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

Thursday, 25 March 2021

Thursday In Passion Week. The Lenten Station Is At The Church Of Saint Apollinaris And At The Church Of Saint Mary-The-New.




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

Thursday in Passion Week.

Station at Saint Apollinaris's and at Saint Mary-the-New
   (also called Saint Frances of Rome).

Indulgence of 10 Years and 10 Quarantines.

Violet Vestments.



English: The Church of Saint Apollinaris, Rome.
Italiano: Roma Chiesa di S Apollinare.
Photo: November 2012.
User: MGA73bot2
Source: Own work.
Author: Gobbler
(Wikimedia Commons)



The old Lenten Station is at the Church built towards 780 A.D., by Pope Adrian I, on the ruins of an ancient temple, in honour of The Holy Martyr, Apollinaris, the Disciple of Saint Peter and Archbishop of Ravenna. A second Lenten Station was added in 1934.

The second Lenten Station, added by Pope Pius XI in 1934, is at Saint Mary-the-New (Santa Maria Nuova), also known as Santa Francesca Romana. Santa Francesca Romana is situated next to the Roman Forum.


English: Church of Saint Mary-the-New
(Santa Francesca Romana), Rome.
Italiano: Chiesa di Santa Francesca Romana
nei pressi del Foro RomanoRoma.
Photo: February 2008.
Source: Own work.
(Wikimedia Commons)


By Apostolic Letters, dated 5 March 1934, and published on 15 October 1935, the Churches of Santa Agatha and Saint Mary-the-New (Santa Maria Nuova) (also called Santa Francesca Romana) were raised to the Title of Lenten Stational Churches.

The same Ceremonies are performed, and the same Indulgences may be gained there, respectively, as Santa Pudentiana, on The Third Tuesday in Lent, and Sant'Apollinare, on Passion Thursday. These two new Stational Churches (Santa Agatha and Saint Mary-the-New (Santa Maria Nuova)) (also called Santa Francesca Romana) are not on the published Map of Lenten Stational Churches in The Saint Andrew Daily Missal.


English: View from The Palatine Hill
showing the Basilica of Saint Mary-the-New
Česky: Pohled z vrchu Palatin směrem na Forum Romanum,
Photo: April 2011.
Source: Own work.
Author: Karelj
(Wikimedia Commons)



In The Mass of The Day, Daniel recalls the humiliation of the people of Israel, who were delivered to their enemies “on account of their sins” (Introit and Epistle). The Church also mourns over the bad Christians and the heathen, slaves of Satan and of their passions.

With Azarias, she asks the Lord “that all those who ill-treat His servants may be confounded, for it is with a contrite and humble heart that they return to God” (Epistle). She hopes that, faithful to His ancient and solemn oath, He will multiply His people like the stars in the firmament and the sand on the shore (Epistle).

She already sees with joy The Paschal Night, when, in The Baptismal Font, numerous children are going to be born to her. She excites the Penitents to true repentance and hope by relating the conversion of Magdalen the sinner, who throws herself at the feet of Jesus, shedding tears of repentance, whilst the Jews, represented by Simon the Pharisee, remain unmoved.


English: Saint Apollinaris's Church, Rome.
Italiano: Roma, Sant'Apollinare.
Photo: February 2009.
Source: Own work.
Author: Lalupa
(Wikimedia Commons)



The Gospel relates to the second year of the Public Ministry of Jesus, Who was received in Naim, in the house of Simon the Pharisee. Several Fathers of The Latin Church think that the poor sinner was Mary of Magdala, called, for that reason, Magdalen, who was identified as the sister of Lazarus and Martha.

Forming part of the People of God through Baptism, we should humbly, like Magdalen, weep for our sins and generously expiate them. Let us therefore purify our bodies and Souls by mortification and Penance, for it is “by Abstinence that we must heal our wounds made by intemperance” (Collect).

Mass: Omnia, quæ fecisti.
Preface: Of The Holy Cross.



