THE OLD ROMAN CATHOLIC MISSION SOUTH EAST UK

Statio ad St Nicolaum in Carcere

Vouchsafe, O Lord, by Thy grace to make fruitful

the fervor of our devotion;

for the fasts we have undertaken shall

profit us only if they be pleasing to Thy goodness.

Through Our Lord

Today's Station is at St. Nicholas in Prison. It was constructed in the ruins of two temples and the ancient Forum Olitorium, and you can see fragments from them reused in the church. The most important of the temples was the Temple of Piety, built by Acilius Glabrius, consul in 191 B.C. The dedication to St. Nicholas was made by the Greek population in the area.

The Collecta today is at the Church of St. Angelius "in piscibus." The gathering of the faithful today was near the fish market; the church was in existence before the Eighth Century. The seven martyred sons of St. Symphorosa repose here. The Station is at St. Nicholas in Carcere. Over sixty churches were dedicated to St. Nicholas: this one stands near the ancient site of a public prison, and is built on the ruins of a pagan temple of Piety.

This Saturday is called sitientes from the opening words of the Introit. Since the time of Pope Gelasius it has been a day for conferring Holy Orders, and was therefore once a day of great fast, extending through the night. The Gospel teaches us that if the house of God on earth is not to be turned into a house of traffickers - still less can we purchase our entrance into Heaven. We are to drink with joy from the fountains of grace which flow from the blessed Eucharist.

The area in which the church of Saint Nicholas now stands was occupied in ancient times by three pagan temples dedicated to Ianus, Iuno Sospita, and Spes. The Forum Olitorium (a vegetable market) also stood here, not far from either the Tiber or the Theater of Marcellus. The church itself was built over one of these temples and incorporated within its walls parts of the other two temples. Its exterior is, as Georgina Masson describes it, “one of the most perfect examples of a Roman architectural palimpsest.” It is difficult to date the original structure; some think that it may be sixth century.

It was believed for a while that the central temple was that of “Piety,” built by M. Acilius Glabrio, the duumvir, in 165 BC in fulfillment of a vow made by his father on the day of his victory over the forces of Antiochus the Great, king of Syria, at Thermopylae. Another identification makes it the site of the caritas Romana. It is said that there was a woman condemned to die of hunger in prison, but kept alive by being nourished by the milk of her own daughter. This tradition was certainly recalled when the Deaconry was established here, as Saint Nicholas is the patron of prisoners.

The entire church was remodeled by Giacomo della Porta in 1599 under the patronage of Cardinal Aldobrandini (later Pope Clement VIII), whose name is seen on the façade. The interior has fine antique columns taken from the pagan temples with diverse capitals. Below the altar, in the confessio, is a dark green porphyry urn containing the remains of Saints Marcellinus, Faustinus, Simplicius, and Beatrice. To the left of the apse is the chapel of St. Nicholas, and further on, the chapel of the Conception with its popular shrine to Our Lady of Guadalupe, a copy of the original given to the church by Jesuit missionaries after their expulsion from Mexico. Saint Nicholas also hosts the devotion to Our Lady of Pompeii, whose feast is on May 8th. From the sacristy, one can go down into the basement where there are many remains of the temple(s) on which the church stands. Sometime before the twelfth century, the Deaconry of Santi Nereo ed Alessio (which reverted to titular status) was transferred to that of San Nicola. In 1128 Honorius II erected the church as today’s station.

San Nicola in Carcere still remains a Deaconry. However, in current times it belonged pro hac vice tituli presbyterialis to Patrick Cardinal O’Boyle, the former Archbishop of Washington, until his death in 1987. The church was intended to belong to Hans Urs Cardinal von Balthasar, who elevation to the College of Cardinals was announced in 1988 but who died before the public consistory of that year and therefore did not take possession of it.

Location: On the Via del Teatro di Marcello, just south of the old theater.

O God, who choosest to show mercy rather than anger

to those who put their hope in Thee,

grant that we may deplore as we should the evil we have done,

and so become worthy to find comfort in Thee:

Through Our Lord...

