Saint Clement, a successor of Saint Peter, is named third in The Canon of The Mass, after The Apostles.
The Letter of Saint Clement to The Corinthians is one of the most precious documents of the earliest Christian Centuries.
Following the affirmation of Origen, The Roman Breviary confuses this Saint Clement with another Clement, an auxiliary of Saint Paul. Wherefore, the Epistle chosen is that in which The Apostle speaks of the Clement who worked with him for the Gospel and whose name is written in The Book of Life.
On the testimony of The Greek Acts of Saint Clement, dating from the 4th-Century A.D., The Roman Martyrology likewise declares that "relegated to Chersonese during Trajan's persecution, he at last won the glorious Crown of Martyrdom, having been cast into the sea with an anchor attached to his neck." "His body," it adds, "was carried to Rome, under the Pontificate of Pope Nicholas I and Solemnly laid in the Church which had been built in his memory."
This Church, where The Station is held on The Monday of The Second Week in Lent, is one of the most interesting in Rome, because it most faithfully represents the ancient Plan of a Roman Basilica. It has, in front, an Atrium, or Courtyard, surrounded by Porticoes, with the Fountain in the centre, where the Faithful cleansed themselves before entering The Holy Building, and which is recalled by our Holy Water Stoups and Baptismal Fonts at the entrance of our Churches.
The Interior comprises three Naves, separated by Columns; the central Nave contains the Ambos, or Pulpits, where the Epistle and Gospel are read. The Lateral Naves were reserved, one for men, the other for women.
The Ceiling of the Basilica of Saint Clement, Rome.
Behind the Altar, at the back of the Apse, stands the Bishop's Chair, around which was grouped the Clergy. It is the only Church which gives such a clear account of the distinctions made among Christians.
In the first precinct, were admitted Catechumens and Penitents, who could only be present at the first part of The Mass (from the Introit to the Offertory), thence called Mass of the Catechumens. In the second part were the Faithful, who heard the second part of The Mass (from the Offertory to the end), thence called Mass of the Faithful. In the Apse, was the place reserved for Priests, whence it is called Presbyterium. Christian architecture thus showed forth the hierarchy established by Divine Right in The Church.
Mass: Dicit Dóminus. Commemoration: Saint Felicitas.
This Article, dated 20 November 2017, is taken from, and can be read in full at, LITURGICAL ARTS JOURNAL
Illustration: LITURGICAL ARTS JOURNAL
Shawn Tribe’s recent Posts on the usefulness of Altar Frontals, or Antependia, brought to mind the teaching aspects of Liturgical Colours and perhaps we can take it one step further: The richness of symbolism used on such Frontals – in these cases, the embroidery.
Here are several examples from one (Episcopal/Anglican) Church – Saint Mark’s Church, Locust Street, Philadelphia – produced during the first decade of the 20th-Century by three different “Schools” of embroidery.
Each example was created for use in the new Lady Chapel added to the Church, by Rodman Wanamaker, as a place for the tomb of his recently-departed wife, Fernanda Henry Wanamaker.
Overwhelmed with grief at the sudden death of his wife, he commissioned the elaborate furnishings of the Chapel in 1900. The first four examples were all designed by the noted Church Designer, Charles Eamer Kempe, and were produced by The Community of Saint John the Baptist (Anglican) in 1902-1904.
The Sisters kept careful notes of their projects, listing the number of yards of Silk and skeins of embroidery threads for each piece they made -- including the number of hours of labour. The Sisters produced embroidery as a way of supporting their mission of rescuing “Fallen Women” and they continued working for Kempe and Company from 1878-1920.
For a Chapel Dedicated to The Blessed Virgin Mary, the White Frontal has Fleurs-de-Lys in profusion, as well as Crowned Monogrammes of Our Lady.
The Red Frontal has a superb standing figure of The Madonna and Child surrounded by Demi-Angels in adoration, scattered among them are numerous Stars. alluding to Mary’s Hebrew name – Miriam.
The Black Frontal, used for Requiems and All Souls’ Day, even today, 113 years later, does not make reference to The Blessed Virgin Mary, but has inscriptions referring to “The Faithful Departed”.
