Friday in Passion Week. The Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Non-Italic Text taken from The Saint Andrew Daily Missal for 
Friday in Passion Week
Pictures and Italic text taken from Wikipedia (the free encyclopaedia) (unless otherwise accredited)
Greater Double
White Vestments

The Blessed Virgin Mary surrounded by The Seven Sorrows
Picture from Wikimedia Commons. Author: Georges Jansoone (JoJan)
Artwork by Adriaen Isenbrant, June 2009

The Christmas Cycle celebrated the part taken by the Blessed Virgin in the Mystery of the Incarnation, glorifying both the Divinity of Jesus and the Divine Maternity of Mary.

The Easter Cycle tells us how the Mother of the Saviour co-operated in the Mystery of the Redemption. It shows her in this Season of the Passion at the foot of the Cross, where Christ is dying (Introit, Sequence, Gospel). “An ineffable union is established between the oblation of the Incarnate Word and that of Mary; the Divine Blood and the tears of the Mother flow together and are mixed for the redemption of the human race.” [The quoted text is taken from “The Liturgical Year” by Dom Guéranger: Friday in Passion Week.]

“The prophecy of Simeon is fulfilled: A sword of grief pierces the most gentle Soul of the glorious Virgin Mary (Collect), who, by her unequalled love, becomes the Queen of Martyrs” (Communion). [This quoted text is taken from Saint Bernard: Sixth Lesson at Matins.]

As Judith had delivered Israel by killing Holofernes (Epistle), the Virgin is our deliverer with Jesus. Wherefore, the Gospel shows us, at the foot of the Tree of Passion, in a scene which recalls the Tree of Prevarication, the Maternity of Mary with regard to the Church personified by Saint John.

“Let us venerate the Transfixion of the glorious Virgin Mary at the foot of the Cross, in order to gather the happy fruit of the Passion of her Son” (Collect).

Lenten Stations at Saint Apollinaris's and at Saint Mary-the-New

Non-Italic Text taken from The Saint Andrew Daily Missal for Thursday in Passion Week
Pictures and Italic text taken from Wikipedia (the free encyclopaedia) (unless otherwise accredited)
Station at Saint Apollinaris's and at Saint Mary-the-New
Indulgence of 10 years and 10 Quarantines
Violet Vestments

Facade of Sant'Apollinare alle Terme Neroniane-Alessandrine

The old 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 Station was added in 1934.

The second Station, added by Pope Pius XI, 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.

Santa Francesca Romana's travertine façade (by Carlo Lambardi, 1615) 

and its 12th-Century Romanesque campanile

By Apostolic Letters, dated 5 March 1934, and published on 15 October 1935, the Churches of Santa Agatha and Santa Maria Nuova (also called Santa Francesca Romana) were raised to the title of 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 Churches are not on the published Map of Stational Churches in The Saint Andrew Daily Missal.

In the Mass of the Day, Daniel recalls the humilation 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.

 

Interior of Sant'Apollinare alle Terme Neroniane-Alessandrine

(Photo from Wikemedia Commons. Taken by Lalupa, February 2009)

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 this poor sinner was Mary of Magdala, called, for that reason, Magdalen, who was identified as the sister of Lazurus 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).

 

Pope Gregory XIII (1572 - 1585) granted 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 to this date.

Sant'Apollinare alle Terme is a titular Church in Rome, dedicated to Saint Apollinare, the first Bishop of Ravenna.

The Church was founded in the Early-Middle Ages, probably in the 7th-Century. 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.

It is listed in the Catalogue of Turin as a Papal chapel with eight clerics and in 1574 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)

Raised Santa Francesca Romana to the title of Stational Church

Interior of Santa Francesca Romana, previously known as Santa Maria Nuova

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 redecorated 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 40 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 stories, with Ionic columns in the lower and Corinthian ones in the upper. The lower level has a central doorway flanked by windows. Above the door is a triangular tympanon. 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 tympanon. 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 here. 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.

 

Pope Benedict XIV (1740 - 1758). He 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.

