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

Sunday, 7 March 2021

The Third Sunday In Lent. The Lenten Station Is At The Basilica Of Saint Laurence-Without-The-Walls.




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

Third Sunday in Lent.

Station at Saint Laurence-without-the-Walls.

Indulgence of 10 Years and 10 Quarantines.

Semi-Double.

Privilege of The First Class.

Violet Vestments.

(The spelling of this Saint's name can be either Laurence or Lawrence.)



Jesus casts out an unclean spirit.
Whereupon a woman, lifting up her voice cries:
"Blessed is the womb that bore Thee".
Artist: René de Cramer.
"Copyright Brunelmar/Ghent/Belgium".
Used with Permission.




English: Papal Basilica of Saint Laurence-without-the-Walls.
Italiano: Basilica Papale di San Lorenzo-fuori-le-Mura.
Photo: February 2005.
Source: Own work.
(Wikimedia Commons)


The Station, today, is made at Saint Laurence-without-the-Walls, one of the first Patriarchal Basilicas of Rome, where are buried the bodies of the two Deacons, Laurence and Stephen. In the Collect for Saint Laurence's Feast (10 August), we Pray that the flame of our sins may be quenched within us, as the Saint overcame the fire of his torments; while, in that for Saint Stephen's Day, we undertake to love our enemies, like this Saint who Prayed for his persecutors.

Here are two virtues, Chastity and Charity, which were especially practised by the Patriarch Joseph, whose history The Church gives us this week in The Breviary. For Joseph resisted the evil solicitation of Potiphar's wife, while, on the other hand, he loved his brethren to the extent of rendering them good for evil.

When Joseph told his brethren the dreams, which foreshadowed his future greatness, they became filled with hatred against him, and at the first opportunity got rid of him by throwing him into a disused pit. After which, they sold him to some Ishmaelites, who took him to Egypt and, after, sold him to an Egyptian noble named Potiphar. It was in this man's house that Joseph strenuously resisted the advances of his wife, thus becoming a great model of purity.


The Cloisters, San Lorenzo-fuori-le-mura
(Saint Laurence-without-the-Walls).
Artist: Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg (1783–1853).
Date: 1824.
Current location: Art Institute of Chicago
(Mr. and Mrs. Martin A. Ryerson Collection).
Photo: April 2007.
Source: Own work.
(Wikimedia Commons)



Saint Ambrose says: "Today, it is the history of the pious Joseph which invites our attention. He possessed many virtues, yet he shone especially by his conspicuous Chastity. Rightly, therefore, is this holy Patriarch set before us as a Mirror of Chastity" (Matins).

When Joseph was cast into prison, having been unjustly accused by Potiphar's wife, turning to God in Prayer, he asked to be freed from his bonds. In similar terms, we say in the Introit: "My eyes are ever towards The Lord; for He shall pluck my feet out of the snare." And the Tract continues: "Behold, as the eyes of servants are on the hands of their masters, so are our eyes unto The Lord our God, until He have mercy on us."

And, in the Collect, we speak of Almighty God, Who regards the desires of those who humble themselves, as stretching forth in our defence the Right-Hand of His Majesty. In this event, Pharao took Joseph from his prison, made him sit on his Right-Hand, and entrusted to him the government of his whole Kingdom; and when, through his gift of foreknowledge he predicted the famine which should last seven years, Pharao gave him the title "Saviour of the people." [Only once in the Gospels is this title given to Our Lord, namely, when He was speaking to the Samaritan woman, at Jacob's Well. The incident is recorded in the Gospel for Friday of this week, devoted, Liturgically-speaking, to the history of Joseph.]


San Lorenzo-fuori-le-Mura
(Saint Laurence-without-the-Walls).


Then, Joseph's brethren came to Egypt and he told them: "I am Joseph, whom you sold. Be not afraid. God has brought everything to pass that I may be the means of preserving you from death." Jacob's happiness, at seeing his son again, was unbounded; and he came and lived with his sons in The Land of Gessen, which Joseph gave them.

Saint Ambrose says: "The jealousy of Joseph's brethren is at the bottom of all the facts which make up his history. Besides, it is recorded to teach us that a perfect man does not give the rein to his desire to avenge an outrage or to render evil for evil" (Matins).