The last in this group is the curious “Passiontide” Blue Frontal – again, the references are to Passiontide, not The Blessed Virgin Mary – small Shields, with implements of The Passion, are shown, and a Verse from a Passiontide Hymn is on The Super-Frontal. Two hanging decorative Panels, called “Apparels”, overlay the Antependium, itself – an unusual treatment.
The use of Blue for Passiontide was unusual, even in Anglican circles, but was probably a response to what is known, humorously, as the “British Museum School” of Liturgical Colours. The Frontal has, nonetheless, a subtle beauty.
Another workshop, utilised by Wanamaker, was The Maison Henry of Lyon (Mrs Wanamaker’s family owned this company). Little is known of the embroidery produced by (for ?) Maison Henry, but their Silk, and Cloth-of-Gold fabrics and Vestments, are well known and in wide use, and many examples are known today.
We do not have a precise date, but it was included in the inventory of 1906, so it must pre-date that year. It consists of Cloth-of-Silver, with a Cartouche in the centre depicting The Madonna and Child enthroned, surrounded by Cherubs; the Cartouche is surrounded by embroidered Roses and Lilies in Bullion embroidery. Perhaps the most striking design element is the use of what were called “Blister Pearls” that nearly cover the surface.
Our final example is perhaps the loveliest of all. This Green Frontal is so heavily embroidered that it is rather hard to identify the Liturgical colour.
The design is by the noted architect and designer, Sir J. Ninian Comper, and was produced by the workrooms of The Sisters of Bethany (Anglican) in 1904. These Sisters also relied on the embroidery they produced to support their work, and Comper, “a devoted young artist,” was to design for them from 1886 to, circa, 1950.
The scene, and it is an almost theatrical scene, is of Our Lady holding The Divine Child under an Arbour of “Lily” vines, above which are Doves in flight. Behind The Blessed Virgin Mary, four Angels hold a Cloth-of-Honour, powdered with Fleurs-de-Lys, while four attending Angels play musical instruments.
The Holy Child reaches playfully for a Peach offered by one of the Angels, and scattered across the whole scene are Rose Blossoms. Comper was to re-use this design as a Painted Retablo [Editor: A Devotional Painting] in 1907 for a Church in Kent, England, and is considered to be one of his finest works.
These are just a few examples of the art of embroidery at the service of Liturgical Design – beauty at the service of The Church.
Davis d'Ambly is a Liturgical Artist working for The Church in various Media since 1974.
In addition, the following was a Post by Zephyrinus on 31 January 2017, which Readers may find of interest in relation to the above Article.
Altar Frontal (Antependium) designed by Charles Eamer Kempe.
Inv. no.22; M.S. S12. Window, South Transept; West Window; English; C.E. Kempe, circa 1905. Stained- and Painted-Glass. 1a. ALFREDUS REX, holding scroll, 1b. RICARDUS HAKLUYT PREB, 1c. RICARD HOOKER PREB, 1d. GULIELMUS SHAKESPEARE. In the Transom, Tudor Roses and the Sun in splendour. 2a. King David with Harp and Scroll: CANTATE..., 2b. EZRA SCRIBA DEI, 2c. S.LUCAS EVAN, 2d. S.PAULUS APOST.
Text from The Saint Andrew Daily Missal, unless otherwise stated.
Saint Cecilia. Virgin and Martyr. Feast Day 22 November.
Double.
Red Vestments.
Saint Cecilia.
Church of Saint Cecilia, Trastevere, Rome, Italy.
In the sculpture, by Stefano Maderno (1576-1636), Saint Cecilia extends three fingers with her Right Hand and one with her Left Hand, testifying to The Trinity. The sculptor attested that this was how the Saint's body looked when her tomb was opened in 1599.
Photographed at the Church of Saint Cecilia, Trastevere, Rome, Italy, by Richard Stracke.
Please credit the photographer and the Church.
Date: 26 September 2011 (original upload date).
Source: Transferred from en.wikipedia to Commons by
Born at Rome, of the illustrious family of the Coecilli,, Cecilia, as a child, consecrated her Virginity to God. When she was forced to marry Valerian, a young pagan, she said to him on the night of the wedding: "Valerian, I am placed under the guardianship of an Angel, who protects my Virginity; therefore, do not attempt anything which may bring down on thee God's anger."