Lenten Station at Saint Marcellus's

Non-Italic Text taken from The Saint Andrew Daily Missal for Wednesday in Passion Week
Pictures and Italic text taken from Wikipedia (the free encyclopaedia) (unless otherwise accredited)
Station at Saint Marcellus's
Indulgence of 10 years and 10 Quarantines
Violet Vestments

 

The High Altar at San Marcello al Corso

(Photo from Wikimedia Commons. Photo taken by O153, July 2007)

The Church of Saint Marcellus, where today’s Station is held, was one of the twenty-five Parish Churches of Rome in the 5th-Century. 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 Apse in San Marcello al Corso 

(Photo from Wikimedia Commons. Photo taken by O153, July 2007)

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: In the Spring, it was the Feast of the Passover, instituted to commemorate the departure from Egypt; In the Autumn, it was the Feast of Tabernacles, in commemoration of the sojourn of the Jews in tents in the desert; In the Winter (middle of December), it was 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.]

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.

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. 

Facade of San Marcello al Corso 

(Photo from Wikimedia Commons. Photo taken by Torvindus, November 2005)

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

The corpse of Cola di Rienzo, 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 facade.

The Sacristy Ceiling of San Marcello al Corso

(Photo from Wikimedia Commons. Photo taken by antmoose, November 2005)

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 facade 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. Inside, is a cyborium (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 (1630-40). 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 is administered and owned by the Servite Order since 1369.

Lenten Station at Saint Cyriacus's

Non-Italic Text taken from The Saint Andrew Daily Missal for Tuesday in Passion Week
Pictures and Italic text taken from Wikipedia (the free encyclopaedia) (unless otherwise accredited)
Station at Saint Cyriacus's
Indulgence of 10 years and 10 Quarantines
Violet Vestments 

San Ciriaco (S Maria in via Lata al Corso)

The Church today unites the memory of a martyr with that of the Passion of Jesus, in making the 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, having been destroyed by fire, the body of the holy martyr was translated to beneath the High Altar of Saint Mary 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”.

 

Interior of Santa Maria in via Lata al Corso

(Photo taken from Google Images and

http://seekmeandlive.blogspot.co.uk/2010/03/santa-maria-in-via-lata.html)

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).

Santa Maria in Via Lata is a Church on the Via del Corso (the ancient Via Lata)

(Photo taken from Google Images and  

papastronsay.blogspot.com)

It is claimed that Saint Paul spent two years here, in the crypt under the Church, whilst under house arrest waiting for his trial.

 
The first Christian place of worship here was a 5th-Century 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, and murals added to the lower level between the 7th- and 9th-Centuries (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 Raphael, was buried at the end of the North aisle in 1537, though his tomb was designed in 1776.

 

Photo of "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 facade, 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 facade. 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. 

The first altarpiece is a Martydom of Saint Andrew (1685) by Giacinto Brandi, while the second altarpiece is a 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 baptizes Sabine and children by Pier Leone Ghezzi, while the first altarpiece is a Virgin and Saints by Pietro de Pietri.

Lenten Station at Saint Chrysogonus's

Non-Italic Text taken from The Saint Andrew Daily Missal for Monday in Passion Week
Pictures and Italic text taken from Wikipedia (the free encyclopaedia) (unless otherwise accredited)
Station at Saint Chrysogonus's
Indulgence of 10 years and 10 Quarantines
Violet Vestments

The Station is at Saint Chrysogonus's in the Trastevere. Under the High Altar of this Church, one of the twenty-five Parish Churches of Rome in the 5th-Century, rests the body of this holy martyr, a victim of the Diocletian Persecution. His name is mentioned in the Canon of the Mass. This was the Titular Church of Cardinal Pecci, who became Sovereign Pontiff under the name of Leo XIII.

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

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

Facade of the Basilica of San Crisogono

(Photo by Lalupa, September 2006)

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

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

 Interior of San Crisogono 

(Photo taken by Lalupa, December 2006)

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

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

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

 

Coffered ceiling of San Crisogono 

(Photo by  Lalupa, March 2007)

The Church is served by Trinitarians. The current Cardinal Priest of S. Chrysogoni is Paul Shan Kuo-hsi, S.J., Bishop of Kaohsiung. Among the previous Cardinal Priests, Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci (1853–1878), elected Pope Leo XIII.