English: Saint Laurence-without-the-Walls. Fotografia Anderson, Rome.
Italiano: Fotografia Anderson, Roma - "Roma - S. Lorenzo Fuori le Mura".
Date: 1938.
Source: Own work (scan).
Author: Either James Anderson (1813-1877)
or his son Domenico Anderson (1854-1938).
(Wikimedia Commons)



Surely, in all this, we can recognise a type of Christ and His Church. Jesus, The Blessed Virgin's Son, is, in the highest degree, the model of Virginal Purity. And, in today's Gospel, we see Him contending in a special way with the unclean spirit. For so do Saint Matthew and Saint Luke describe the Devil, whom Our Lord cast out of The Dumb Man by The Finger of God, that is, by The Holy Ghost.

So does The Church drive out the same unclean spirit from the Souls of the Newly-Baptised. Lent was a time of Preparation for Baptism and, in administering this Sacrament, the Priest breathes three times on the person to be Baptised with the words: "Go out of the child, unclean spirit, and give place to The Holy Ghost."

Saint Bede, in his Commentary on this Gospel, says: "What then took place, visibly, is every day accomplished, invisibly, in the conversion of those who become Believers. First, the Devil is driven out of their Soul, then they perceive The Light of Faith; and, finally, their mouth, until then dumb, opens to Praise God" (Matins).


Pope Saint Pius X is buried at the Basilica of
San Lorenzo-fuori-le-Mura
(Saint Laurence-without-the-Walls).
Date: between 1880 and 1900.
Source: Library of Congress, U.S.A.
Author: Tryphosa Bates Batcheller.
(Wikimedia Commons)


In the same sense, in today's Epistle, Saint Paul says: "No fornicator or unclean or covetous person hath inheritance in The Kingdom of Christ and of God. Fornication and all uncleanness, let it not so much as be named among you."

And it is especially at this Season of Combat against Satan that we must imitate Christ, of Whom Joseph was only the type.

With regard to the Virtue of Charity, of which this Patriarch has set us an example, the likeness to Christ and His Church is obvious enough. Our Lord, too, was hated by His own people and sold by one of His Apostles, and, when He was Dying on The Cross, He Prayed for His enemies.

He had recourse to God and God Glorified Him, making Him sit on His Right-Hand in His Kingdom. As Joseph distributed the corn of nature, so, at Easter, Jesus will distribute The Wheat of The Eucharist. We know that, as a condition of receiving Holy Communion,

The Church requires that Charity, of which an example was set by Saint Stephen when he pardoned his enemies, and whose Relics are kept in the Church where today's Station is held, the same Charity above all, which Our Lord practised in an heroic degree when He "delivered Himself for us" on The Cross, of which The Eucharist is the Constant Memorial.

Thus, Joseph, as a type of Our Lord, and today's Station, perfectly illustrate The Paschal Mystery for which The Liturgy prepares us at this Season.

Every Parish Priest Celebrates Mass for the people of his Parish.

Mass: Oculi mei.
Preface: For Lent.



Pope Pelagius II (579 A.D. - 590 A.D.) ordered the enlargement
of the Basilica of Saint Laurence-without-the-Walls.



The following Text is from Wikipedia - the free encyclopædia,
unless stated otherwise.

The Papal Basilica of Saint Laurence-without-the-Walls (Italian: Basilica Papale di San Lorenzo fuori le Mura) is a Roman Catholic Parish Church and Minor Basilica, located in Rome.

The Basilica is one of The Seven Pilgrim Churches of Rome and one of The Five Patriarchal Basilicas, each of which is assigned to a Patriarchate. Saint Laurence-without-the-Walls is assigned to The Patriarchate of Jerusalem.

The Papal Basilica is the Shrine Tomb of the Church's namesake, Saint Laurence, one of the first Seven Deacons of Rome, Martyred in 258 A.D. Blessed Pope Pius IX, awaiting Canonisation into Sainthood, is also buried at the Basilica.


Basilica of Saint Laurence-without-the-Walls,
Rome, Italy (pre-1943 bombing raid of Rome)


English: The Cloisters,
Saint Laurence-without-the-Walls.
Italiano: Roma , San Lorenzo-fuori-le-mura: interno del chiostro
Photo: 16 July 2006.
Source: Own work.
Author: user:Lalupa
(Wikimedia Commons)


The following three paragraphs are taken from
TRANSALPINE REDEMPTORISTS

The Laurentian Basilica owes its Foundation to Emperor Constantine, but, being considered too small, a large Upper Aula was added to it by Pope Pelagius II (578 A.D. - 590 A.D.) and Dedicated to The Blessed Virgin Mary.