Statio ad St Eusebium

O God, who by the means of Thy transcendent Sacraments

givest the world new life, grant, we pray Thee,

that Thy Church may pursue the path of Thy eternal ordinances

and be not deprived of temporal help:

through Our Lord...

The Station is in the church of St. Eusebius, priest of Rome, who suffered for the faith in the Arian persecution under the emperor Constantius.

This church is the dominicum Eusebii, recorded in an epitaph of 474 as the home of the “heroic Roman priest, Eusebius.” Eusebius was condemned to death by starvation by the Arian Emperor Constantinus in 357. His home was converted into a titulus, one of the original twenty-five parishes of Rome, and this oratory is mentioned in the Councils held by Gelasius in 494 and by Symmachus in 499. It was formally erected into a station by Gregory the Great. Restored many times, the church was reconstructed in 1238 by Gregory IX, who dedicated it to Saint Eusebius and Saint Vincent, martyr, who died on January 22, 304.

While little is known of Saint Eusebius, we know that the early Church honored three martyred deacons from different localities: Stephen (Palestine), Lawrence (Rome), and Vincent (Spain), remembered in this church. Vincent was martyred in Valencia, Spain, during the persecution of Diocletian and Maximian. The Acts of the Martyrs describes his torments in some detail and records Vincent’s speech to Dacian, governor of Spain: “The more I witness your fury, Dacian, the greater is my pleasure. Do not lessen in any way the sufferings you prepare for me so that I can make my victory shine more resplendently.”

The relics of Saint Eusebius are interred beneath the high altar.

Location: Sant’Eusebio is located on the north corner of the Piazza Vittorio Emmanuele II, in the vicinity of the Basilica of Saint Mary Major.

Grant, Almighty God, we pray Thee,

that we who are aware of our own weakness,

but trust in Thy strength, may ever rejoice

in Thy sheltering care:

through Our Lord...

Statio ad St Silvestrum et Martinum

The Station is at the church of Saints Sylvester and Martin, which is one of the most venerable in Rome. It was originally built by Pope St. Sylvester, and still bears his name: but in the sixth century, it was consecrated to St. Martin of Tours. In the seventh century, it was enriched with the relics of Pope Saint Martin, which were brought from Chersonesus, where he had died a martyr a few years before. This church was the first Title of St. Charles Borromeo. It was also that of the learned liturgiologist, the Blessed Joseph-Mary Tommasi, whose body is now venerated in this church, and has been miraculously preserved, even to this day, in a state of incorruption.

Today's Collecta is at the Church of St. Quiricus with the Station at St. Martin "ad montes" The Church of St. Quiricus (at one time St. Quiricus and Julitta, Oriental martyrs) is at the foot of the Quirinal hill.

Through the zeal of Pope Symmachus, two oratories were erected beside the ancient titulus equitii, dedicated to the first two confessors to whom after the martyrs liturgical cultus was paid, Sts. Martin and Sylvester. It is located on the Esquiline hill.

The Mass dates only from the time of Pope Gregory II; the sung parts are from other feasts. Both the Epistle and the Gospel recount a miracle of raising the dead to life; St. Martin of Tours was celebrated as the resuscitator of three dead persons. The story of Elisaeus is an example of the discretion needed by superiors in dealing with those under their care.

The full name of this church is Santi Martino e Silvestro ai Monti. At first glance, one would hardly guess that it is ancient in foundation, important in the history of the Church, and endowed with many spiritual treasures. Its origins reach back to the era of the imperial persecutions when it was a domus Dei, a house church, known as titulus Equitii, probably because the house or land belonged to a priest named Equitius. The original church was built by Saint Sylvester (314-335) and restored in the early sixth century when it was dedicated to St. Martin of Tours (317-397) and Pope St. Sylvester. The crypt shows signs of the ancient alternate name of the church as “San Martino in Thermis.” It was the site of the preparatory meetings for the Council of Nicaea in 325 and the site of a diocesan Council over which both Constantine and Sylvester presided. It was here, in fact, that the Nicene Creed was first proclaimed in Rome. Also, the heretical books of Arius, Sabellius, and Victorius were burnt here.