The belltower dates from the 12th-Century. The interior of the Church was rebuilt in the 1620s on the site of a 12th-Century church. The twenty-two granite columns in the nave are recycled antique columns. The floor is Cosmatesque, but most of it is hidden by the pews. The confessio in the sanctuary area is from the 8th-Century. The High Altar is from 1127 A.D., with a baldachino from (1627 or 1641) by Gian Lorenzo Bernini.

The painting in the middle of the Baroque coffered ceiling is by Guercino, and depicts the Glory of Saint Chrysogonus.

On the left side of the nave is the shrine of Blessed Anna Maria Taigi. She was buried here in the habit of a Tertiary of the Trinitarians. 

Marble floor in the Basilica of San Crisogono

 (Photo by  Lalupa, December 2006)

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

The nave also contains a painting of Three Archangels by Giovanni da San Giovanni. The nave has a Trinity and Angels by Giacinto Gimignani, while the altar has a Guardian Angel by Ludovico Gimignani. The presbitery and ciborium are surrounded by four alabaster columns, by Soria. The apse has frescoes of the Life of Saint Crisogono (16th-Century) and, below, a Madonna & Child with Saints Crisogono & James by the 12th-Century school of Pietro Cavallini. The presbytery vault is frescoed with a Virgin by Giuseppe Cesari.

Remains from the first Church, possibly from the reign of Emperor Constantine I, and earlier Roman houses, can be seen in the lower parts, reached by a staircase in the sacristy. The ruins are confusing, but you can easily find the apse of the old church and you can see the remains of the martyr's shrine in the middle of the apse wall. The Church had an uncommon form; rather than the normal basilical plan with a central nave and two aisles on the sides, it has a single nave.

 

Pope Sylvester I (314 A.D. - 335 A.D.) and Emperor Constantine.

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

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

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

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

Lenten Station at Saint Peter's

Non-Italic Text taken from The Saint Andrew Daily Missal for Passion Sunday
Pictures and italic text taken from Wikipedia (the free encyclopaedia) (unless otherwise accredited)
Station at Saint Peter's
Indulgence of 10 years and 10 Quarantines
Semi-Double
Privilege of the First Class
Violet Vestments

The interior of St. Peter's Basilica by Giovanni Paolo Pannini

"We are not unaware", says Saint Leo, "that, among all Christian celebrations, the Paschal mystery holds the first place. Our manner of living throughout the whole year, by reforming our ways, ought to give us the dispositions for keeping it worthily and in a fitting manner. These present days, which we know to be close to that most sublime Sacrament of Divine Mercy, require devotion in a yet higher degree" (Second Nocturn). The mystery, of which Saint Leo speaks, is Our Redeemer's Passion, whose anniversary is close at hand. Priest and Mediator of the New Testament, Jesus will soon ascend His Cross, and the blood, which He will shed, He will offer to His Father, entering into the Holies which is Heaven itself (Epistle).

The Church sings: "All hail, thou Mystery adored ! Hail, Cross !, on which the Life Himself died, and by death our life restored ! " (Hymn of Vespers). The Eucharist is the memorial of this boundless love of a God for men for, when instituting it, Our Lord said: "This is My Body, which shall be delivered for you; this Chalice is the new Testament in My Blood. Do this. . . in commemoration of Me " (Communion).

What is the response of Man to all these Divine Favours ? "His own received Him not," says Saint John, speaking of the welcome which the Jews gave Jesus. "For good, they rendered Him evil and prepared for Him nothing but insults." "You", Our Lord told them, "dishonour Me," and, in fact, the Gospel shows us the ever-growing hatred of the Sanhedrin.

How Saint Peter's might have looked. Sangallo's design

Abraham, the father of God's people, firmly believed the Divine Promises which heralded the future Messia; and, in Limbo, his Soul, which, as believing was beyond the reach of eternal death, rejoiced to see these promises fulfilled in the coming of Christ.