For this reason, Pope Leo IV (847 A.D. - 855 A.D.) decreed that The Station for The Octave of The Assumption should be held here.

The Gospel of today alludes to this Dedication by Praising The Great Mother of God, who, not only gave Her Own Substance to form The Sacred Humanity of The Lord's Anointed, but was, on her part, nourished Spiritually by The Divine Word and lived thereby.



No longer are you being denied The Divine Latin Mass.

Watch, and Assist, at The Divine Latin Mass, 
EVERY DAY,
from Saint Mary's, Warrington, England.

Their Web-Site is HERE

Deo Gratias.





Illustration:
Copyright:
Christine McDonald

Saturday, 6 March 2021

“La Mer”. Sung By: Charles Trenet (1913-2001).



“La Mer”.
Sung by: Charles Trenet.
Available on YouTube at

The following Text is from Wikipedia - the free encyclopædia.

Louis Charles Augustin Georges Trenet (18 May 1913 – 19 February 2001) was a French singer-songwriter. He was most famous for his recordings from the Late-1930s until the Mid-1950s, though his career continued through the 1990s.

In an era in which it was unusual for singers to write their own material, Trenet wrote prolifically and declined to record any but his own songs.

Trenet's best-known songs include "Boum!", "La Mer", "Y'a d'la joie", "Que reste-t-il de nos amours?", "Ménilmontant" and "Douce France". His catalogue of songs is enormous, numbering close to a thousand.

While many of his songs mined relatively conventional topics such as love, Paris, and nostalgia for his younger days, what set Trenet's songs apart were their personal, poetic, sometimes quite eccentric, qualities, often infused with a warm wit.


English: “La Mer”.
Sung by: Charles Trenet.
The 78 rpm Columbia Record.
Français: Charles Trenet.
“La mer” (78 tours Columbia).
Date: 25 November 2018.
Source: Own work.
(Wikimedia Commons)

Saint Perpetua And Saint Felicitas. Martyrs. Feast Day, Today, 6 March.


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

Saint Perpetua And Saint Felicitas.
   Martyrs.
   Feast Day 6 March.

Double.

Red Vestments.


English: Stained-Glass Window of Saint Perpetua of Carthage,
Church of Notre-Dame, Vierzon, France, 19th-Century. Martyrdom of
Saint Perpetua and Companions at Carthage; Saint Felicity on the Left.
Français : Verrière de Sainte Perpétue (église Notre-Dame de Vierzon, XIXe siècle): martyre de sainte Félicité et compagnons; sainte Félicité est gauche.
Photo: 20 August 2008.
Source: Own work.
Author: Gaetan Poix
(Wikimedia Commons)

Saint Perpetua had just become a mother and Saint Felicitas was soon to become one, also, when they were arrested at Carthage during The Persecution of Emperor Severus.

When thrown into prison, they united their Prayers and tears, fearing to escape Martyrdom. “God heard them” (Epistle).

When the judge told them that they were condemned to the wild beasts, they were transported with joy, like the merchant of the Gospel, for, at that price, they would purchase Heaven.

They were exposed in the amphitheatre to the fury of a fierce cow and killed by the sword towards 203 A.D.

Let us undergo in body and in Spirit the Martyrdom of Penance, so as to obtain the “Perpetual Felicity”, which the names of these two Saints suggest, as Saint Augustine ingeniously remarks.

Their names are mentioned in The Canon of The Mass (Second List).

Mass: Me exspectavérunt.
Proper: Collect.
Proper: Secret.
Proper: Postcommunion.
In Lent: Commemoration of The Feria.
In Lent: The Last Gospel of The Feria.

The Saturday Of The Second Week In Lent. The Lenten Station Is At The Basilica Of Saint Marcellinus And Saint Peter.




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

Saturday of The Second Week in Lent.

Station at Saint Marcellinus and Saint Peter.

Indulgence of 10 Years and 10 Quarantines.

Violet Vestments.