The entire church was restored in 1650 by the Carmelites who were given the church and convent. Saint Charles Borromeo restored the ceiling. (Before their election, both Pius XI and Paul VI also had the title here.) There are two very interesting, 16th century paintings on the left wall: St. Peter and St. John Lateran Basilicas as they were in medieval times. Notice also the chapel where St. Sylvester is said to have celebrated Mass. His papal throne is preserved here, together with his miter. He is reported to be the first Latin bishop to assume the miter and this one is said to be the oldest in Christendom. Under the main altar are the relics of Pope St. Martin I (649-655) and the relics of Sts. Artemius, Paulina, and Sisinnius.

In the crypt an altar encases the relics of St. Sylvester, along with Popes Sergius, Fabian, Stephan I, Soter, Cyriacus, Anastatius, and Innocent I. Sergius II (844-847) likewise enshrined here many other relics of martyrs taken from the catacombs of Saint Priscilla which, as an ancient dedication reads, “are known only to God.” Off the crypt on the left side is the entrance to the excavations of the ancient titulus. Scholars have surmised that this ancient house had ground-floor windows, an inner court, and was of two levels, as were most of the plebian houses of that time. However, the room beyond the vestibule was vaulted and looks as if the builder planned it for a meeting place and sanctuary large enough to hold about four hundred people. As such, it is the only known assembly hall of this type to exist. The church was formally erected as a station by Gregory II (715-731). During the ninth century, it was known as a Deaconry. Today it is cared for by the Carmelite Fathers.

O God, teacher and ruler of Thy people,

drive away the sins by which they are assailed:

so that they may be ever pleasing to Thee;

and secure under Thy protection:

through Our Lord...

Statio ad St Paulum

God, who rewardest the merits of the just,

and allowest sinners to obtain pardon by fasting,

have mercy on us who beseech Thee

that our confession of guilt may enable us

to win forgiveness of our sins:

through Our Lord...

The Station today is at St. Paul without-the-walls. On this day the catechumens were subjected to a new examination and, if approved, were registered for Baptism. The beginning of the four Gospels was read to them, and the Creed and the Our Father was "given," or explained to them. Today's Mass has a decided Baptismal character. The joys of this day were anticipated on Laetare Sunday.

The Patriarchal Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls is the largest church in Rome after Saint Peter’s Basilica and is sometimes referred to as the “Ostian Basilica” because of its location along the Ostian Way. The Apostle Paul was brought to Rome as a prisoner and martyred between the years 64 and 67 during the persecution of Nero. Aquae Salviae, today’s Tre Fontana, about two miles from the basilica, is the traditional site of Paul’s martyrdom. Since he was a Roman citizen, his execution was probably by beheading rather than public torture. The body was claimed by the Roman matron Lucina, who buried it in her family tomb near a vineyard on the road to Ostia. An oratory was soon erected over it.

In 324 Constantine replaced the oratory with a basilica and placed the apostle’s body in a bronze sarcophagus with a marble slab over it. Pope Sylvester I (314-355) is said to have consecrated the church on the same day on which the Basilica of St. Peter was consecrated – on November 18, 326. Because of the large number of pilgrims, a new building was soon needed, and in 386 Valentinian II made plans for a larger building, which Theodosius began and Honorius completed. Pope Leo III (795-816) further embellished it, and in time this became the largest and most beautiful church in Rome, surpassing even St. Peter’s.