Valerian dared not approach her and declared that he would believe in Jesus Christ if he saw the Angel. Cecilia assured him that this was impossible unless he was first Baptised, and sent him to Pope Urban I, who lived hidden in The Catacombs, on account of the persecutions.
Pope Urban I Baptised him and Valerian saw, near his Virginal Spouse, an Angel, brilliant with a Divine Light. Cecilia also instructed Tiburtius, the brother of Valerian, in the Faith of Jesus Christ, and Tiburtius, having been Baptised, also saw Cecilia's Angel. A short time after, both brothers were Martyred under the Prefect Almachius.
The Church of Saint Cecilia, Trastevere, Rome, Italy.
The body of The Saint lies beneath The High Altar.
The Station on The Wednesday in The Second Week of Lent is held here.
Finally, the last-named arrested Cecilia and ordered her to be put to death in her house. This was about 230 A.D.
Her body was discovered in 1599 by Cardinal Sfondrati, just as it was at the moment of her death. Stefano Maderno sculptured a famous reproduction of the body, which is seen under The High Altar of her Church in Rome.
Her house was transformed into a Church, where her body lies. For many Centuries, a number of Virgins of The Order of Saint Benedict have watched over this treasure. The Church is one of the two ornaments of The Trastevere, the other being Saint Mary's. Here is held The Station on The Wednesday in The Second Week of Lent. The name of Saint Cecilia is mentioned in The Canon of The Mass (Second List).
"To the sound of musical instruments," says The First Antiphon at Vespers, "the Virgin Cecilia sang to God in her heart." On this account, she has been chosen as The Patroness of Musicians.
The Papal Arch-Basilica of Saint John Lateran (Italian: Arcibasilica Papale di San Giovanni-in-Laterano), commonly known as Saint John Lateran Arch-Basilica, and Saint John Lateran's Basilica, is The Cathedral Church of The Diocese of Rome and the official Ecclesiastical Seat of The Bishop of Rome, who is The Pope.
The official name, in Latin, is “Archibasilica Sanctissimi Salvatoris et Sanctorum Iohannes Baptista et Evangelista in Laterano”, which translates in English as “Arch-Basilica of The Most Holy Saviour and Saint John the Baptist and Saint John the Evangelist at The Lateran”, and, in Italian, as “Arcibasilica del Santissimo Salvatore e Santi Giovanni Battista ed Evangelista in Laterano”.
An inscription on the façade, “Christo Salvatori”, indicates the Church's Dedication to “Christ The Saviour”, for the Cathedrals of all Patriarchs are Dedicated to Christ, Himself.
As The Cathedral of The Bishop of Rome, it ranks above all other Churches in The Catholic Church, including Saint Peter's Basilica in The Vatican City. For that reason, unlike all other Roman Basilicas, it holds the Title of Arch-Basilica.
The Cathedral is located outside of The Vatican boundaries, within The City of Rome. However, it has been granted a special “extra-territorial” status as one of The Properties of The Holy See. This is also the case with several other buildings, after the solving of “The Roman Question” with The Lateran Treaty. The Lateran Basilica is adjacent to the Lateran Palace.
President Nicolas Sarkozy
at The European Peoples Party Summit, October 2010.
The Basilica stands over the remains of the Castra Nova equitum singularium, the “New Fort” of The Imperial Cavalry Bodyguard. The Fort had been established by Emperor Septimius Severus in 193 A.D., but, following the victory over Maxentius (whom the “Equites singulares augusti” had fought for) at The Battle of the Milvian Bridge, by Emperor Constantine I, The Imperial Guard were abolished and the Fort demolished.
Substantial remains of the Fort lie directly beneath the Basilica Nave. The rest of the Basilica site was occupied during the early Roman Empire by the Palace of the “Gens Laterani”. The “Laterani” served as Administrators for several Emperors; Sextius Lateranus was the first Plebeian to attain the rank of Consul. One of The Laterani, Consul-designate Plautius Lateranus, became famous for being accused by Emperor Nero of conspiracy against The Emperor. The accusation resulted in the confiscation and redistribution of his properties.