English: Basilica of Saint Marcellinus and Saint Peter.
Italiano: Basilica Santi Marcellino e Pietro al Laterano.
Photo: 23 March 2010.
Source: Own work.
Author: LPLT
(Wikimedia Commons)



The Station is in the Basilica Founded by Saint Helen, where were buried the bodies of Saint Marcellinus, Priest, and Saint Peter, Exorcist, Martyred at Rome during The Diocletian Persecution. Their names are mentioned in The Canon of The Mass. This Church was one of the twenty-five Roman Parish Churches in the 5th-Century A.D.

As yesterday, the Epistle and Gospel repeat, in figure and Parable, lessons to The Catechumens and Public Penitents.

Isaac had two sons. Esau represents The People of God who sell their birthright to gratify their carnal appetite. Jacob represents the Gentiles, who check their passions and are Blessed by Heaven.


English: Church of Saints Marcellino and Peter,
Cremona, Italy.
Italiano: Chiesa dei Santi Marcellino e Pietro.
Location: CremonaLombardy, Italy.
Photo: 26 September 2013.
Source: Own work.
Author: Mattana
(Wikimedia Commons)


Jesus, in the same way, said: "A man had two sons: The elder is the Jewish element of the primitive Church, which is scandalised at the vocation of the Gentiles and is loathe to associate with them; the Prodigal is the pagan element. After having wasted all The Gifts of God, these unhappy people mourn their sins and atone for them; they come to Jesus, Who opens His Arms to them, presses them to His Heart, and satisfies their hunger with His Sacred Body and Precious Blood in The Eucharistic Feast.

Let us ask God to Bless our Lenten Fast, so that the mortification of our flesh may bring health to our Souls (Collect).

Mass: Lex Dómine.
Preface: Of Lent.


Basilica of Saint Marcellinus and Saint Peter, Rome.
Photo: October 2006.
Source: Own work.
Author: Lalupa.
(Wikimedia Commons)



The following Text is from Wikipedia - the free encyclopædia.

Santi Marcellino e Pietro al Laterano is a Roman Catholic Parish and Titular Church in Rome. It is Dedicated to Saints Marcellinus and Peter, 4th-Century A.D. Roman Martyrs, whose Relics were brought here in 1256.

The first Church on the site was built by Pope Siricius in the 4th-Century A.D., close to the Via Labicana's Catacombs of Marcellinus and Peter, with an adjoining Hospice, which became a Centre for Pilgrims. This Church was restored by Pope Gregory III in the 8th-Century A.D. [Ever since these early Centuries, it has been among Rome's Stational Churches (for Saturday of The Second Week in Lent). In the 9th-Century A.D., when Christian Churches began to be built in Germany and were in need of Relics, the Remains of Saints Marcellinus and Peter were Transferred from The Catacomb, where they still rested, to Seligenstadt, Germany.]


Church of Saint Marcellinus and Saint Peter,
Seligenstadt, Germany.
Photo: 5 September 2007.
Source: Own work.
Author: Agridecumantes.
(Wikimedia Commons)



Seligenstadt, Germany.
Photo: 15 November 2014.
Source: Own work.
Author: © 1971markus
Attribution: © 1971markus@wikipedia.de
(Wikimedia Commons)



The Church was again restored in 1256 [by Pope Alexander IV, and the Martyrs' Relics were returned.] (Also, under The High Altar is an urn containing Relics of Saint Marcia.) On the Left Side, is an Altar Dedicated to The Blessed Virgin, with a Copy of Guido Reni's "The Virgin in Glory with Angels, Saint Joseph and Saint Rita". Next to it, is The Chapel of Reconciliation.


English: My parents' wedding. Inside the "Chiesa dei Santi Marcellino e Pietro"
[Church of Saint Marcellinus and Saint Peter], Imbersago, Lombardy, Italy.
Italiano: Matrimonio dei miei genitori. Interno della
"Chiesa dei Santi Marcellino e Pietro" a Imbersago, Italia (prima del restauro).
Photo: 12 September 1972.
Source: Own work.
Author: Jalo
(Wikimedia Commons)


An image of The Dedicatees was placed on The First Column on The Left, from the Entrance, during this Restoration, with an Inscription recording the Restoration. The Hospice and Church were then given, in 1276, to The Confraternity of Those Commended to The Saviour.