English: Pope Gregory XIII (1572 - 1585) granted the Basilica of Sant'Apollinare to The Jesuits in 1574. He is best known for commissioning, and being the namesake for, The Gregorian Calendar, which remains the internationally-accepted Civil Calendar.
Portrait by Lavinia Fontana (1552 - 1614).
Español: Gregorio XIII.
(Wikimedia Commons)


The following Text is from Wikipedia - the free encyclopædia.

Sant'Apollinare alle Terme is a Titular Church in Rome, Dedicated to Saint Apollinaris of Ravenna, the first Bishop of Ravenna. It is The Station Church for The Thursday in Passion Week in Lent.

The Church was Founded in the Early-Middle Ages, probably in the 7th-Century A.D. It is first mentioned, in The Liber Pontificalis, under Pope Hadrian I, using spolia from the ruins of an Imperial Building. The first Priests, who served the Church, were probably Eastern Basilian Monks, who had fled from persecution during the iconoclast period.

The Church is Listed, in The Catalogue of Turin, as a Papal Chapel, with eight Clerics. In 1574, it was granted to The Jesuits by Pope Gregory XIII, and it was used as the Church of the next-door Collegium Germanicum in the Palazzo di Sant'Apollinare (now owned by The Roman Seminary), which was later united with The Hungarian College to form The Collegium Germanicum et Hungaricum. This remained a Jesuit institution until The Suppression of The Jesuits in 1773, when this Church passed to The Lazarists.


Pope Pius XI (1922 - 1939).
Who, in 1934, raised Santa Francesca Romana
to the Title of Lenten Stational Church.
Photo: 1930.
Source: Pope Pius XI.
Author: Politisch Wissenschaftlicher Verlag Berlin, 1932.
(Wikimedia Commons)




English: The Church of Saint Francesca Romana, Rome.
Italiano: Roma, chiesa di Santa Francesca Romana,
vista dall'area archeologica del Foro Romano, presso l'arco di Tito.
Photo: May 2010.
Source: Own work.
Author: MM
(Wikimedia Commons)



In the Late-17th-Century, the Church of Saint Apollinaris was in a poor state of repair. Its rebuilding was considered over a long period, but wasn't carried out, probably due to lack of funds. Despite this, in 1702, a Chapel was re-decorated and Dedicated to Saint Francis Xavier, and a statue of the Saint commissioned from Pierre Le Gros, who carved the Marble with extraordinary virtuosity (the statue was preserved when the Church was eventually rebuilt, some forty years later, and is still in situ).

In 1742, Pope Benedict XIV commissioned Ferdinando Fuga to rebuild Saint Apollinaris's. Fuga added a new façade in the Late-16th-Century-Style, with Baroque elements. It has two Storeys, with Ionic Columns in the Lower Storey and Corinthian Columns in the Upper Storey. The Lower Level has a Central Doorway, flanked by windows. Above the door, is a triangular Tympanum. On the Upper Level, is a large Central Window with a Balcony, and two smaller windows to the sides. The façade is crowned by a Double Tympanum. Fuga also reconstructed the Dome. The Church was re-Dedicated in 1748.

Francesco Antonio Zaccaria, writer and archaeologist, who died in 1795, was buried in the Chapel of Saint Ignatius of Loyola. In 1990, the Church was granted to Opus Dei, and is now part of their Pontifical Institute of Saint Apollinaris. In the same year, the notorious gangster Enrico De Pedis, boss of the so-called Banda della Magliana, was buried in the Church's Crypt, by authorisation of Cardinal Ugo Poletti. The unusual interment has been linked to the case of Emanuela Orlandi's kidnapping and the tomb was opened for investigation in 2012.


