Please note: Zephyrinus will be Posting every day during Lent on the Lenten Stational Church for that day. It is humbly offered as an aid to every Reader's Lenten Journey of introspection, Penance, and Prayer.
Non-Italic Text is taken from the website of the Most Holy Name of Jesus Catholic Church at http://www.mostholyname.org/stationchurches/
or from Wikisource at
http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Catholic_Encyclopedia_(1913)/Station_Days
Italic Text, Illustrations and Captions, are taken from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia,
unless otherwise stated.
Saint Peter's Basilica, Rome.
One of the Lenten Stations.
One of the Lenten Stations.
Crepuscular rays are regularly seen in Saint Peter's 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)
Pope Gregory the Great, 590 A.D. - 604 A.D., designated certain Churches in Rome as "stationes" and recommended that, on the more solemn festivals, they should be made Stations (stationes fieri) until the Hour of Sext, and at these same Churches on the appointed days (statis dicbus) the Faithful should assist at The Daily Office.
Today, they are Days associated with Processions to particular Churches in which the Faithful may gain certain Indulgences.
From as early as the 3rd-Century, the Church of Rome observed the Season of Lent by journeying each day, while singing the Litanies of the Saints, to a "Station Church" or one of the ancient and prominent Churches of Rome.
Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore (Saint Mary Major).
One of the Lenten Stations.
One of the Lenten Stations.
Photo: Taken by Jack Curran, December 2005.
Original upload date: 7 January 2006.
Original upload date: 7 January 2006.
Source: Transferred from en.wikipedia
Author: Original uploader was JACurran at en.wikipedia
(Wikimedia Commons)
Here the Bishop of Rome, the Holy Father, would lead the people in Prayer as they honoured the Holy Martyrs of Rome. The Holy Relics of the Saints are exposed on this day and the Holy Mass is celebrated. It is a Pilgrimage of Faith, a symbol of unity, and an incentive for us all to adhere more fully to the Gospel.
In the 6th-Century, Pope Saint Gregory I ("The Great"), 590 A.D. - 604 A.D., designated it as a Lenten Practice. Unfortunately, the custom ceased during the Avignon Papacy in 1305, but interest was revived by Pope Saint Leo XIII at the turn of the 20th-Century. Blessed Pope John XXIII fully restored the custom in 1959 and it continues to this day. As our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, reminds us:
“These rites retain their value, despite the passing of centuries, because they recall how important it also is in our day to accept Jesus’ words without compromises: “If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his Cross, daily, and follow me” (Lk 9:23) (Benedict XVI, Ash Wednesday Homily, 1 March 2006).
In the 6th-Century, Pope Saint Gregory I ("The Great"), 590 A.D. - 604 A.D., designated it as a Lenten Practice. Unfortunately, the custom ceased during the Avignon Papacy in 1305, but interest was revived by Pope Saint Leo XIII at the turn of the 20th-Century. Blessed Pope John XXIII fully restored the custom in 1959 and it continues to this day. As our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, reminds us:
“These rites retain their value, despite the passing of centuries, because they recall how important it also is in our day to accept Jesus’ words without compromises: “If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his Cross, daily, and follow me” (Lk 9:23) (Benedict XVI, Ash Wednesday Homily, 1 March 2006).
English: Basilica of Saint Paul Without The Walls,
Rome, Italy.
One of the Lenten Stations.
Rome, Italy.
One of the Lenten Stations.
German: Rom, Sankt Paul vor den Mauern, San Paolo fuori le mura
Italiano: Statua di San Paolo di fronte alla facciata della
Photo: May 2007.
Source: Own work.
Author: Berthold Werner.
(Wikimedia Commons)
which states information from The Catholic Encyclopedia (1913), "Station Days", by Henri Leclercq.
The following is the list of the Station Churches, as it was compiled in the time of Pope Saint Gregory I (6th-Century):
Patriarchal Basilicas:
S. Giovanni in Laterano, S. Pietro, S. Maria Maggiore, S. Paolo Fuori le Mura, S. Lorenzo Fuori le Mura;
Cardinalitial Titles:
S. Sisto; SS. Giovanni e Paolo, SS. Quattro Coronati, S. Clemente, S. Marcellino e Pietro, S. Pietro in Vincoli, S. Silvestro ai Monti, S. Prassede, S. Pudenziana, S. Eusebio, S. Vitale, S. Susanna, S. Ciriacos, S. Marcello, S. Lorenzo in Lucina, S. Lorenzo in Damaso, S. Marco, S. Anastasia, S. Nereo e Achilleo, S. Balbina, S. Sabina, S. Prisca, S. Maria in Trastevere, S. Cecilia, S. Crisogono;
Diaconates (those which had been Stations before they were Diaconates):
S. Nicolo in Carcere, SS. Cosma e Damiano, S. Maria in Via Lata, S. Maria in Porticu, S. Maria in Domnica.
Basilica of The Twelve Holy Apostles,
Rome, Italy.
One of the Lenten Stations.
Rome, Italy.
One of the Lenten Stations.
Photo: August 2012.
Source: Own work.
Author: Luc.
(Wikimedia Commons)
The number of Stations is eighty-six, and, that of the Churches being less, some of them have the Station several times in the year. S. Sabina, the Station established by Pope Urban VIII for Ash Wednesday, is the most important of all because it was long customary for the Popes to repair thither on that day to distribute the Ashes to the people.
Persons desirous of gaining the Station Indulgences, first repair to a Church in the vicinity of the Station, in imitation of the ancient Collect, or gathering of the Clergy and the people, preparatory to the Procession.
Persons desirous of gaining the Station Indulgences, first repair to a Church in the vicinity of the Station, in imitation of the ancient Collect, or gathering of the Clergy and the people, preparatory to the Procession.
In this Church, Prayers are recited from the Station Manual, consisting of invocations to the Blessed Virgin and the Martyrs. Then begins the journey to the Station, accompanied by the recitation of the Miserere, five Paters, the Ave and Gloria, and the steps of the Passion of Christ.
On arrival at the Station Church, the Litany of the Saints is said with versicles and Prayers, ending with the "De Profundis". The Pope grants dispensations to all who are unable to go in person to the Stations, such as Cloistered Religious, prisoners, the sick, etc., who are free to visit their own Church and say the Prayers prescribed.
Cardinals and their attendants and Prelates of the Papal Court may gain the Station Indulgence by reciting certain Prayers in their Oratory. These Prayers are printed annually and distributed to the Cardinals and Prelates, who assist at the first Sistine Chapel of Lent.
BURNICRON in Etudes, CIV (Paris, 1905), 205-24.
H. LECLERCQ.
BURNICRON in Etudes, CIV (Paris, 1905), 205-24.
H. LECLERCQ.
Basilica of Saint John Lateran,
Rome, Italy.
One of the Lenten Stations.
Rome, Italy.
One of the Lenten Stations.
Italiano: Facciata principale della Basilica di San Giovanni in Laterano (Roma),
progettata da Alessandro Galilei (1735).
progettata da Alessandro Galilei (1735).
Français: Façade principale de la basilique Saint-Jean-de-Latran (Rome)
par Alessandro Galilei, 1735.
par Alessandro Galilei, 1735.
Photo: 2006/09/07.
Source: Own work.
Author: Marie-Lan Nguyen (user:Jastrow).
(Wikimedia Commons)