The present Church is the result of Pope Benedict XIV's 1751 rebuild, leaving it with its present cube-shaped Exterior, divided by Pilaster Strips in a style close to Neo-Classicism, Borromini-influenced Dome, façade by Girolamo Theodoli, and Altarpiece by Gaetano Lapis, depicting The Dedicatees' Martyrdom.

After that Restoration, the Church was given to The Discalced Carmelites, who Served it until 1906. A small Chapel to Our Lady of Lourdes was Dedicated at the South-East (next to a Chapel of Saint Gregory The Great), with a new Ceiling painting of Our Lady, by N. Caselli, in 1903. Since 1911, it has been a Parochial Church, Served by Diocesan Clergy.

Friday, 5 March 2021

The Seven Joys Of Mary. Mother of Jesus.


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


English: The Fifteen Mysteries of The Rosary
and The Virgin of The Rosary.
Français: Quinze mystères. Manteau de la Vierge.
This File: 20 August 2009.
User: BAILLEUL
(Wikimedia Commons)

The Seven Joys of The Virgin (or, “of Mary, The Mother of Jesus”) is a popular Devotion to events of The Life of The Virgin Mary, arising from a Trope of Mediæval Devotional Literature and Art.

The Seven Joys of The Virgin were frequently depicted in Mediæval Devotional Literature and Art.

The Seven Joys are usually listed as:






Pentecost, or Descent of The Holy Ghost,
upon The Apostles and Mary;



Raphael's Sistine Madonna painting (1513), Saint Peter's Basilica, Rome,
is considered a key example of High Renaissance Art.

Alternative choices were made, and might include The Visitation and The Finding in The Temple, as in The Franciscan Crown form of Rosary, which uses The Seven Joys, but omits The Ascension and Pentecost.

Depiction in Art of The Assumption of Mary may replace, or be combined with, The Coronation of Our Lady in Heaven, especially from the 15th-Century, onwards; by the 17th-Century, it is the norm. As with other sets of scenes, the different practical implications of depictions in different media, such as painting, ivory miniature carving, Liturgical Drama, and music, led to different conventions by medium, as well as other factors, such as geography and the influence of different Religious Orders. There is a matching Set of Seven Sorrows of The Virgin; both Sets influenced the selection of scenes in depictions of The Life of The Virgin.

Originally, there were “Five Joys Of The Virgin”. Later, that number increased to seven, nine, and even fifteen, in Mediæval Literature, although seven remained the most common number, and others are rarely found in Art.

The “Five Joys Of Mary” are mentioned in the 14th-Century poem “Sir Gawain and The Green Knight” as a source of Gawain's strength. The Devotion was especially popular in Pre-Reformation England. The French writer Antoine de la Sale completed a satire called “Les Quinze Joies de Mariage” (“The Fifteen Joys of Marriage”) in about 1462, which partly parodied the form of “Les Quinze Joies de Notre Dame” (“The Fifteen Joys of Our Lady”), a popular Litany.

Friday Of The Second Week In Lent. The Lenten Station Is The Basilica Of Saint Vitalis.




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

Friday of The Second Week in Lent.

Station at Saint Vitalis's.

Indulgence of 10 Years and 10 Quarantines.

Violet Vestments.



The High Altar,
Santi Vitalis, Rome, Italy.
Photo: November 2006.
Photo taken by BruceJWebber.
Transferred from en.wikipedia; description page is/was HERE
Author: Bruce J Webber.
Original uploader was BruceJWebber at en.wikipedia
(Wikimedia Commons)



This Station is made in the Basilica, one of the twenty-five Roman Parishes in the 5th-Century A.D., which was dedicated to Saint Vitalis by Pope Innocent I. Saint Vitalis shed his blood at Ravenna, Italy. He was the father of the glorious Milanese Martyrs, Saint Gervasius and Saint Protasius.

The Epistle and Gospel describe to us, the one in figure, the other in Parable, the destiny of the heathen and that of the Jews. The Catechumens saw in Joseph, Christ, denied by His own people, transferring to The Church, formed henceforth by all peoples, the abundance of His Blessings. They, likewise, saw in the Parable of The Rebellious Workers in the Vineyard, the reprobation of the Jews and the election of the Gentiles.

The brothers of Joseph and the Unfaithful Workers of the Vineyard uttered the same death cries: “Come, let us kill him.” But, whilst the first repented and obtained the pardon of their victim, the second persisted in rejecting Christ, the Corner Stone, and were crushed by it (Gospel).

