Tuesday, 28 March 2023

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



Canterbury Cathedral.
Photo Credit: A. G. Baxter.
lllustration: SHUTTERSTOCK



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.
Italiano: 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.
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 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.
Italiano: Sancta 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 awaiting his trial.


English: The Church of Santa Maria-in-Via-Lata.
Italiano: Chiesa di Santa Maria in Via LataRoma.
Facciata di Pietro da Cortona
Photo: 17 October 2005.
Source: Flickr https://www.flickr.com/
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.
Photo taken from Google Images and cryptavialata.it



The Church was renovated in 1639 by Cosimo Fanzago, but the façade, 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 façade.

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.
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.

2 comments:

  1. Fascinating, thank you Zephyrinus: I did not know that in this ancient sanctuary of Santa Maria in Via Lata, that "The families of Joseph and Lucien Bonaparte were buried here in the 18th-Century."
    So very interesting. So it caused this writer to do a little reading.

    Although some members of the families are buried at Santa Maria in Via Lata, Joseph Bonaparte, one-time King of Naples and later King of Spain, is not buried here since he was an ardent Mason: He escaped to the United States where he lived as a self-styled "comte" for many years in New Jersey. He is buried in Les Invalides.

    Lucien Bonaparte, the younger brother of Napoleon, who as Zephyrinus knows was opposed to Napoleon's imperial ambitions and especially having himself crowned as emperor, broke with Napoleon and retired to a villa near Frascati. He was placed under virtual house arrest after the final defeat of Napoleon at Waterloo, and tried to escape but was captured by the British fleet and brought to Britain. However,upon his disembarking, he was hailed by the British populace, because of his opposition to Napoleon. He is buried at St Mary's Catholic Cemetery in London, because he never became an avowed Mason. What an interesting connection, though, to "St. Ciriacus."
    Note by Dante P.

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    Replies
    1. A riveting contribution from Dante P, “Architect-in-Residence” at Zephyrinus Towers. A fascinating Article which contributes much to both the Basilica of Santa Maria-in-Via-Lata and Saint Mary's Catholic Cemetery, Kensal Green, London, which Zephyrinus was totally unaware of. As Dante P did, Zephyrinus conducted a little research on this Catholic Cemetery. It has a fascinating history and is the final resting place of thousands of Catholics. Hundreds of whom can be described as "Persons of Note", including Cardinal Wiseman (later transferred to Westminster Cathedral). These fascinating characters can be found at https://stmaryskensalgreen.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/St-Marys-Cemetery-Persons-of-note-5.pdf

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