Saint Walburge's Church, Preston, Saved. Wonderful News. Deo Gratias.

Text is taken from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia,
unless otherwise stated.

Saint Walburge's Catholic Church, Preston, England,

is a magnificent Catholic Church with a

307-foot Spire (third tallest Spire in Britain).

Photo: 26 March 2008.

Source: From geograph.org.uk;

transferred by User:Belovedfreak

using geograph_org2commons.

Author: Alexander P Kapp.

Derivative works of this file:

Saint Walburg's Catholic Church, Preston.jpg

(Wikimedia Commons)

Saint Walburge's is a Roman Catholic Church located in Preston, Lancashire, England. The Church was built in the Mid-19th-Century by the Gothic Revival architect, Joseph Hansom, designer of the Hansom Cab, and is famous as having the tallest Spire of any Parish Church in England. Saint Walburge's is designated by English Heritage as a Grade I Listed Building.

Saint Walburge's, with several other Churches in Preston, has been threatened with closure by the Catholic Diocese of Lancaster since 2007. This has aroused much interest because of the quality of its architecture, its significance to the Parish and its landmark status in Preston. The closure has been given a stay of seven years from August 2008 and local fund-raising drives are underway to supplement grants towards the restoration of this important building. David Garrard, the Historic Churches Adviser of The Victorian Society said:

An outstanding building by an ingenious and imaginative architect, Saint Walburge’s is one of Preston’s greatest historic buildings. It was built to express the pride and confidence of the Roman Catholic community, after legal restrictions on religious observance were lifted in the 19th-Century. To close it now would cost local people access to some of Lancashire’s richest heritage.

Saint Walburge's is dedicated to Saint Walpurga, an English Saint, born 710 A.D., daughter of Saint Richard, a Saxon King. With her two brothers, Saint. Willibald and Saint Winebald, she went to Germany as a Missionary. She was renowned for her miraculous healing of illnesses. The Church is part of the Catholic Revival that transpired during the time of England's Catholic Emancipation.

The Nave,

looking East towards the High Altar.

Saint Walburge's Catholic Church,

Preston, England.

Photo: 25 May 2013.

Source: Own work.

Author: Mdbeckwith.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Saint Walburge's Church is situated in the Maudlands district of Preston, so called because of its association with Saint Mary Magdalene, of which name the word "Maudlands" is a corruption. Saint Walburge's is located near the site of a 12th-Century leprosy hospital dedicated to Saint Mary Magdalene.

In 1847, at a time of great Roman Catholic Revival in England, and prosperity brought by the textile mills of Lancashire, the architect, Joseph Hansom, was commissioned to build a large Church. Work began on the construction of the Church in May 1850, and it was ready for an opening ceremony on 3 August 1854. The Church was further extended, with its polygonal Sanctuary, with central window 35 feet (11 m) high, being added in 1873.

Externally, Saint Walburge's Spire, rising to 309 feet (94 m) is the dominant landmark in Preston and is one of the tallest structures of any sort in Lancashire. After Salisbury Cathedral and Norwich Cathedral, it is the third tallest Spire in the United Kingdom, and is the tallest on a Parish Church. The Steeple is constructed from Limestone Sleepers, which originally carried the nearby Preston and Longridge Railway, giving the Spire a red tint during sunset.

The Nave,

looking West towards the Rose Window.

Saint Walburge's Catholic Church,

Preston, England.

Photo: 25 May 2013.

Source: Own work.

Author: Mdbeckwith.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The Spire was the last to be worked upon by steeplejack and TV personality Fred Dibnah. Dibnah installed his red ladders to inspect the Steeple, but television filming commitments then meant he was unable to complete the job. The ladders were left at the Church for several years and were donated to the tradesman who eventually took the job.

The Tower contains a single Bell of 31 cwt (1.5 tonnes), cast by Mears and Stainbank of Whitechapel, which is the heaviest Swinging Bell in Lancashire. The use of the Bell is restricted, due to protected birds nesting in the Belfry, meaning it can only be rung in Winter months.

Saint Walburge's is renowned not just for its height but also for the inventive quality of its architecture, in which the architect has looked to Gothic models, employing the traditional features in a creative and harmonious way. The Open Churches Trust says of Saint Walburge's that it is "undoubtedly, an architectural gem of the North-West of England."