Let us purify ourselves by the salutary Fast of Lent, in order that we may prepare ourselves to Celebrate, in a Holy Way, the coming Easter Festivals (Collect).

Mass: Ego autem.
Preface: Of Lent.



The Basilica of San Vitalis,
with a Christmas Crib set up in the middle of the Nave.
This Church is 5th-Century A.D. in origin,
but underwent renovations in the 15th-Century.
Photo: January 2006.
Author: Anthony M. from Rome, Italy.
(Wikimedia Commons)


The following Text is taken from
http://romanchurches.wikia.com/wiki/San Vitale

San Vitalis is a Minor Basilica, as well as a Parish and Titular Church, Dedicated to the legendary Martyrs, Saint Vitalis, his wife, Saint Valeria, and his sons, Saint Gervase and Saint Protase. It is located at Via Nazionale 194/B, in the rione Monti, Rome, and amounts to a fragment of an Early-5th-Century A.D. Basilica.

The full name of the Church is Santi Vitale, Valeria, Gervasio e Protasio or, alternatively, Santi Vitale e Compagni Martiri in Fovea, which is its official name.

The Church used to stand on the ancient Roman street known as the Vicus Longus, which ran between the Forum of Augustus and the Baths of Diocletian. It arrived at the latter establishment just where the Church of San Bernardo alle Terme now stands, and ran down the valley between the Quirinal and Viminal hills. There were two Tituli on it, this Church and San Ciriaco, which was near the Baths.

In The Middle Ages, the area became completely de-populated and amounted to a pocket of Countryside, right up to the Late-19th-Century. The Vicus Longus became the Via di San Vitale, which only ran from Via Mazzarino near Sant'Agata dei Goti to Via delle Quattro Fontane and on which the Church was the only building. However, when the Via Nazionale was built, this street was mostly destroyed. A short length survives at the Eastern end, and also towards the West, where it is known as Vicolo dei Serpenti.


English: Entrance to the Basilica of San Vitalis, Rome.
Italiano: Roma, porta d'accesso alla basilica di San Vitale.
Photo: June 2011.
Source: Own work.
Author: Gregorovius
(Wikimedia Commons)



It seems that a small Church was built on the site at the end of the 4th-Century A.D., perhaps for Milanese expatriates (the City was the Western Capital of The Roman Empire at the time). As a result of a benefaction by a lady called Vestina, who gave her name to the Titulus, it was rebuilt about 400 A.D., as a Basilica with Nave and Aisles. This was Consecrated by Pope Innocent I in 402 A.D. The Dedication to Saint Vitalis was first recorded in 499 A.D., when it was referred to as Titulus Sancti Vitalis.


Pope Saint Innocent I (401 A.D. - 417 A.D.).
Consecrated the Basilica of San Vitalis in 402 A.D.
Date: 5th-Century A.D.
Source: http://cckswong.tripod.com/pope1_50.htm ("Pope's Photo Gallery")
Author: Unknown.
(Wikimedia Commons)


The Church has been restored several times. The first restoration, on record, was that of Pope Leo III, about 800 A.D., during which he donated many precious items to the Basilica.

The most comprehensive rebuilding was that of Pope Sixtus IV, before the 1475 Jubilee. The Aisles of the Nave were demolished and the Arcades walled up, to create the rather elongated Single-Nave Church which exists now. The Apse was left untouched, but the ancient Narthex was also enclosed and converted into a Vestibule.

After this, the Church was then granted to The Theatines after they were founded in 1525. However, it was then transferred to The Jesuits, in 1598, by Pope Clement VIII. They carried out a complete restoration, and used it mainly as a subsidiary Church for their Novitiate, based at Sant'Andrea al Quirinale. It is clear that the Church lacked a Pastoral Function at the time.


English: The Basilica of Saint Vitalis, Rome.
Italiano: Roma, interno della basilica d San Vitale.
Photo: 23 May 2016.
Source: Own work.
Author: Gaux
(Wikimedia Commons)



It was restored again in 1859 and has been served by Diocesan Clergy since 1873. After the construction of the Via Nazionale, the previous, very quiet, area became rapidly and completely built-up and, as a result, the Church was made Parochial by Pope Leo XIII in 1884.