Pope Benedict XIV.
Artist: Pierre Subleyras (1699 - 1749).
Current location: Palace of Versailles, Paris.
(Wikimedia Commons)


Pope Benedict XIV (1740 - 1758) commissioned Ferdinando Fuga to rebuild the Church of Saint Apollinaris in 1742. When Elected Pope, in 1740, the Conclave that Elected him had lasted for six months, He is reported to have said to the Cardinals: "If you wish to Elect a Saint, choose Gotti; a Statesman, Aldrovandi; an honest man, me".

The Church has a single Nave. Along the side are Pilasters with Corinthian Capitals holding the Arches to the Side Chapels. In the Barrel-Vaulted Ceiling, is a fresco of The Glory of Saint Apollinaris, by Stefano Pozzi.

The High Altar was made on the orders of Pope Benedict XIV, with stucco decorations by Bernardino Ludovisi and an Early-17th-Century Altarpiece depicting Saint Apollinaris' Consecration as Bishop of Ravenna. The Crypt contains Relics.

The elliptical Chapel of Graces, which is outside the Church proper, is accessed through a doorway on the Left. It contains a 1494 fresco of The Virgin, Queen of Apostles, which survived The Sack of Rome, because the Priests covered it with lime. It was then rediscovered in 1645, when two boys and a Soldier took refuge in the Church during an earthquake. A Marble Frame with Golden Stucco Cherubs was added by Peter Anton von Verschaffelt.

Wednesday, 24 March 2021

The Feast Of The Archangel Gabriel. Feast Day, Today, 24 March.


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

Saint Gabriel.
   Archangel.
   Feast Day 24 March.

Greater-Double.

White Vestments.


Polyptych of The Resurrection:
The Archangel Gabriel.
Artist: Titian (1490–1576).
Date: 1522.
Current location: Santi Nazaro e Celso, Brescia, Italy.
Source/Photographer: Web Gallery of Art
(Wikimedia Commons)


Illustration: SACRAMENTALS

Happy Feast of The Archangel Gabriel.

Saint Gabriel was sent to Daniel to enlighten him as to the time when Christ would be born (Epistle), and to Zachary, at the hour in which he offered Incense in the Temple (Offertory), to announce to him the birth of John the Baptist, the Precursor of The Messias (Gospel).

"Only Gabriel, a name that means "Power of God", was found worthy among all the Angels," says Saint Bernard, "to announce to Mary the designs of God with regard to her" (Matins). "He was chosen from among all the Angels," says the Collect, "to proclaim The Mystery of The Incarnation."

With a feeling of Holy Reverence, Saint Gabriel came to The Virgin, who, from all Eternity, had been chosen to be The Mother on Earth of Him, of Whom God is The Father in Heaven. In the words inspired by The Most High, and which The Church desires us to repeat frequently, he said to her: "Hail, Full of Grace, The Lord is with thee: Blessed art thou among women." [As Saint Thomas Aquinas said of The Blessed Virgin Mary: "She, who stands on The Threshold of Divinity."]


And, seeing that Mary was taken aback by this salutation, the Angel explained that he had come to obtain her consent, her Fiat, that the Great Mystery on which depended the Redemption of Mankind might be accomplished. "I am Gabriel, who stands before God, and I have been sent to speak to thee and to tell thee these good tidings" (Matins).

It was Mary's wish to remain a Virgin, and the Angel of The Lord announced that she would conceive of The Holy Ghost and that she would give birth to a son, to Whom she would give the name of Jesus, that is to say, Saviour.

Mary, then, without hesitating, submitted with the most profound humility: Behold The Handmaid of The Lord: Be it done to me according to Thy word.


And, in that instant, was accomplished the greatest of all Miracles, when God raised unto Himself and into union with Him, The Blessed Fruit of The Womb of The Virgin: "And The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us." The Word took upon Him our humanity, our poverty, our nothingness, and gave us in return His Divinity.

The Angel then returned to Heaven.

"Having learned, by the mouth of Gabriel, The Incarnation of The Word, may it be given to us to obtain, by his help, the fruits of that same Incarnation" (Postcommunion).

Pope Benedict XV (Papacy 1914-1922) extended The Feast of Saint Gabriel to the whole Church.