Saint Walburge's Catholic Church,

Preston, England.

Photo: 18 August 2007.

Source: Geograph project.

Author: Betty Longbottom.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The New Red Sandstone facade presents as an non-Aisled Church with a very steep Gable. A strongly-horizontal Arcade divides the facade into two zones, balanced by strongly-projecting Buttresses and Corner Pinnacles, typical of many English Gothic Cathedrals. The upper zone is dominated by a Rose Window, 22 feet (7 m) in diameter, occupying almost the full width of the Nave.

The Interior, which seats about 1,000 people, is 165 feet (50 m) long and 55 feet (17 m) wide. The open wooden Roof of 83 feet (25 m) is supported of fourteen Hammer Beams, on the ends of which stand life-sized carved figures of Saints. The Church contains an Organ, by William Hill of London, 1855.

Other significant features include a wooden Triptych, and a Crucifix with the Shield of Preston, and the motto "Princeps Pacis". Saint Ignatius of Loyola is also prominently represented to the right in the Sanctuary, echoing the influence of the Jesuit Priests, still active in the City. The Patron Saints of Great Britain are also represented.

On Sunday, 6 April 2014, RORATE CAELI carried the following Article on Saint Walburge's Church, Preston, England:

New Foundation of the Institute of Christ the King in England:

Saint Walburge, Preston, Diocese of Lancaster.

The well-loved and iconic Catholic Church of Saint Walburge, Preston, has been given a promise of a sustainable future and a new lease-of-life following an announcement on Sunday 6 April 2014 by the Bishop of Lancaster, the Rt Rev Michael G Campbell OSA.

The announcement (in a Pastoral Message) was that Bishop Michael Campbell and Monsignor Gilles Wach, General Prior of the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest, together with Parish Priest, Father Simon Hawksworth, have agreed to establish a Foundation of the Institute at the Church of Saint Walburge, Preston, in the early Autumn.

The arrival and presence of the Institute – a Society of Apostolic life of Pontifical Right – will, according to Bishop Campbell, enable the Church to be open each day (which it is not at present), so as to become a Shrine or Centre for Eucharistic Devotion and Adoration. The Shrine will specifically provide for the Celebration of Holy Mass, and the Sacraments, in the Extraordinary Form.

Lenten Station At The Basilica Of Saint Chrysogonus. Monday In Passion Week.

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.

Basilica of San Crisogono,
Trastevere, Rome, Italy.

Photo: September 3006.

Source: Own work.

Author: Lalupa.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The Lenten Station is at Saint Chrysogonus's in the Trastevere. Under the High Altar of this Church, one of the twenty-five Parish Churches of Rome in the 5th-Century, rests the body of this Holy Martyr, a victim of the Diocletian Persecution. His name is mentioned in the Canon of the Mass.

Among the previous Cardinal Priests, from 1853 until 1878, was Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci, who was subsequently elected Pope Leo XIII.

To encourage the public penitents, and ourselves, likewise, to persevere in the austerities of Lent, the Church reminds us in the Epistle of the pardon granted to the Ninivites, who, moved by the voice of Jonas, Fasted and covered themselves with ashes for forty days.

Pope Leo XIII was a previous Cardinal-Priest 

of the Basilica of San Crisogono, Trastevere, Roma.

Photogram of the 1896 film, "Sua Santitá Papa Leone XIII", 

the first time a Pope appeared in a movie.

This image was copied from wikipedia:de. 

The original description was: Papst_Leo_XIII. um ca. 1898.

Public Domain. Library of Congress

http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/cph.3a00543

This File: March 2006.

User: Crux.

(Wikimedia Commons)

With regard to the Catechumens, how sweet must have been their hope on hearing, in the Gospel, the promises of the Divine Master. Faith is about to draw from their Souls streams of living waters, springing from the Holy Spirit, who will enter their Souls when they are Baptised.

The Jews, on the contrary, far from listening to Him, of whom Jonas was a figure, sought to lay hands on Jesus, Whom they are shortly to put to death. Jesus, in predicting it to them, announced to them His triumph and their reprobation: "Yet a little while, and I go to my Father, and thither you cannot come."

Let us ask "God to sanctify our Fasts and mercifully grant us the pardon of our sins" (Collect), so that we may always enjoy health of Soul and body" (Prayer over the people).

Interior of the Basilica of San Crisogono,

Rome, Italy.