The new road was actually the result of a proposal by Pope Pius IX, in response to the obvious need for proper access to the City Centre from the Train Station, but the Italian Government, after 1870, mutated this into a typical straight-and-level 19th-Century Civic Boulevard. As a result, the Church, in its valley, was left well below the new road level, and is now accessed by a rather alarming flight of steps.

The Church was renovated in 1937-1938, the Narthex being restored to its original condition, and was again renovated in 1960.


English: Basilica of Saints Vitalis, Valeris, Gervase and Protase.
Italiano: Basilica di Santi Vitale e Compagni Martiri in Fovea.
Latin: Basilica Ss. Vitale, Valeria, Gervasio e Protasio.
Photo: September 2009.
Source: Own work.
Author: Gobbler
(Wikimedia Commons)


The first Cardinal Priest of the Church was Gennaro Cardinal Celio, appointed in 494 A.D., by Pope Saint Gelasius I. Saint John Cardinal Fisher, who was Martyred by King Henry VIII of England during The Reformation, was the Titular of Saint Vitale in 1535 A.D. The current Titular is His Eminence, Adam Joseph Cardinal Maida, Archbishop Emeritus of Detroit in the USA.

The Portico, or Narthex, is the most ancient part of the Church, possibly dating back to the 5th-Century A.D. It was altered at the end of the 16th-Century, but restored to its presumed original condition in 1938. The Inscription over the entrance, with the Coat-of-Arms of Pope Sixtus IV, was, however, preserved.

The façade is very simple. The Narthex is of brick, and has solid walls at the sides and corners. In front, there are five Arches with Voussoirs of tiles on edge, and these are separated by four Marble Columns. These have debased Composite Capitals, carved in Travertine when the Narthex was built, and above these are Imposts.


Armorial Bearings of His Eminence, Cardinal Maida,
Titular of Saint Vitale.
Date: January 2013.
Source: Own work.
Author: SajoR
(Wikimedia Commons)



The two outer Arches have Imposts only where they meet the walls, which looks odd. The roof of the Narthex is pitched and tiled, and slopes up to the absolutely plain Nave frontage, which contains a rectangular window, the sill of which is in line with the upper roof line of the Narthex. This window was apparently once an Oculus.

The finely-carved wooden entrance doors have two relief panels depicting the Martyrdoms of Saints Cosmas and Damian, one on each door.

The Church has a single Nave, with no Arcades, but with two Pilasters, without Capitals, near the Triumphal Arch. There are two Side-Altars either side of the Nave, which are not recessed into Chapels, but are enclosed in Aedicules, formed of a pair of Marble Corinthian Columns, supporting an Entablature and Triangular Pediment. The modern Ceiling is flat and of varnished wood, and was inserted in 1938.


who was Martyred by King Henry VIII of England
during The Reformation, was the Titular of Saint Vitalis in 1535 A.D.
Date: 1497 - 1543.
(Original uploader was Mwanner at en.wikipedia)
(Wikimedia Commons)


The Apse has been preserved from the original building. The painting it contains depicts The Ascent to Calvary, and was executed by Andrea Commodi. To the Left, Saint Vitalis is depicted being Racked, and, to the Right, he is being Buried Alive. These frescoes are by Agostino Ciampelli.

The High Altar is decorated with The Arms of The Della Rovere Family, and a painting of The Saints to whom the Church is Dedicated.


Coat-of-Arms.
The House of Della Rovere.
Royal Family.
Rulers of UrbinoItaly.

Motto.
“Fortune Favours The Bold”
(Latin: “Audaces Juvat”).

English: The High Altar of the Basilica of Saint Vitalis
is decorated with The Arms of The Della Rovere Family.
Français: la famille Della Rovere souverains d'Urbin en Italie
Italiano: famiglia Della Rovere, signori di UrbinoItalia

Blazon:
English: Azure, a durmast oak Or with the branches put in saltire.
Français: D'azur au rouvre d'or aux rameaux passés en sautoir.
Italiano: D'azzurro, al rovere d'oro con i rami passati in decusse.
Date: 18 March 2007.
Image created for The Blazon Project of the French Wikipedia.
Source: Own work.
Author: ℍenry
(Wikimedia Commons)



The House of Della Rovere (literally "Of The Oak Tree") was a noble family of Italy. Coming from modest beginnings in Savona, Liguria, the family rose to prominence through nepotism and ambitious marriages arranged by two Della Rovere Popes, Francesco Della Rovere (Pope Sixtus IV) (1471–1484) and his nephew, Giuliano (Pope Julius II) (1503–1513). Pope Sixtus IV built The Sistine Chapel, which is named after him. The Basilica San Pietro-in-Vincoli, in Rome, is The Family Church of The Della Rovere.