The Lateran Palace fell into the hands of The Emperor when Emperor Constantine I married his second wife, Fausta, sister of Maxentius. Known by that time as the “Domus Faustæ”, or “House of Fausta”, The Lateran Palace was eventually given to The Bishop of Rome by Constantine. The actual date of the gift is unknown, but scholars believe it had to be during the Pontificate of Pope Miltiades, in time to host a Synod of Bishops in 313 A.D. that was convened to challenge the Donatist Schism, declaring Donatism as Heresy. The Palace Basilica was converted and extended, becoming the residence of Pope Saint Silvester I, eventually becoming the Cathedral of Rome, The Seat of The Popes as Bishops of Rome.
English: The Nave of the Basilica of Saint John Lateran after
the radical transformation by Francesco Borromini. With its length of 400 feet,
this Basilica ranks fifteenth among the largest Churches in the World.
Français : Basilique Saint-Jean-de-Latran, Vatican, située à Rome, Latium, Italie. Avec sa longueur de 121,84 mètres, cette Basilique se classe au 15è rang parmi les plus grandes églises au monde.
The Arch-Basilica of Saint John Lateran, Rome. Available on YouTube at YOU TUBE
The official Dedication of the Basilica and the adjacent Lateran Palace was presided over by Pope Sylvester I in 324 A.D., declaring both to be “Domus Dei”, or “House of God”. In its Interior, the Papal Throne was placed, making it the Cathedral of The Bishop of Rome.
In reflection of the Basilica's claim to primacy in the World as “Mother Church”, the words “Sacrosancta Lateranensis ecclesia omnium urbis et orbis ecclesiarum mater et caput” (meaning “Most Holy Lateran Church, of all the Churches in the City and the World, The Mother and Head”) are incised in the front wall between the main entrance doors.
However, Saint John the Baptist and Saint John the Evangelist are regarded as Co-Patrons of The Basilica, the Chief Patron being Christ the Saviour, Himself, as the inscription in the entrance of the Basilica indicates, and as is Traditional in The Patriarchal Basilicas.
Thus, the Basilica remains Dedicated to The Saviour, and its Titular Feast is The Transfiguration. That is why, sometimes, the Basilica will be referred to by the full Title of Arch-Basilica of The Most Holy Saviour and of Saints John the Baptist and John the Evangelist in The Lateran.
The Church became the most important Shrine in honour of the two Saints, not often jointly Venerated (but, see Peruzzi Chapel, Santa Croce, Florence). In later years, a BenedictineMonastery was established at The Lateran Palace, devoted to Serving the Basilica as a Devotional to the two Saints.
The Apse of The Papal Archbasilica of Saint John Lateran, Rome,
Every Pope from Pope Miltiades occupied The Lateran Palace until the Reign of the French Pope, Clement V, who, in 1309, decided to transfer the Official Seat of The Catholic Church to Avignon, a Papal “Fief” that was an enclave within France.
During the Avignon Papacy, The Lateran Palace and the Basilica began to decline. Two destructive fires ravaged The Lateran Palace and the Basilica, in 1307 and, again, in 1361. In both cases, the Avignon Papacy sent money to their Bishops in Rome to cover the costs of reconstruction and maintenance. Despite the action, The Lateran Palace and the Basilica lost their former splendour.
When the Avignon Papacy formally ended and the Pope again resided in Rome, The Lateran Palace and the Basilica were deemed inadequate, considering the accumulated damage. The Popes took up residency at the Basilica di Santa Maria-in-Trastevere and, later, at the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore.
English: The 13th-Century Cloisters of the Monastery that previously
provided Monks for all the Liturgical Services at the Basilica of Saint John Lateran.
Eventually, the Palace of The Vatican was built (adjacent to the Basilica of Saint Peter, that already had existed at The Vatican since the time of Emperor Constantine), and The Papacy moved in; The Papacy remains there, today.
There were several attempts at reconstruction of the Basilica before Pope Sixtus V's definitive project. Pope Sixtus V hired his favourite architect, Domenico Fontana, to oversee much of the project. The original Lateran Palace was torn down and replaced with a new building. On The Square, in front of The Lateran Palace, is the largest standing Obelisk in the World, known as The Lateran Obelisk (weight estimated at 455 tons).
Its manufacture was started by Thutmose III and it was erected by Pharaoh Thutmose IV before the great Karnak temple of Thebes, Egypt. Intended by Emperor Constantine I to be shipped to Constantinople, the very pre-occupied Constantius II had it shipped, instead, to Rome, where it was re-erected in The Circus Maximus in 357 A.D. At some time, it broke and was buried under The Circus. In the 16th-Century, it was located and dug up, and Pope Sixtus V had it re-erected on a new Pedestal.