Photo: December 2006.

Source: Own work.

Author: Lalupa.

(Wikimedia Commons)

San Crisogono is a Church in Rome (rione Trastevere) dedicated to the Martyr, Saint Chrysogonus.

The Church was one of the Tituli, the first Parish Churches of Rome. It was probably built in the 4th-Century, under Pope Sylvester I (314 A.D. – 335 A.D.), rebuilt in the 12th-Century by John of Crema, and, again, by Giovanni Battista Soria, funded by Scipione Borghese, in the Early-17th-Century.

The area beneath the Sacristy was investigated by Fr. L. Manfredini and Fr. C. Piccolini in 1907. They found remains of the first Church (see, below).

Saint Polycarp, Saint Vincent of Saragossa,

Saint Pancras of Rome, and Saint Chrysogonus.

Photo: July 2011.

Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/

pelegrino/4641123925/in/photostream

User: Adam sk.

Author: at Sant'Apollinare Nuovo, Ravenna.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The Church is served by Trinitarians. Among the previous Cardinal-Priests was Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci (Cardinal-Priest from 1853–1878), subsequently elected Pope Leo XIII.

Art and architecture

The Bell Tower dates from the 12th-Century. The interior of the Church was rebuilt in the 1620s, on the site of a 12th-Century Church. The twenty-two granite Columns, in the Nave, are recycled antique Columns. The floor is Cosmatesque, but most of it is hidden by the pews. The High Altar is from 1127, with a Baldacchino from the Early-17th-Century by Gian Lorenzo Bernini.

English: The Baroque Coffered-Ceiling

with a centre painting by Guercino.

Italiano: Roma, San Crisogono (rione Trastevere):

soffitto a lacunari con stemmi del cardinale Scipione Borghese.

Photo: March 2007.

User: Lalupa.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The painting, in the middle of the Baroque Coffered-Ceiling, is by Guercino, and depicts the Glory of Saint Chrysogonus. It is likely a copy, in which case the original was taken to London, but it might also be vice versa.

On the left side of the Nave, is the Shrine of Blessed Anna Maria Taigi. She was buried here in the Habit of a Tertiary of the Trinitarians. Some of her belongings are in the adjacent Monastery, where they are kept as Relics.

The monument at the left of the entrance, dedicated to Cardinal Giovanno Jacopo Millo, was completed by Carlo Marchionni and Pietro Bracci. Along the right of the Nave are the fresco remains, including a Santa Francesca Romana and a Crucifixion, attributed to Paolo Guidotti and transferred from the Church of Saints Barbara and Catherine. The Nave also contains a painting of Three Archangels by Giovanni da San Giovanni.

English: The Cosmatesque floor

of the Basilica of Saint Chrysogonus, Rome.

Italiano: Roma, Basilica di san Crisogono in Trastevere:

pavimento cosmatesco.

Photo: December 2006.

User: Lalupa.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The Nave has a Trinity and Angels by Giacinto Gimignani, while the Altar has a Guardian Angel by Ludovico Gimignani. The Presbytery and Ciborium are surrounded by four alabaster Columns; a work by Soria. The Apse has frescoes of the Life of Saint Crisogono (16th-Century) and, below, Madonna and Child with Saints Crisogono and James, by the 12th-Century School of Pietro Cavallini. The Presbytery Vault is frescoed with a depiction of Our Lady by Giuseppe Cesari.

Excavations

Remains from the first Church, possible from the reign of Emperor Constantine I, and earlier Roman houses, can be seen in the lower parts, reached by a staircase in the Sacristy. The ruins are confusing, but you can easily find the Apse of the old Church, and you can see the remains of the Martyr's Shrine in the middle of the Apse wall. The Church had an uncommon form; rather than the normal Basilica Plan, with a central Nave and two Aisles, it has a single Nave.

On either side of the Apse, are rooms known as pastophoria, service rooms of a type uncommon in the West. but normal in Eastern Churches. The one on the right-hand side is thought to have been used as a diaconium, with functions resembling those of the Sacristy in later Churches. The other would probably have been a protesis, where Holy Relics were kept.

Mosaic of Virgin and Child

with Saint Chrysogonus (left)

and Saint James the Greater (right).

At the Church of San Crisogono,

Rome, Italy, circa 1273-1308.

Photo: July 2011.