Mass: Benedícite Dóminum.
Commemoration: Of The Feria.
Creed: Is said.
Last Gospel: Of The Feria.

Wednesday In Passion Week. The Lenten Station Is At The Church Of San Marcello-Al-Corso (Saint Marcellus).





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

Wednesday in Passion Week.

Station at Saint Marcellus's.

Indulgence of 10 Years and 10 Quarantines.

Violet Vestments.



English: The Church of San Marcello-al-Corso, Rome.
Façade by Carlo Fontana
Italiano: San Marcello-al-Corso è una chiesa di Roma.
Photo: November 2005.
Source: Own work.
(Wikimedia Commons)


The Church of Saint Marcellus, where today’s Lenten Station is held, was one of the twenty-five Parish Churches of Rome in the 5th-Century A.D. Originally the house of the holy matron, Lucina, where she received Saint Marcellus, it was transformed by her into a Sanctuary and Dedicated to this Holy Pope, whose body rests under The High Altar.

The Mass of today shows us the obstinacy of the Jews in rejecting Jesus, as they had already rejected His Father. The Divine Law, given by Him Whom the Epistle calls six times “The Lord”, “Whose word is stable” declared formally “that one may not shed his neighbour’s blood, nor hate his father in his heart”.

The Members of the Sanhedrin, on the contrary, hated Christ and sought to stone Him (Gospel). Unfaithful to God, “Who orders His laws to be kept” (Epistle), they blamed Jesus “Whom The Father has sent” and Who is The Son of God. “The Father and I are One. The Miracles that I have worked come from My Father.” “Rejecting the legitimate pastor of their Souls, they are no longer His sheep,” and will be replaced by the Gentiles, who, Baptised or reconciled to God at The Easter Festival, are “the sheep who hear His voice and to whom He gives Eternal Life” (Gospel).


The High Altar,
Basilica of San Marcello-al-Corso, Rome.
Photo: July 2007.
Source: Own work.
Author: SteO153
Permission: CC-BY-SA-2.5.
(Wikimedia Commons)



Let us be faithful to Jesus and Pray God “to Sanctify our Fast and illumine our hearts” (Collect), in order that, delivered from the abyss into which our sins had made us fall (Gradual), we “may wash our hands among the innocent and proclaim the wondrous works of God” (Communion).

Three Feasts called the Jews to Jerusalem:

1. In The Spring.

The Feast of The Passover:
Instituted to commemorate the departure from Egypt;

2. In The Autumn.

The Feast of Tabernacles:
In commemoration of the sojourn of the Jews in tents in the desert;

3. In The Winter (middle of December).

The Feast of The Anniversary of The Dedication of The Temple;
Which The Machabees had purified after their victory. It was on the occasion of this last Feast, that Jesus, in The Third Year of His Ministry, spoke the words in today’s Gospel. He was then under Solomon’s Porch, which faces the ravine of Cedron.

Mass: Liberátor meus.
Preface: Of The Holy Cross.


The Apse,
Church of Saint Marcellus, Rome.
Photo: July 2007.
Source: Own work.
Author: SteO153
(Wikimedia Commons)



The following Text is from Wikipedia.

San Marcello-al-Corso is a Church in Rome, Dedicated to Pope Marcellus I. It is located in Via-del-Corso, the ancient Via-Lata, connecting Piazza Venezia to Piazza del Popolo. It stands diagonally from the Church of Santa Maria-in-Via-Lata (see yesterday's Post).

While the Tradition holds that the Church was built over the prison of Pope Marcellus I (who died in 309 A.D.), it is known that the "Titulus Marcelli" was already present in 418 A.D., when Pope Boniface I was Elected here.

Pope Adrian I, in the 8th-Century A.D., built a Church in the same place, which is currently under the modern Church.

The corpse of Cola di Rienzo (an Italian Mediæval politician), was held in the Church for three days after his execution in 1354. In 1519, a fire destroyed the Church. The money collected for its rebuilding was used to bribe the Landsknechts, who were pillaging the City during The Sack of Rome (1527).