But the Jews, who ought to have recognised in Jesus the Son of God, greater than Abraham and the Prophets, because eternal, misunderstood the meaning of His words, insulted Him by treating Him as a blasphemer and "possessed", and tried to stone Him (Gospel). And God tells Him, in the person of Jeremias: "Be not afraid at their presence: For I am with Thee, to deliver Thee, saith the Lord. . . For, behold, I have made Thee this day a fortified city and a pillar of iron and a wall of brass, over all the land, to the kings of Juda, to the princes thereof and to the priests and to the people of the land. And they shall fight against Thee and shall not prevail: For I am with Thee, saith the Lord, to deliver Thee" (First Nocturn).

"I seek not my own glory", says Jesus, "there is one seeketh and judgeth" (Gospel). And, by the mouth of the Psalmist, He goes on: "Judge me, O God, and plead my cause against an ungodly nation: O deliver me from the unjust and deceitful man." This "lying" people Our Lord declares to be the Jews. The Psalmist continues: "Deliver me, O Lord, from my enemies. . .from the unjust man Thou wilt deliver me" (Gradual).

Saint Peter's Basilica from Castel Sant'Angelo 

showing the dome rising behind Maderno's facade

"The Lord, who is just, will cut the necks of sinners" (Tract). God will not permit men to lay their hands on Jesus until His hour is come (Gospel), and when that hour of sacrifice came, He snatched His son from the hands of evil men by raising Him from the dead. This death and resurrection had been foretold by the Prophets and typified in Isaac when, on the point of being sacrificed at God's command by Abraham his father, he was restored to life by Almighty God, his place being taken by a ram, who became a type of the Lamb of God, offered in man's stead.

Thus, Our Lord, in His first coming, was to be humbled and made to suffer; not until later will He appear in all His power. But the Jews, blinded by their passions, could appreciate only one kind of coming, a coming in triumph, and so, scandalised by the Cross of Christ, they rejected Him. In their turn, Almighty God rejected them, while graciously receiving those who put their trust in the redemption of Jesus Christ, uniting their sufferings to His. "Rightly, and under the guidance of the Holy Ghost," says Saint Leo, "did the holy Apostles institute these days of more rigorous fasting, so that, by a common sharing in the Cross of Christ, even we ourselves may do something towards uniting ourselves with the work that He has accomplished for us. As Saint Paul says: "If we suffer with Him, we also shall be glorified with Him." Where we find Our Lord's sufferings being shared, there can we look on the attainment of the happiness promised by Him as a thing safe and assured."

Today's Station is in the Basilica of Saint Peter, raised on the site of Nero's Circus, where the Prince of the Apostles died, like his Divine Master, on a cross.

 

The dome was brought to completion by Giacomo della Porta and Fontana

In recalling Our Lord's Passion, the anniversary of which draws near, let us remember that, if we are to experience its saving effects, we must, like the Master, know how to suffer persecution for justice sake. And when, as members of God's family, we are persecuted with and like Our Lord, let us ask of God, that we may be "governed in body" and "kept in mind".

The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter (Latin: Basilica Sancti Petri), officially known in Italian as Basilica Papale di San Pietro in Vaticano and commonly known as Saint Peter's Basilica, is a Late Renaissance church located within the Vatican City. Saint Peter's Basilica has the largest interior of any Christian church in the world While it is neither the official mother church of the Roman Catholic Church nor the cathedral of the Pope as Bishop of Rome, Saint Peter's is regarded as one of the holiest Catholic sites. It has been described as "holding a unique position in the Christian world" and as "the greatest of all churches of Christendom".

In Roman Catholic tradition, the Basilica is the burial site of its namesake, Saint Peter, who was one of the twelve apostles of Jesus and the first Bishop of Rome and, therefore, first in the line of the papal succession. Tradition and some historical evidence hold that Saint Peter's tomb is directly below the altar of the Basilica. For this reason, many Popes have been interred at Saint Peter's since the Early-Christian period. There has been a Church on this site since the 4th-Century. Construction of the present Basilica, over the old Constantinian Basilica, began on 18 April 1506 and was completed on 18 November 1626.