Further renovation on the Interior of the Basilica ensued under the direction of Francesco Borromini, commissioned by Pope Innocent X. The twelve Niches, created by his architecture, came to be filled by 1718 with statues of The Apostles, using the most prominent Roman Rococo sculptors.
Depiction of Pope John X.
He was the first Pope to be buried within The Walls of Rome.
Pope John X (914 A.D. - 928 A.D.) was the first Pope buried within The Walls of Rome. He was granted such a prominent burial due to rumours that he was murdered by Theodora, during a historical period known as The Pornocracy. Cardinals Vincenso Santucci and Carlo Colonna are also buried in Saint John Lateran.
The vision of Pope Clement XII for reconstruction was an ambitious one: He launched a competition to design a new façade. Over twenty-three architects, mostly working in the, then, current Baroque Style, competed. The putatively impartial jury was led by Sebastiano Conca, president of The Roman Academy of Saint Luke. The winner of the competition was Alessandro Galilei. The façade, as it appears today, was completed in 1735. Galilei's façade, however, removed all vestiges of Traditional, ancient, Basilica Architecture, and imparted a Neo-Classical facade.
An Apse, lined with mosaics and open to the air, still preserves the memory of one of the most famous halls of the ancient Palace, the “Triclinium” of Pope Leo III, which was The State Banqueting Hall. The existing structure is not ancient, but it is possible that some portions of the original mosaics have been preserved in the three-part mosaic of its Niche: In the centre, Christ gives their mission to The Apostles; on The Left, he gives The Keys to Saint Sylvester and The Labarum to Emperor Constantine, while, on The Right, Saint Peter gives the Papal Stole to Pope Leo III and The Standard [Editor: The Labarum] to Emperor Charlemagne.
Some few remains of the original buildings may still be traced in the City Walls outside The Gate of Saint John, and a large wall, decorated with paintings, was uncovered in the 18th-Century within the Basilica, itself, behind The Lancellotti Chapel.
A few traces of older buildings also came to light during the excavations made in 1880, when the work of extending the Apse was in progress, but nothing was published of real value or importance.
Portrait of Pope Leo XIII.
This Pope was the last one not to be entombed in Saint Peter's Basilica.
He is entombed in the Basilica of Saint John Lateran.
A great many donations from The Popes, and other benefactors, to the Basilica are recorded in The Liber Pontificalis, and its splendour at an early period was such that it became known as the “Basilica Aurea”, or “Golden Basilica”. This splendour drew upon it the attack of The Vandals, who stripped it of all its treasures. Pope Leo I restored it around 460 A.D., and it was again restored by Pope Hadrian, but, in 897 A.D. it was almost totally destroyed by an earthquake — “ab altari usque ad portas cecidit” (“it collapsed from the Altar to the Doors”) — damage so extensive that it was difficult to trace the lines of the old building, but these were, in the main, respected and the new building was of the same dimensions as the old.
This second Church lasted for four hundred years and then burned in 1308. It was re-built by Pope Clement V and Pope John XXII, only to be burned down once more in 1360, but again re-built by Pope Urban V.
Through these various vicissitudes, the Basilica retained its ancient form, being divided by rows of Columns into Aisles, and having, in front, a Peristyle, surrounded by Colonnades with a Fountain in the middle, the conventional Late-Antiquity format that was also followed by the old Saint Peter's.
The façade had three windows, and was embellished with a Mosaic representing Christ, The Saviour of the World. The porticoes were frescoed, probably not earlier than the 12th-Century, commemorating the Roman fleet under Vespasian, the taking of Jerusalem, the Baptism of The Emperor Constantine, and his “Donation” of The Papal States to The Church.
Inside the Basilica, the Columns no doubt ran, as in all other Basilicas of the same date, the whole length of the Church from East to West, but, at one of the re-buildings, probably that which was carried out by Pope Clement V, the feature of a Transverse Nave was introduced, imitated, no doubt, from the one which had been added, long before this, at the Basilica of Saint Paul-outside-the-Walls. Probably at this time the Church was enlarged.