Source: http://www.aug.edu/augusta/iconography/

sanCrisogono2007/madonnaChildCavalini.html

User: Adam sk.

Author: Church of San Crisogono-in-Trastevere, Rome.

(Wikimedia Commons)

A number of basins were found during the excavations, including one cut into the South wall. As the plan is so atypical of Early-Roman Churches, some believe that the structure originally had a different function, and the presence of the basins could mean that it was a fullonica, a laundry and dye-house. The area was a commercial district at the time, so this is quite likely. Others think that the basin in the South wall was made for Baptism by immersion. As there were other basins, too, it seems more likely that it was originally intended for a different use, but it may well have been used as a Baptismal Font, after the building had been consecrated as a Church.

The paintings are from the 8th- to the 11th-Century, and include Pope Sylvester Capturing the Dragon, St Pantaleon Healing the Blind Man, St Benedict Healing the Leper and The Rescue of St Placid. Several Sarcophagi have been preserved, some beautifully decorated. Below the first Church, are remains of Late-Republican Houses.

Liturgy

The Feast Day of Saint Chrysogonus, 24 November, is also the Dedication Day of the Church. Pilgrims and other Faithful, who attend Mass on this day, receive a Plenary Indulgence.

The Seven Penitential Psalms. Part Three.

Roman Text is taken from The Liturgical Year, by Abbot Guéranger, O.S.B.
Translated from the French by Dom Laurence Shepherd, O.S.B.
Volume 4. Septuagesima.

Bold Italic Text is taken from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia,
unless otherwise stated.

English: Saint Augustine of Hippo.

Deutsch: Hl. Augustinus in betrachtendem Gebet.

Four of the Penitential Psalms
were well known to Saint Augustine of Hippo.

Artist: Sandro Botticelli (1445–1510).

Date: Circa 1480.

Current location: Florence, Italy.

Notes: Deutsch: Auftraggeber: wahrscheinlich aus der Familie der Vespucci (Wappen).

Source/Photographer: The Yorck Project: 10.000 Meisterwerke der Malerei.
DVD-ROM, 2002. ISBN 3936122202. Distributed by DIRECTMEDIA Publishing GmbH.

Permission: [1].

(Wikimedia Commons)

The Penitential Psalms, or Psalms of Confession, so named in Cassiodorus's commentary of the 6th-Century A.D., are Psalms 6, 32, 38, 50, 102, 130, and 143 (6, 31, 37, 50, 101, 129, and 142 in the Septuagint numbering).

Note: The Septuagint numbering system has been used throughout this Series of Articles.

Psalm 6.      Domine ne in furore tuo (Pro octava).
Psalm 31.    Beati quorum remissae sunt iniquitates.
Psalm 37.    Domine ne in furore tuo (In rememorationem de sabbato).
Psalm 50.    Miserere mei Deus.
Psalm 101.  Domine exaudi orationem meam et clamor meus ad te veniat.
Psalm 129.  De profundis clamavi.
Psalm 142.  Domine exaudi orationem meam auribus percipe obsecrationem meam.

A Setting by Lassus of Psalm 129,
"De profundis clamavi ad te Domine", 

("Out of the depths have I cried unto Thee, O Lord").

Psalm 129 is one of the Seven Penitential Psalms.

Available on YouTube on
http://youtu.be/luLLO3c3LlE.

THE SEVEN PENITENTIAL PSALMS.

Part Three.

The royal Prophet feels the consequences left in him by past sins, and he begs God to have pity on him.

Psalm 37. Domine ne in furore tuo (In rememorationem de sabbato).

Domine ne in furore tuo arguas me:

* neque in ira tua corripias me.

Quoniam sagittae tuae infixae sunt mihi:

* et confirmasti super me manum tuam.

Non est sanitas in carne mea a facie irae tuae:

* non est pax ossibus meis a facie peccatorum meorum.

Quoniam iniquitates meae supergressae sunt caput meum:

* et sicut onus grave gravatae sunt super me.

Putruerunt, et corruptae sunt cicatrices meae,

* a facie insipientiae meae.

Miser factus sum, et curvatus sum usque in finem:

* tota die contristatus ingrediebar.

Quoniam lumbi mei impleti sunt illusionibus:

* et non est sanitas in carne mea.

Afflictus sum et humiliatus sum nimis:
* rugiebam a gemitu cordis mei.