Saint Peter's is famous as a place of pilgrimage, for its Liturgical functions and for its historical associations. It is associated with the papacy, with the Counter-reformation and with numerous artists, most significantly Michelangelo. As a work of architecture, it is regarded as the greatest building of its age.Contrary to popular misconception, Saint Peter's is not a cathedral, as it is not the seat of a Bishop. It is properly termed a Papal Basilica. The Archbasilica of Saint John Lateran is the cathedral Church of Rome.

The Stational Church, Saint Peter's Basilica, Rome

(Photo from http://arsorandi.blogspot.co.uk/)

Lenten Station at Saint Nicholas's in Carcere

Non-Italic Text taken from The Saint Andrew Daily Missal for Saturday of the Fourth Week in Lent
Italic text taken from 
http://romanchurches.wikia.com/wiki/San_Nicola_in_Carcere
Pictures from Wikipedia (the free encyclopaedia) (unless otherwise accredited)
Station at Saint Nicholas's in Carcere
Indulgence of 10 years and 10 Quarantines
Violet Vestments

Church of San Nicola in Carcere, Rome

(Photo from http://arsorandi.blogspot.co.uk/)

The Station is at a Church built on the ruins of three pagan temples and consecrated to Saint Nicholas. It is called "in carcere" because, in former times, it had a dungeon.

Here are venerated the remains of the holy martyrs, Mark, Marcellinus, Faustinus, Simplicius, Beatrice. The remains are contained in an ancient urn, placed under the High Altar. The interior, in the form of a Basilica, is very harmonious.

However, before the 8th-Century, the Station was kept at Saint Laurence "in Lucina"; this is why so many allusions to "light" are made in this Mass. Water is also often mentioned; it reminds the Catechumens of the water of Baptism for which they are longing; besides, it alludes also to the fact that the Stational Procession, coming from the Church of Sant'Angelo "Piscium Venditor" (at Castel Sant'Angelo) had to walk along the Tiber.

Isaias, from whom the Introit and the Epistle of the Mass are taken, sees hastening from all sides the Catechumens and public penitents who are waiting with holy impatience for the Easter Feast, when, at last, their Souls may quench their thirst in the springs of grace through the Sacraments of Baptism and Penance.

They were in darkness and Jesus gives them light (Epistle), for He tells us in the Gospel that He is the light of the world and that he who follows Him walketh not in darkness, but in the light of life. Let us also, by Penance, cast out sin from our hearts, and let us ask Christ to fill them with the light of His grace.

Solemn High Mass at San Nichola in Carcere, Rome

(Photo from http://arsorandi.blogspot.co.uk/)

San Nicola in Carcere is a Church dedicated to Saint Nicholas of Myra, the Patron Saint of sailors and of children and the remote cause of the phenomenon of Santa Claus. It is a Minor Basilica and a Titular Church, and is also the Regional Church for those from Puglia and Lucania living in Rome. However, it is no longer a Parish Church. The address is Via del Teatro di Marcello 46 in the rione Ripa, just north of the Bocca del Verità.

Perhaps the most interesting thing about the Church is that it incorporates the remains of three temples of the Republican era (2nd-Century BC), which used to stand in a row, side by side in the ancient Forum Holitorium, with their entrances facing East. It is difficult to determine from the extant sources which temple was dedicated to which divinity, but the consensus is as follows.

The northernmost was dedicated to Janus, and had two rows of six Ionic columns of peperino at the entrance and eight down each side. Two survive to the North, and seven to the South, embedded with their architrave in the Church's North wall. Well-preseved parts of the podium also survive in the crypt.

 

Interior of San Nicola in Carcere

(Photo taken by Lalupa)

The site of the middle temple is occupied by the Church; it was dedicated to Juno Sospita and was in the Ionic style. Three columns survive, embedded in the façade (out of six), and other remains exist in the crypt and also at the end of the left aisle.

The Southern, much smaller, temple was dedicated to Spes (hope personified as a goddess). It was in the Doric style, with six columns at the entrance and eleven down each side. Seven columns of the North side are embedded in the South wall of the church.

