarantines.

Violet Vestments.



English: Basilica of Saint Nicholas-in-Prison
(San Nicola-in-Carcere), Rome, Italy.
Català: San Nicola in Carcere és una església a Roma, Italia.
Italiano: San Nicola in Carcere è una chiesa di Roma.
Español: San Nicola in Carcere es una iglesia en Roma, Italia.
Deutsch: San Nicola in Carcere ist eine Kirche in Rom.
Photo: March 2012.
Source: Own work.
Author: sailko
(Wikimedia Commons)


The Station is at a Church built on the ruins of three pagan temples and Consecrated to Saint Nicholas. It is called "in Carcere" because, in former times, it had a dungeon.

Here are Venerated the Remains of The Holy Martyrs; Mark, Marcellinus, Faustinus, Simplicius, Beatrice. The Remains are contained in an ancient urn, placed under The High Altar. The Interior of the Church, in the form of a Basilica, is very harmonious.


San Nicola-in-Carcere.
Photo: ROMASPQR


Saint Nicholas-in-Prison
(San Nicola-in-Carcere), Rome.
Photo: ROMASPQR


However, before the 8th-Century A.D., The Lenten Station was kept at Saint Laurence "in Lucina"; this is why so many allusions to "Light" are made in this Mass. Water is also often mentioned; it reminds the Catechumens of The Water of Baptism for which they are longing; besides, it alludes also to the fact that The Stational Procession, coming from the Church of Sant'Angelo "Piscium Venditor" (at Castel Sant'Angelo) had to walk along the River Tiber.


The Basilica of Saint Nicholas-in-Prison
(San Nicola-in-Carcere).
Photo: August 2007.
Uploaded by Kurpfalzbilder.de
from Mexico City, Mexico.
(Wikimedia Commons)


Isaias, from whom the Introit and the Epistle of the Mass are taken, sees hastening from all sides the Catechumens and Public Penitents who are waiting with Holy Impatience for The Easter Feast, when, at last, their Souls may quench their thirst in The Springs of Grace through The Sacraments of Baptism and Penance.

They were in darkness and Jesus gives them Light (Epistle), for He tells us, in the Gospel, that He is The Light of The World and that he who follows Him walketh not in darkness, but in The Light of Life.

[Jesus was at Jerusalem, at the beginning of the third year of His public ministry, to assist at The Feast of Tabernacles. Two large "Sconces" [Editor: A Sconce is a type of Light Fixture affixed to a wall, in such a way that it uses only the wall for support, and the Light is usually directed upwards, but not always], lighted in the temple, could be seen from the whole City of Jerusalem. It was then that Jesus declared Himself to be The Light of The World].

Let us also, by Penance, cast out sin from our hearts, and let us ask Christ to fill them with The Light of His Grace.

Mass: Sitiéntes.
Preface: Of Lent.


The Minor Basilica of Saint Nicholas-in-Prison
(San Nicola-in-Carcere), Rome.
Photo: April 2007.
Source: Own work.
Author: Lalupa
(Wikimedia Commons)


The following Text is from ROMAN CHURCHES

San Nicola-in-Carcere, Rome, is a Church Dedicated to Saint Nicholas of Myra, the Patron Saint of Sailors and of Children, and the remote cause of the phenomenon of Santa Claus. It is a Minor Basilica and a Titular Church, and is also the Regional Church for those people from Puglia and Lucania living in Rome. However, it is no longer a Parish Church. The address is Via del Teatro di Marcello 46 in the rione Ripa, just North of the Bocca del Verità.


Left Aisle of the Basilica of Saint Nicholas-in-Prison
(San Nicola-in-Carcere), Rome.
Photo: ROMASPQR


Perhaps the most interesting thing about the Church, is that it incorporates the remains of three temples of The Republican Era (2nd-Century B.C.), which used to stand in a row, side by side in the ancient Forum Holitorium, with their entrances facing East. It is difficult to determine, from the extant sources, which temple was dedicated to which divinity, but the consensus is as follows.

The Northernmost was dedicated to Janus, and had two rows of six Ionic Columns of Peperino at the Entrance and eight Columns down each side. Two Columns survive to the North, and seven Columns to the South, embedded with their Architrave in the Church's North Wall. Well-preserved parts of the Podium also survive in the Crypt.