Guidobaldo da Montefeltro adopted Francesco Maria I Della Rovere, his sister's child and nephew of Pope Julius II.

Guidobaldo I, who was heirless, called Francesco Maria to his Court, and named him as heir of The Duchy of Urbino, in 1504, this through the intercession of Pope Julius II. In 1508, Francesco Maria inherited the Duchy, thereby starting The Line of Rovere Dukes of Urbino. That dynasty ended in 1626, when Pope Urban VIII incorporated Urbino into The Papal Dominions.

As compensation to the last Sovereign Duke, the Title only could be continued by Francesco Maria II, and, after his death, by his heir, Federico Ubaldo.


Vittoria, last descendant of The Della Rovere family (she was the only child of Federico Ubaldo), married Ferdinando II de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany. They had two children: Cosimo III, Tuscany's longest reigning Monarch, and Francesco Maria de' Medici, a Prince of The Church.

The walls of the Basilica are painted with scenes of Martyrdoms, painted in the 17th-Century, which, when you first see them, appear to be merely bucolic landscapes with views and trees. The scenes are separated by trompe-l'oeil Columns painted on the flat wall. There are Inscriptions on each scene, explaining whose Martyrdom is depicted. An amusing anachronism can be seen in the Martyrdom of Saint Ignatius of Antioch - he faces the lions in a meadow, with The Colosseum in ruins in the background. This cycle of frescoes is by Tarquinio Ligustri and Andrea Comodo.

The Feast of Saint Agnes is Celebrated on 21 January, with a Triduum starting on 19 January. Saint Vitalis and Companions are Celebrated on 28 April. Saint Giuseppe Cottolengo is Celebrated on 30 April - the new Calendar places his Feast on 29 April but, since that would mean Celebrating two major Feasts in a row, the old date is used.

Thursday, 4 March 2021

Saint Lucius I (253 A.D. - 254 A.D.). Pope And Martyr. Feast Day 4 March.


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


English: Portait of Pope Lucius I,
Italiano: Ritratto di it:Papa Lucio I
Date: 3rd-Century A.D.
Author: Unknown.
(Wikimedia Commons)

Lucius, whose name evokes the idea of light, shone by his courage in the midst of the hardest persecution. He governed The Church under the Emperors Gallus and Volusian and was Martyred in 254 A.D.

Like Jesus in His public life, he was, says Saint Cyprian, “the Pastor who guards the flock, the Pilot who steers the ship, the King who leads his people, and, in one word, Bishop, of The Church”.

Mass: Sacerdótes Dei.

Saint Casimir. Confessor. Feast Day 4 March.


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

Saint Casimir.
   Confessor.
   Feast Day 4 March.

Semi-Double.

White Vestments.


Saint Casimir (1458–1484).
The three-handed painting is considered miraculous.
Artist: Unknown.
Date: Circa 1520.
Current location: The original is in Saint Casimir's Chapel,
Vilnius Cathedral, Lithuania.
Source/Photographer: http://www.kazimieroparapija.lt/sv-kazimieras/
(Wikimedia Commons)

Saint Casimir, son of Casimir IV, King of Poland, and of Elizabeth of Austria, practised the most sublime virtues amid all the danger of The Court (Collect). He continually meditated on The Passion of Jesus, which inspired him with a great love for corporal mortification and for The Poor, those suffering members of Christ.

The abundant alms (Epistle), which he distributed, made him to be called "the father and defender of The Poor and unfortunate".

Always ready for The Coming of The Lord (Gospel), he foretold the day of his death, which happened on 4 March 1483.

Imitating the fortitude and constancy of Saint Casimir, let us unite ourselves to The Saviour, Who atones for our sins, and let us despise Worldly goods and desire Heavenly treasures (Collect).

Mass: Os justi.
Commemoration: Saint Lucius.
Commemoration: In Lent, of The Feria.
Last Gospel: In Lent, of The Feria.
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