The original plan to rebuild the Church was designed by Jacopo Sansovino, who fled the City during The Sack and never returned to finish it. The work was continued by Antonio da Sangallo the Younger, who rebuilt the Church, but a Tiber flood damaged it again in 1530. It was only in 1592 that the Church was completed, and, later, Carlo Fontana built the façade.


The Sacristy Ceiling fresco:
"Gloria di San Marcello", by Giovanni Battista Ciocchi.
Church of San Marcello-al-Corso, Roma.
Photo: November 2005.
Source: Flickr
Author: antmoose
Reviewer: Mac9
(Wikimedia Commons)


Under The High Altar, decorated with 12th-Century opus sectile, are the Relics of several Saints, which include those of Pope Marcellus, as well as Digna and Emerita. The last Chapel on the Left is Dedicated to Saint Philip Benizi. The Late-Baroque decoration contains sculptures by Francesco Cavallini and Reliefs by Ercole Ferrata and Antonio Raggi. The first Chapel on the Left has the double tomb of Cardinal Giovanni Michiel and his grandson, Antonio Orso, sculpted by Jacopo Sansovino.

Behind the façade is a Crucifixion (1613) by Giovanni Battista Ricci. Along the first Chapel is an Annunciation by Lazzaro Baldi; in the second Chapel, a Martyrdom of Saints Digna and Emerita (1727) by Pietro Barbieri; in the third Chapel, a Madonna with Child, a fresco of the Late-14th-Century, episodes of The Life of The Virgin by Francesco Salviati, fresco and paintings by Giovan Battista Ricci; in the fourth Chapel, a Creation of Eve and the Evangelists, Mark and John, frescoes by Perin del Vaga, Matthew and Luke, begun by Perin del Vaga and finished by Daniele da Volterra.


"Saint Philip Benizi refuses The Papal Tiara",
by Antonio Raggi (1686).
The Church of Saint Marcellus, Rome.
Photo: October 2005.
Source: Own work.
(Wikimedia Commons)


Inside, is a Ciborium (1691) designed by Carlo Bizzaccheri; in the fifth Chapel, is a Monument to Cardinal Fabrizio Paolucci (1726) by Pietro Bracci and a Monument to Cardinal Camillo Paolucci by Tommaso Righi (1776) and Wall Paintings by Aureliano Milani. On the Left Nave, in the fifth Chapel, is a San Filippo Benizi (1725) by Pier Leone Ghezzi; in the fourth Chapel, the Conversion of Saint Paul (1560) by Federico Zuccari and his brother, Taddeo, and, on the sides, a History of Saint Paul.

The inside of the Chapel has Busts of Muzio, Roberto, Lelio Frangipane by Alessandro Algardi (1630-1640). In the third Chapel, on the Left, is a "Doloroso" by Pietro Paolo Naldini, Sacrifice of Isaac and discovery of Moses by Domenico Corvi; in the first Chapel, a Madonna and Seven Saints by Agostino Masucci.

The Church has been administered and owned by The Servite Order since 1369.

Tuesday, 23 March 2021

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






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

Tuesday in Passion Week.

Station at Saint Cyriacus's.

Indulgence of 10 Years and 10 Quarantines.

Violet Vestments.



English: Basilica of Santa Maria-in-Via-Lata, Rome.
Italiano: Roma, Santa Maria-in-Via-Lata.
Photo: December 2006.
Source: Own work.
Author: Lalupa
(Wikimedia Commons)


The Church, today, unites the memory of a Martyr with that of The Passion of Jesus, in making The Lenten Station in The Church of The Holy Deacon, Cyriacus, Martyred, under Emperor Diocletian, at The Gates of Rome.

This Church, one of the twenty-five Parish Churches of Rome in the 5th-Century A.D., having been destroyed by fire, the body of The Holy Martyr was Translated to beneath The High Altar of Santa Maria-in-Via-Lata, which became The Place of Assembly for this day.