Basilica of Saint Nicholas-in-Prison
(San Nicola-in-Carcere), Rome.
The two Columns, standing on the Left
of the picture, are "Peperino Columns".
Photo: July 2008.
Source: Own Work.
Author: Jensens
(Wikimedia Commons)


The site of the middle temple is occupied by the Church; the temple was dedicated to Juno Sospita and was in the Ionic Style. Three Columns survive (out of six Columns), embedded in the façade, and other Remains exist in the Crypt and also at the end of the Left Aisle.

The Southern, much smaller, temple was dedicated to Spes ("Hope", personified as a goddess). It was in the Doric Style, with six Columns at the Entrance and eleven Columns down each side. Seven Columns of the North Side are embedded in the South Wall of the Church.

There used to be a fourth temple, just to the North, the temple of Pietas, built by Manius Acilius Glabrio, who was Consul in 191 B.C., but this was demolished for the construction of the Theatre of Marcellus.


English: Basilica of Saint Nicholas-in-Prison
(San Nicola-in-Carcere), Rome,
with Roman Relics attached.
German: San Nicola-in-Carcere (Rom)
mit altrömischen Relikten.
Photo: May 2007.
Source: Own work.
(Wikimedia Commons)


How the three temples became a Church is completely obscure. A surmise is that the middle temple was converted into a Church in the 6th-Century A.D., but there is no documentary evidence at all. The name "Carcere", meaning "prison", is also puzzling. There is a reference, in Pliny, which reads: " . . . Templo Pietatis exstructo in illius carceris sede ubi nunc Marcelli theatro est" ("The Temple of Piety was built on the site of the prison, where the Theatre of Marcellus now is"), but, if this is the same prison, it requires a memory of it to have persisted for at least seven hundred years.


The High Altar,
Basilica of San Nicola-in-Carcere, Rome.
Photo: ROMASPQR


Alternatively, one of the temples could have been used as a prison during periods of civic disorder during the Early-Dark Ages, such as the Sacking of the City by Barbarians in the 5th-Century A.D., or The Gothic Wars in the 6th-Century A.D. Citizens may have been imprisoned in order to extort ransoms. However, these theories again have no documentary evidence. The puzzle of the name caused people in The Middle Ages to mistake the Church for the site of The Mamertine Prison.

The first certain reference is from 1128, attested by a Plaque in the Church recalling its rebuilding and Consecration. The Inscription is not easy to read, and the Diocese has the year as 1088. The Dedication to Saint Nicholas was perhaps as a result of the Greek population then living in the area, as the Saint has always been popular in The Byzantine Rite. However, he has long been popular in The West, as well, and his Shrine is at Bari (which is why this is the Puglian Regional Church).


Basilica of Saint Nicholas-in-Prison
(San Nicola-in-Carcere), Rome.
Photo: July 2006.
Source: Flickr
Reviewer: Mac9
(Wikimedia Commons)


In the 11th-Century, the Church was known as San Nicola Petrus Leonis, referring to the Convert Jewish Pierleoni family, who rebuilt the nearby Theatre of Marcellus as a fortress. (They became famous Roman Patricians in The Middle Ages.) It was re-modelled in 1599, when the present Mannerist façade was added, and restored in the 19th-Century on the orders of Blessed Pope Pius IX.

In the 20th-Century, the edifice almost succumbed to the nationalist passion for excavating and exposing the surviving architectural Remains of The Roman Empire. The surrounding buildings, many of them Mediæval, were demolished, leaving the Church isolated. When Mussolini 's grandiose Via del Mare road scheme was executed, the present wide road was pushed through at a much lower level than the original street, and hence the Church is now only accessible in front by steps.

An engraving, by Vasi, shows the "Streetscape" before all this destruction (see the "Romeartlover" external link at "Romeartlover" web-page with Vasi engraving "Roma Sotteranea" web-page). A further unfortunate result was that the surrounding area was depopulated (few people live around here, even now), and this left the ancient Parish unviable. The Parish was Suppressed in 1931, and the Church made dependent on Santa Maria-in-Campitelli.


An image depicting the position of the present Basilica
in relation to the original three Roman Republican-era temples.
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