English: The High Altar, Saint John Lateran, Rome.
Deutsch: Rom, San Giovanni in Laterano, Innenansicht.
Some portions of the older buildings still survive. Among them, the pavement of Mediæval Cosmatesque Work, and the statues of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, now in The Cloisters. The graceful Baldacchino over The High Altar, which looks so utterly out of place in its present surroundings, dates from 1369. The Stercoraria, or Throne, of Red Marble, on which The Popes sat, is now in The Vatican Museums. It owes its unsavoury name to the anthem sung at The Papal Enthronement, “De stercore erigens pauperem” (“Lifting up The Poor out of the dunghill”, from Psalm 112).
From the 5th-Century A.D., there were seven Oratories surrounding the Basilica. These, before long, were incorporated within the Church. The Devotion of visiting these Oratories, which held its ground all through The Mediæval period, gave rise to the similar Devotion of The Seven Altars, still common in many Churches.
Of the façade by Alessandro Galilei (1735), the cliché assessment has ever been that it is the façade of a Palace, not of a Church. Galilei's front, which is a screen across the older front, creating a Narthex or Vestibule, does express The Nave and Double Aisles of the Basilica, which required a Central Bay wider than the rest of the sequence; Galilei provided it, without abandoning the range of identical Arch-Headed Openings, by extending The Central Window by Flanking Columns that support The Arch, in the familiar Serlian motif.
By bringing The Central Bay forward very slightly, and capping it with a Pediment that breaks into The Roof Balustrade, Galilei provides an entrance doorway on a more-than-colossal scale, framed in the paired colossal Corinthian Pilasters that tie together the façade in the manner introduced at Michelangelo's Palace on The Campidoglio.
The Scala Sancta (Holy Stairs), wooden steps that encase white Marble steps, are, according to Roman Catholic Tradition, the staircase leading once to The Praetorium of Pontius Pilate at Jerusalem, hence Sanctified by The Footsteps of Jesus Christ during His Passion. The Marble stairs are visible through openings in the wooden risers. Their Translation from Jerusalem to the complex of Palaces that became the ancient Seat of Popes in the 4th-Century A.D. is credited to Saint Helena, mother of The Emperor, Constantine I.
The remains of the 13th-Century Cloisters of the great Monastery which provided Liturgical Services to Saint John Lateran.
In 1589, Pope Sixtus V relocated The Scala Sancta to their present location in front of the ancient Palatine Chapel (The Sancta Sanctorum). Ferraù Fenzoni completed some of the frescoes on the walls.
Between the Basilica and the City wall, there was, in former times, the great Monastery, in which dwelt the Community of Monks whose duty it was to provide the Services in the Basilica. The only part of it which still survives is the 13th-Century Cloister, surrounded by graceful twisted Columns of inlaid Marble. They are of a Style intermediate between The Romanesque Proper and The Gothic, and are the work of Vassellectus and The Cosmati. This beautiful Cloister dates to the Early-13th-Century.
The octagonal Lateran Baptistry stands somewhat apart from the Basilica. It was founded by Pope Sixtus III, perhaps on an earlier structure, for a legend grew up that Emperor Constantine I had been Baptised there and enriched the structure. (He was actually Baptised in The East, by an Arian Bishop.) This Baptistry was, for many generations, the only Baptistry in Rome, and its octagonal structure, centred upon the large basin for full immersions, provided a model for others throughout Italy, and even an iconic motif of Illuminated Manuscripts, “The Fountain of Life”.
Papal Arms of Pope Leo XIII,
whose tomb is at Saint John Lateran, and not Saint Peter's Basilica.
Français: Armoiries du pape Léon XIII : D'azur au cyprès de sinople planté sur une plaine de même accompagné au francs quartier d'une comête d'or et en pointe de deux flaurs
de lys d'argent, à la fasce d'argent brochant sur le tout.
A dozen additional Papal tombs were constructed in the Basilica, starting in the 10th-Century, but were destroyed during two fires that ravaged the Basilica in 1308 and 1361. The remains of these charred tombs were gathered and reburied in a Polyandrum.