The Epistle and Gospel tell us of the approaching Passion of The Messiah and of The Rejection of Israel, who are replaced by The Gentiles in The Church.

“Daniel, who has destroyed Bel and slain the Dragon” (Epistle), is Jesus, Who denounces the crimes and sins of the World (Gospel). The Babylonians sought to destroy the Prophet, by throwing him as food to the hungry lions. The Jews, also, “sought to kill Jesus” and, for this dark design, “their hour is always at hand”.


Basilica of Santa Maria-in-Via-Lata, Rome.
Photo: 26 March 2014.
Source: Own work.
(Wikimedia Commons)



But, like Daniel, full of fortitude, He awaits The Lord (Introit), and God, “Who does not abandon those who love and seek Him” (Epistle, Offertory), “delivers Him from unjust men and from all the ills that threaten Him” (Gradual, Communion). “Those who had wished to destroy Daniel were themselves thrown to the lions and devoured instantly” (Epistle). In the same way, the Deicide Nation suffered the penalty of its crime. Forty years later, Jerusalem was taken, by The Roman Legions, after five long months of famine.

Fearing the chastisements of Divine Justice, let us persevere in the expiatory practice of Fasting, in order that we may be made worthy of The Eternal Reward accorded to The Just (Collect).

Mass: Exspécta Dóminum.
Preface: Of The Holy Cross.



English: Engraving of the Minor Basilica of Saint Cyriacus
(Santa Maria-in-Via-Lata).
Italiano: Santa Maria-in-Via-Lata.
Engraver: Giuseppe Vasi (1710-1782).
Author: Giuseppe Vasi (1710-1782).
(Wikimedia Commons)


English: Santa Maria-in-Via-Lata, Rome.
Italiano: Roma. Sancta Maria-in-Via-Lata.
Photo: 20 June 2010.
Source: Own work.
Author: Lalupa
(Wikimedia Commons)

The following Text is from Wikipedia - the free encyclopædia.

Santa Maria-in-Via-Lata is a Church on the Via del Corso (the ancient Via Lata), in Rome. It stands diagonally across from the Church of San Marcello-al-Corso.

It is claimed that Saint Paul spent two years here, in the Crypt under the Church, whilst under House Arrest awaiting his trial.


English: The Church of Santa Maria-in-Via-Lata, Rome.
Italiano: Chiesa di Santa Maria in Via LataRoma.
Facciata di Pietro da Cortona
Photo: 17 October 2005.
Author: Anthony Majanlahti.
(Wikimedia Commons)



The first Christian place of worship here was a 5th-Century A.D. Oratory, in the Roman building beneath the present Church. This was constructed within the remains of a large Roman warehouse, some 250 metres long, which has also been excavated. The Church's Upper Level was added in the 9th-Century A.D., and murals added to the Lower Level between the 7th- and 9th-Centuries A.D., (these have been detached for conservation reasons). The Cosmatesque Pavement from this phase survives.

The Church's 13th-Century icon of The Virgin Advocate, is said to have performed many Miracles. The Arcus Novus (an Arch erected by Emperor Diocletian in 303 A.D. - 304 A.D.), which stood on this site, was destroyed by rebuilding of the Church in the Late-15th-Century. Antonio Tebaldeo, poet and friend of Raphæl, was buried at the end of the North Aisle in 1537, though his tomb was designed in 1776.


"The Virgin Advocate",
Church of Santa Maria-in-Via-Lata, Rome.
Photo taken from Google Images and cryptavialata.it



The Church was renovated in 1639 by Cosimo Fanzago, but the façade, with its Corinthian Columns imposing vertical emphasis, was completed (1658-1660) by a design from Pietro da Cortona. He appears to evoke a Triumphal Arch in the façade.