There used to be a fourth temple just to the North, the Temple of Pietas built by Manius Acilius Glabrio, who was consul in 191 B.C., but this was demolished for the construction of the Theatre of Marcellus.

Exterior view of San Nicola in Carcere 

showing ancient columns embedded in the wall

(Photo by Berthold Werner May 2007)

How the three temples became a Church is completely obscure. A surmise is that the middle temple was converted into a Church in the 6th-Century, but there is no documentary evidence at all. The name carcere, meaning "prison", is also puzzling. There is a reference in Pliny which reads ...Templo Pietatis exstructo in illius carceris sede ubi nunc Marcelli theatro est ("The Temple of Piety was built on the site of the prison where the Theatre of Marcellus now is"), but if this is the same prison it requires a memory of it to have persisted for at least seven hundred years. Alternatively, one of the temples could have been used as a prison during periods of civic disorder during the early-Dark Ages, such as the sacking of the city by barbarians in the 5th-Century or the Gothic Wars in the 6th-Century. Citizens may have been imprisoned in order to extort ransoms. However, these theories again have no documentary evidence. The puzzle of the name caused people in the Middle Ages to mistake the Church for the site of the Mamertine Prison.

The first certain reference is from 1128 A.D., attested by a plaque in the Church recalling its rebuilding and consecration. The inscription is not easy to read, and the Diocese has the year as 1088 A.D. The dedication to Saint Nicholas was perhaps as a result of the Greek population then living in the area, as the Saint has always been popular in the Byzantine Rite. However, he has long been popular in the West as well, and his shrine is at Bari (which is why this is the Puglian Regional Church).

Facade of San Nicola in Carcere

(Photo taken by Patrick Denker July 2006)

In the 11th-Century, the Church was known as San Nicola Petrus Leonis, referring to the convert Jewish Pierleoni family, who rebuilt the nearby Theatre of Marcellus as a fortress. (They became famous Roman patricians in the Middle Ages.) It was remodelled in 1599, when the present Mannerist façade was added, and restored in the 19th-Century on the orders of Pope Pius IX.

In the 20th century, the edifice almost succumbed to the nationalist passion for excavating and exposing the surviving architectural remains of the Roman Empire. The surrounding buildings, many of them medieval, were demolished, leaving the church isolated. When Mussolini 's grandiose Via del Mare road scheme was executed, the present wide road was pushed through at a much lower level than the original street and hence the church is now only accessible in front by steps. An engraving by Vasi shows the streetscape before all this destruction (see the "Romeartlover" external link). A further unfortunate result was that the surrounding area was depopulated (few people live around here even now), and this left the ancient parish unviable. It was suppressed in 1931, and the church made dependent on Santa Maria in Campitelli.

The current titular deacon of the church is H.E. Cardinal Zenon Grocholewski. He was appointed on 21 February 2001.

Lenten Station at Saint Eusebius's

Non-Italic Text taken from The Saint Andrew Daily Missal for Friday of the Fourth Week in Lent
Pictures and italic text taken from Wikipedia (the free encyclopaedia) (unless otherwise accredited)
Station at the Church of Saint Eusebius
Indulgence of 10 years and 10 Quarantines
Violet Vestments

 Basilica Church of Sant'Eusebio

The Station is at the Sanctuary erected on the site of the house where Saint Eusebius, an ardent defender of the faith against Arius, died a martyr. In the 5th-Century, it was one of the twenty-five Parish Churches of Rome. This Sanctuary may have been chosen in which to read the Epistle and Gospel relating to resurrections, since it is situated near the great cemetery of the Esquiline.

As in the Mass of yesterday, the Epistle and Gospel tells us of a double resurrection, an image of that which was to operate in the Souls of Catechumens and public penitents at the Easter Festival, and in the Souls of sinners during the season of Lent.

Both the widow of Sarepta, who went to Eliseus, and the mother who had recourse to Elias, represent the Gentiles, as they were both of heathen race. Our Souls have, through the Sacraments of Baptism and Penance, shared in the resurrection of Him who is "the life" (Gospel). In the same way, the bodily death of the son of the widow of Naim, and that of Lazurus, represent the spiritual death of our Souls caused by grievous sin. Penance restores them to life and brings them under the supernatural influence of Him who is "the resurrection" (Gospel).