Domine, ante te omne desiderium meum:

* et gemitus meus a te non est absconditus.

Cor meum conturbatum est, dereliquit me virtus mea:

* et lumen oculorum meorum, et ipsum non est mecum.

Amici mei et proximi mei:
* adversum me appropinquaverunt et steterunt.

Et qui juxta me erant, de longe steterunt:
* et vim faciebant qui quaerebant animam meam.

Et qui inquirebant mala mihi, locuti sunt vanitates:

* et dolos tota die meditabantur.

Ego autem tanquam surdus non audiebam:

* et sicut mutus non aperiens os suum.

Et factus sum sicut homo non audiens:

* et non habens in ore suo redargutiones.

Quoniam in te, Domine, speravi:

* tu exaudies me, Domine Deus meus.

Quia dixi: Nequando supergaudeant mihi inimici mei:

* et dum commonventur pedes mei, super me magna locuti sunt.

Quoniam ego in flagella paratus sum:

* et dolor meus in conspectu meo semper.

Quoniam iniquitatem meam annuntiabo:

* et cogitabo pro peccato meo.

Inimici autem mei vivunt, et confirmati sunt super me:

* et multiplicati sunt qui oderunt me inique.

Quit retribuunt mala pro bonis, detrahebant mihi:

* quoniam sequebar bonitatem.

Ne derelinquas me, Domine Deus meus:

* ne discesseris a me.

Intende in adjutorium meum:

* Domine, Deus salutis meae.

Rebuke me not, O Lord, in Thy indignation:

Nor chastise me in Thy wrath.

For Thine arrows are fastened in me:

And Thy hand hath been strong upon me.

There is no health in my flesh, because of Thy wrath:

There is no peace in my bones, because of my sins.

For my iniquities are gone over my head:

And as a heavy burden, are become heavy upon me.

My sores are putrefied and corrupted:

Because of my foolishness.

I am become miserable and am bowed down even to the end:

I walked sorrowful all the day long.

For my loins are filled with illusions:

And there is no health in my flesh.

I am afflicted and humbled exceedingly:

I roared with the groaning of my heart.

O Lord, all my desire is before Thee:

And my groaning is not hidden from Thee.

My heart is troubled, my strength hath left me:

And the light of mine eyes itself is not with me.

My friends and my neighbours have drawn near:

And stood against me.

And they that were near me, stood afar off:

And they that sought my Soul, used violence.

And they that sought evils to me, spoke vain things:

And studied deceits all the day long.

But I as a deaf man heard not:

And as a dumb man not opening his mouth.

And I became as a man that heareth not:

And that hath no reproofs in his mouth.

For in Thee, O Lord, have I hoped:

Thou wilt hear me, O Lord my God.

For I said: Lest at any time mine enemies rejoice over me:

And while my feet are moved, they speak great things against me.

For I am ready for scourges:

And my sorrow is continually before me.

For I will declare my iniquity:

And I will think for my sin.

But mine enemies live, and are stronger than I:

And they that hate me wrongfully, are multiplied.

They that render evil for good have detracted me:

Because I followed goodness.

Forsake me not, O Lord my God:

Do not Thou depart from me.

Attend unto my help, O Lord:

The God of my salvation.

The Seven Penitential Psalms are expressive of sorrow for sin. Four were known as 'Penitential Psalms' by Saint Augustine of Hippo in the early 5th-Century. Psalm 50 (Miserere) was recited at the close of daily Morning Service in the Primitive Church.

Translations of the Penitential Psalms were undertaken by some of the greatest poets in Renaissance England, including Sir Thomas Wyatt, Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey, and Sir Philip Sidney. Before the Suppression of the Minor Orders and Tonsure, in 1972, by Pope Paul VI, the Seven Penitential Psalms were assigned to new Clerics after having been Tonsured.

Orlande de Lassus'

"Psalmi Davidis poenitentiales".

This is a Setting of Psalm 6, "Domine, ne in furore tuo arguas me",

("O Lord, do not reprove me in Thy wrath, nor in Thy anger chastise me").

Psalm 6 is the first of the Seven Penitential Psalms.

Available on YouTube on

http://youtu.be/-0cILFy2sW4.