Pope John X was the first Pope buried within the walls of Rome, granted such a prominent burial due to rumours that he was murdered by Theodora, during a historical period known as The Pornocracy. Cardinals Vincenso Santucci and Carlo Colonna are also buried in this Church.The twelve Niches, created by Borromini's architecture, were left empty for decades until 1703, when Pope Clement XI encouraged the completion of the decoration by sponsoring a competition to select the designs for larger-than-life sculptures of The Apostles.
The chosen sculptural designs were by some of the most prominent Late-Baroque sculptors in Rome, including:
In The Liturgical Calendar of The Catholic Church, 9 November is The Feast of The Dedication of The Basilica of Saint John Lateran (Dedicatio Basilicae Lateranensis), often referred to in older Missals as The Dedication of The Basilica of Saint Saviour (or The Holy Saviour). In view of its role as The Mother Church of the whole inhabited World, this Feast Day is Celebrated as a Feast in the present Universal Calendar of The Catholic Church.
Saint Felix of Valois Founded, with Saint John of Matha, The Order of The Most Holy Trinity for the ransom of captives. He belonged to the Royal Family of France and distinguished himself as a child by his compassion for those in trouble.
Wishing to put aside any claim to the Throne of France, he renounced all he possessed (Gospel) and retired to a desert, near Meaux, France, where he was joined by Saint John of Matha [Editor: Feast Day 8 February].
In consequence of a vision, they left their solitude and went to Rome. Pope Innocent III approved the Institute Founded by them for the redemption of captives (Collect). They were ready to suffer hunger and thirst and all sorts of ill-treatment to deliver their brethren (Epistle).
On their return to France, they presented themselves before King Philip-Augustus, who was most generous towards them. The Lord of Chatillion gave them a place called Cerfroi, where they Founded the Monastery which was the principal one of their Order.
Text is from The Saint Andrew Daily Missal, unless stated otherwise.
Saint Pontianus. Pope And Martyr. Feast Day 19 November.
Simple.
Red Vestments.
Pope Saint Pontianus was deported to Sardinia with the Priest, Hippolytus, by order of The Emperor Alexander.
He was scourged to death in 235 A.D.
Mass: Statuit. Gospel: Nihil est.
The following Text is from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia.
Pope Pontian (Latin: Pontianus; died October 235 A.D.) was Pope from 21 July 230 A.D. to 28 September 235 A.D.
In 235 A.D., during The Persecution of Christians in the Reign of The Emperor Maximinus Thrax, Pope Pontian was arrested and sent to the island of Sardinia. He resigned to make the Election of a new Pope possible.
A little more is known of Pope Pontian than his predecessors, apparently from a lost Papal Chronicle that was available to the compiler of The Liberian Catalogue of Bishops of Rome, written in the 4th-Century A.D. The Liber Pontificalis states that he was a Roman citizen and that his father's name was Calpurnius. Early-Church historian Eusebius wrote that he Reigned for six years.
Pontian's Pontificate was initially relatively peaceful under the Reign of the tolerant Emperor, Severus Alexander. He presided over the Roman Synod which approved Origen's expulsion and deposition by the Alexandrian Bishop, Demetrius, in 230 A.D. or 231 A.D. According to Eusebius, the next Emperor, Maximinus, overturned his predecessor's policy of tolerance towards Christianity. Both Pope Pontian and the Anti-Pope, Hippolytus of Rome, were arrested and exiled to labour in the mines of Sardinia, generally regarded as a death sentence.
In light of his sentence, Pontian resigned as Bishop (the first Papal Renunciation), so as to allow an orderly transition in The Church of Rome, on 28 September 235 A.D.; this date was recorded in The Liberian Catalogue and is notable for being the first full date of a Papal Reign given by contemporaries. This action ended a Schism that had existed in The Church for eighteen years. He was beaten to death with sticks. Neither Hippolytus nor Pontian survived, possibly reconciling with one another there, or in Rome, before their deaths. Pontian died in October 235 A.D.
Pope Fabian had the bodies of both Pontian and Hippolytus brought back to Rome in
236 A.D. or 237 A.D., and the former buried in the Papal Crypt in The Catacomb of Callixtus, on The Appian Way. The slab covering his tomb was discovered in 1909. On it, is inscribed in Greek: Ποντιανός Επίσκ (Pontianus Episk; in English, Pontianus Bishop). The inscription "Μάρτυρ", "MARTUR" had been added in another hand.