By prayer and penance, let us provide for our spiritual interests (Collect).

 The High Altar, Basilica of Saint Eusebius

The Church was re-constructed in 1238 by Pope Gregory IX

The relics of Saint Eusebius are under the High Altar

Sant'Eusebio is a Basilica Church in Rome, devoted to Saint Eusebius of Rome, a 4th-Century martyr, and built in the Monti rione.

The Church is first mentioned in 474 A.D., by an inscription in the catacombs of Saints Marcellino e Pietro ad duas Lauros, and recorded as the Titulus Eusebii in the acts of the 499 A.D. Synod. It was consecrated "in honorem beatorum Eusebii et Vincentii" by Pope Gregory IX, after the restoration of 1238. The Romanesque style, dating back to this restoration, survived to the restorations of the 17th-, 18th-, and 20th-Centuries.

The Titulus S. Eusebii is held by Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, Archbishop of Galveston-Houston in Texas, USA.

Lenten Station at the Church of Saints Sylvester and Martin

Non-Italic Text taken from The Saint Andrew Daily Missal for Thursday of the Fourth Week in Lent
Pictures and italic text taken from Wikipedia (the free encyclopaedia) (unless otherwise accredited)
Station at the Church of Saints Sylvester and Martin
Indulgence of 10 years and 10 Quarantines
Violet Vestments

Basilica of San Martino ai Monti, Rome

(Photo taken by Panairjdde, June 2006)

The first Christians, for the honour of their martyrs, built Sanctuaries over their tombs and placed their bodies under the High Altar. From this, the custom is taken of placing relics in the altar stone. From Rome, the veneration of these martyrs spread throughout the Church. Saint Martin was one of the first Confessors (a Saint, not a martyr) to whom universal devotion was accorded in the West.

The Station is a Sanctuary on the Esquiline. A holy Priest had given his house to Pope Saint Sylvester to turn into a Church. It was one of the twenty-five Parish Churches of Rome in the 5th-Century. In the 6th-Century, Pope Saint Symmachus built a new Church, next to the first, on a higher level, and dedicated both to Saint Sylvester and Saint Martin of Tours. Since a thorough restoration was ordained in the 16th-Century by Saint Charles Borromeo, the Church is called “San Martino ai San Monti”.

 

 Saint Charles Borromeo

Cardinal Archbishop of the Catholic Archdiocese of Milan (1564 - 1584)

Restored the Basilica in the 16th-Century

This Church was chosen wherein to read the Gospel, which speaks of resurrection, because, in the name of the Blessed Trinity, Saint Martin raised three persons from the dead; a symbol of the baptised, who are born to a new life in the name of the Blessed Trinity.

The Epistle and Gospel announce to us the great mystery of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, which is drawing nigh, and in the celebration of which, at Easter, public penitents participated. The Sunamite woman and the widow of Naim had lost their sons. Eliseus, who is a figure of Jesus, raises the first to life and Christ gives back the second to his mother.

This is what God in His mercy will do in the holy Sacrament of Penance for Souls which have died by sin. He restores them to the life of grace and gives them back to the Church, their mother. Let us prepare ourselves for the Easter confession, which will more abundantly fill our Souls with supernatural life.

Let us moderate by fasting our Earthly appetites in order that we may better enjoy Heavenly things (Collect).

Interior of San Martino ai Monti, Rome

(Photo taken by Lalupa, August 2006)

San Martino ai Monti, also known as Santi Silvestro e Martino ai Monti - Titolo Equizio, is a Basilica Church in Rome, in the Rione Monti neighbourhood.

The Basilica was founded by Pope Saint Sylvester I over land donated by one Equitius (hence the name of Titulus Equitii) in the 4th-Century. At the beginning, it was an Oratory devoted to all the martyrs. It is known that a preparation meeting for the Council of Nicaea was held here in 324 A.D. The current Church of San Martino ai Monti dates from the Carolingian era, but a 3rd-Century pillared hall has been located below and adjacent to the later Church. This has caused some scholars to identify it with the Titulus Equitii, but, according to Hugo Brandenburg, it is "most unlikely that it could have served as a place of worship for any larger community and its Liturgy: The original purpose of this fairly modest hall...was probably to serve as a storage space for commercial purposes."