Perhaps the most famous musical setting of all the Seven Penitential Psalms is by Orlande de Lassus, with his Psalmi Davidis poenitentiales of 1584. There are also fine settings by Andrea Gabrieli and by Giovanni Croce. The Croce pieces are unique in being settings of Italian sonnet-form translations of the Psalms by Francesco Bembo. These were widely distributed. They were translated into English and published in London as Musica Sacra and were even translated (back) into Latin and published in Nürnberg as Septem Psalmi poenitentiales.

William Byrd set all Seven Psalms in English versions for three voices in his Songs of Sundrie Natures (1589). Settings of individual Penitential Psalms have been written by many composers. Well-known settings of the Miserere (Psalm 50) include those by Gregorio Allegri and Josquin des Prez. Settings of the De profundis (Psalm 129) include two in the Renaissance era by Josquin.


PART FOUR FOLLOWS.

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

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.
Semi-Double.

Privilege of the First Class.
Violet Vestments.

English: St. Peter's Basilica, seen from the River Tiber.
The iconic dome dominates the skyline of Rome.
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

Author: Sébastien Bertrand from Paris, France.

Reviewer: Andre Engels

(Wikimedia Commons)

Artist: Giovanni Paolo Panini (1692–1765).

Title: Interior of Saint Peter's Basilica.

Date: 1731.

Current location: Saint Louis Art Museum, 
Missouri, United States of America.

Source/Photographer: Saint Louis Art Museum official site.

(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: 2007-06-30 (original upload date).

Source: Transferred from it.wikipedia; transferred to Commons 

by User:Pil56 using CommonsHelper.

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).

Deutsch: Murcianodom in Rom, gesehen vom Dach
der Engelsburg, auch Tartarugadom genannt.

English: Saint Peter's Basilica.
Seen from the roof of Castel Sant'Angelo.

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 regularly 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

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.

 

The Dome of
Saint Peter's Basilica.

Photo: October 2006.

Source: Made by Pasztilla.

Author: Attila Terbócs.

(Wikimedia Commons)

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 misconception, 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.

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

Roman Text is taken from The Saint Andrew Daily Missal.

Italic Text is taken from http://romanchurches.wikia.com/wiki/San_Nicola_in_Carcere

Illustrations and Captions, are taken from Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia,
unless otherwise stated.

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, in the form of a Basilica, is very harmonious.

Interior of San Nicola in Carcere.

Photo: http://www.romaspqr.it/ROMA/CHIESE/
FOTO%20Medievali/s_nicola_carcere003.htm

Interior of San Nicola in Carcere.

Photo: http://www.romaspqr.it/roma/CHIESE/
FOTO%20Medievali/s_nicola_in_carcere007.htm

However, before the 8th-Century, 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 Tiber.

A side-view of the 
Basilica of San Nicola in Carcere.

Photo: August 2007.

Source: San Nicola in Carcere

Uploaded by Kurpfalzbilder.de

Author: Cristian Martinez 
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. 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.

Church of Saint Nicholas in Prison
(San Nicola in Carcere),
Rome, Italy.

Photo: April 2007.

Source: Own work.

Author: Lalupa.

(Wikimedia Commons)

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.

The left Aisle of 
San Nicola in Carcere,
Rome, Italy.

Photo: http://www.romaspqr.it/roma/CHIESE/
FOTO%20Medievali/s_nicola_in_carcere009.htm

Perhaps the most interesting thing about the Church is that it incorporates the remains of three temples of the Republican era (2nd-Century BC), 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 down each side. Two survive to the North, and seven 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, Italy.

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, embedded in the façade (out of six), 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 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: San Nicola in Carcere,

with old Roman relics attached.

German: San Nicola in Carcere (Rom)

mit altrömischen Relikten.

Photo: May 2007.

Source: Own work.

Author: Berthold Werner.

(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, 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, Italy.

Photo: http://www.romaspqr.it/roma/CHIESE/
FOTO%20Medievali/s_nicola_in_carcere011.htm

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, or the Gothic Wars in the 6th-Century. 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 A.D., 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 A.D. 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 San Nicola in Carcere,
Rome, Italy.

Photo: July 2006.

Source: Flickr

Author: Patrick Denker

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 remodelled in 1599, when the present Mannerist façade was added, and restored in the 19th-Century on the orders of 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 Mediaeval, 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. It was suppressed in 1931, and the Church made dependent on Santa Maria in Campitelli.