The High Altar's “Madonna Advocata” (1636) is one of the few paintings in Churches attributed to Bernini (perhaps by Santi Ghetti). The Ciborium in the Apse is made from alabaster and lapis lazuli. The first excavations of the site also occurred at this date, as commemorated by a Relief in the Crypt by Cosimo Fancelli. The families of Joseph and Lucien Bonaparte were buried here in the 18th-Century.


English: The Nave,
Santa Maria-in-Via-Lata, Rome.
Deutsch: Innenraum der Kirche.
Photo: 6 February 2011.
Source: Own work.
(Wikimedia Commons)


The first Altarpiece is a Martyrdom of Saint Andrew (1685), by Giacinto Brandi, while the second Altarpiece is of Saints Giuseppe, Nicola, and Biagio, by Giuseppe Ghezzi. In the Chapel, to the Left of the Apse, is a Madonna with Child and Saints Cyriac and Catherine, by Giovanni Odazzi.

The second Altar, on the Left, has a Saint Paul Baptising Sabine and Children, by Pier Leone Ghezzi, while the first Altarpiece is a Virgin and Saints, by Pietro de Pietri.

Monday, 22 March 2021

Pope John IV (Papacy 640 A.D. - 642 A.D.).




Illustration: “The Lives And Times Of The Popes”,
by Chevalier Artaud de Montor, New York:
The Catholic Publication Society of America, 1911.
Originally published in 1842.
Date: 9 June 2013.
Author: Artaud de Montor (1772–1849).
(Wikimedia Commons)

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

Pope John IV (Latin: Ioannes IV; 12 October 642 A.D.) was The Bishop of Rome from 24 December 640 A.D. to his death in 642 A.D., aged fifty-five. His Election followed a four-month vacancy in The Papacy at Rome. He wrote to the Clergy of Ireland and Scotland to tell them of the mistakes they were making with regard to the time of keeping Easter, and he condemned Monothelitism as Heresy.

Pope John IV was a native of Iadera, Dalmatia.[1] He was the son of the Scholasticus (Advocate), Venantius. At the time of his Election, he was Archdeacon of The Roman Church, an important role in governing The See.

Pope John was considered "a very cultured man".[2] At his Consecration on 24 December 640 A.D., which followed very soon after his Election, it is supposed that the Election was being confirmed by The Exarch of Ravenna, rather than directly by The Emperor in Constantinople.[3]

While still only Pope-Elect, John, with the other Bishops of The Catholic Church, wrote to the Clergy of Ireland and Scotland to tell them of the mistakes they were making with regard to the time of keeping Easter, and exhorted them to be on their guard against the Pelagian Heresy.


About the same time, he condemned Monothelitism as Heresy. Emperor Heraclius immediately disowned the Monothelite document known as the "Ecthesis". To Heraclius' son, Constantine III, John addressed his Apology for Pope Honorius I, in which he deprecated the attempt to connect the name of Honorius with Monothelitism. Pope Honorius I, he declared, in speaking of “One Will in Jesus”, only meant to assert that there were not two contrary Wills in Him.[3]

Troubles in his native land, caused by invasions of Slavs, directed John's attention there. To alleviate the distress of the inhabitants, John sent the Abbot Martin into Dalmatia and Istria with large sums of money for the redemption of captives.

As the ruined Churches could not be rebuilt, the Relics of some of the more important Dalmatian Saints were brought to Rome. Pope John then erected an Oratory in their honour.[1] It was adorned by the Pope with mosaics, depicting Pope John holding in his hands a model of his Oratory.

Pope John endeavoured, thereby, to convert The Slavs in Dalmatia and Istria to Christianity. Emperor Constantine Porphyrogenitus claimed that Duke Porga of Croatia, who had been invited into Dalmatia by Heraclius, sent to Emperor Heraclius for Christian teachers. It is supposed that the Emperor, to whom this message was sent, was Emperor Heraclius, himself, and that he sent it to Pope John IV.[3]

Pope John IV was buried in the Basilica of Saint Peter.
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