In 500 A.D, the Church was rebuilt and dedicated to Saints Martin of Tours and Pope Saint Sylvester I by Pope Symmachus. On this occasion, the Church was elevated and the first Oratory became subterranean.

 Pope Saint Symmachus (498 A.D. - 514 A.D.) rebuilt the Basilica in 500 A.D.

Pope Saint Symmachus was Pope from 498 A.D. to 514 A.D. His tenure was marked by a serious schism over who was legitimately elected Pope by the citizens of Rome.

He was born on Sardinia, the son of Fortunatus; Jeffrey Richards notes that he was born a pagan, and "perhaps the rankest outsider" of all the Ostrogothic Popes, most of whom were members of aristocratic families. Pope Saint Symmachus was baptized in Rome, where he became archdeacon of the Church under Pope Anastasius II.

The Basilica was reconstructed by Pope Hadrian I in 772 A.D., and by Pope Sergius II in 845 A.D. The structure of the present Basilica follows the ancient Church, and many pieces had been re-used.

The Church is served by the Order of Carmelites (O.Carm. - Ancient Observance). It was granted to them in 1299 by Pope Boniface VIII; their ownership was confirmed in 1559. The Church is the resting place of Blessed Angelo Paoli, O.Carm. (1642–1720), who was revered throughout Rome for his service to the poor; he was beatified on 25 April 2010.

Pope Sergius II (844 A.D. - 847 A.D.) reconstructed the Basilica in 845 A.D.

The most recent Cardinal-Priest of the Titulus Ss. Silvestri et Martini in Montibus was Armand Razafindratandra (who died on 9 January 2010). The current Cardinal-Priest of the Titulus Ss. Silvestri et Martini in Montibus is Polish Archbishop of Warsaw, Kazimierz Nycz. Among the previous titulars were Pope Pius XI, Pope Paul VI, and Alfonso de la Cueva, marqués de Bedmar.

Further transformations were executed in the 17th-Century by Filippo Gagliardi. In the mid-17th-Century, a series of frescoes, architectural additions, and altarpieces were commissioned including series landscape and architectural frescoes of typically biblical scenes by Gaspar Dughet and Galgliardi. There is a fresco by Jan Miel of Saint Cyril baptizing a Sultan. Fabrizio Chiari (now overpainted by Antonio Cavallucci) painted a Baptism of Christ. Giovanni Antonio Canini painted an altarpiece of Holy Trinity with Saints Nicholas and Bartholemew. The mannerist, Girolamo Muziano, painted an altarpiece of Saint Albert. Galeazzo Leoncino painted a fresco of Pope Saint Silvester I holding the Council of 324 A.D. in San Martino. Pietro Testa painted the Vision of Saint Angelo the Carmelite in the Wilderness. Filippo Gherardi painted an altarpiece of San Carlo Borromeo. Cannini also painted the Martydom of Saint Stephen. Chiari also painted Saint Martin dividing his cloak with the beggar. Giovanni Battista Creppi painted "The vision of Saint Teresa". Matteo Piccione painted the altarpiece of "Vision of Santa Maria Maddalena de' Pazzi". Paolo Naldini painted the Saints on the upper register of the nave (counter-clockwise starting with first on the nave, to right Ciriaca, Stephen, Fabianus, and Nicander, then left nave Theodore, Martin, Innocent, and Iusta. Daniele Latre painted Saint Anthony and John the Baptist on South Wall (counter-facade), while Naldini painted Saint Peter and Saint Paul.

The interior has three naves with ancient columns. A votive lamp, made in silver sheet, is housed in the Sacristy; it was believed to be Pope Saint Sylvester I's tiara. Under the High Altar are preserved the relics of Saints Artemius, Paulina and Sisinnius, brought here from the Catacomb of Priscilla. A mosaic, portraying the  Madonna with Pope Saint Sylvester I, is from the 6th-Century.