After the Saracens pillaged (847) the basilica, John VIII (872-882) built a village around it and fortified it. The village was called Johannipolis (Giovannipoli) or “City of John” and it successfully defended the basilica from the heavy attacks of Emperor Henry IV in the 11th century. Thus the basilica stood until the fateful night of July 15, 1823, when the roof caught fire and crashed into the nave and aisles, destroying most of the basilica. At the time of the fire, Pius VII was dying, and those attending him thought it better to keep the sad news from him; he died on July 20, 1823. Leo XII (1823-1829) ordered the basilica’s restoration, financed through donations from around the world. The transept was consecrated by Gregory XVI (1831-1846) on October 5, 1840, and completed in 1854. On December 10 of that year it was consecrated by Blessed Pius IX (1846-1878). The present basilica is virtually the same in size and plan as the one that had been destroyed, and in fact is an excellent (perhaps the best) representation of an early Christian basilica because it is devoid of the natural accretions and decorations that collect over many centuries of use. In 1891 a nearby explosion broke most of the stained glass windows, which were then replaced with Egyptian alabaster.

The gold mosaics on the façade depict Christ between the Apostles Peter and Paul. Below is the Lamb of God on the mountain of Paradise. The four rivers symbolize the Gospels, and the twelve lambs drinking from the rivers symbolize the Apostles. The cities are Jerusalem and Bethlehem. The lower section shows the Old Testament Prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel. The reliefs on the main door show scenes from the lives of Peter and Paul in Rome.

The basilica has the “T” shape of an Egyptian cross, with one nave and double aisles separated by eighty columns of Montofarno granite. Between the windows, the walls of the nave have twenty-two 19th century frescoes by various artists illustrating episodes from St. Paul’s life. Beneath the frescoes and windows are friezes of mosaic portraits of the popes. The portrait of Pope John Paul II is on the right aisle, near the right transept, and has a light shining on it. There seems to be room for only eight more portraits, a portentious fact for those with an apocalyptic bent! The ten niches of the outer walls have statues of the apostles, and the coffered ceiling is in beautiful Renaissance style, with much gold stucco work.

Under the main altar is the Apostle’s tomb. Excavations at the time of the rebuilding uncovered a first-century tomb, surrounded by Christian and pagan burials. A marble slab (approximately 7 feet by 3 feet 6 inches) with the inscription Paulo Apostolomart is above the bronze sarcophagus containing the Apostle’s relics. Above St. Paul’s tomb is the celebrated Gothic baldachin of Arnolfo di Cambio (1245-1310). The four corner niches have statues of Sts. Peter, Paul, and Timothy, as well as Bartholomew, the Benedictine abbot of the basilica who commissioned it. By the confessio are four alabaster columns that support nothing but air. They were given to the church by the Khedive of Egypt in 1840, and formed part of a larger baldachino that covered this area – it even covered the canopy above the high altar. It was taken down after a short time, but the columns remain.

The apse mosaic dates from about 1220 and survived the fire of 1823. It is the work of Venetian artists sent to Rome to replace a much damaged fifth-century mosaic. A majestic Teaching Christ, wearing imperial colors, sits erect on a cushioned throne; his visage is serene and in his left hand he holds a book with the words, “Come blessed of my Father and receive the kingdom prepared for you.” His right hand is raised in blessing in the Greek manner. Saints Paul and Luke are on his right, with Saints Peter and Andrew on his left. Honorius, who commissioned the work, is the tiny figure kneeling at Christ’s right foot. In the center, lower down, is a jeweled cross on a throne with symbols of the Passion, flanked by two angels with the other nine apostles, as well as Saints Matthias, Barnabas, and Mark. The figures are separated from each other by trees; they sing the Gloria from the Mass, the words of which are written on the scrolls they hold.

The superbly carved Easter candlestick is approximately eighteen feet tall and dates from about 1170. It has figures of animals and scenes from Christ’s passion and the Ascension on it. Also notice the Chapel of St. Stephen, a reminder that before his conversion, Saul took part in the stoning of St. Stephen, protomartyr of the church, who is buried at St. Lawrence Outside the Walls. Left of the apse is the Blessed Sacrament Chapel, with a 14th century crucifix that is said to have spoken, or nodded, to St. Bridget of Sweden when she prayed here in 1370. Also in this chapel is the 12th century icon of the Blessed Virgin before which St. Ignatius of Loyola and his companions made their first public vows on August 22, 1541.

The cloister is a touch of the Middle Ages, and though smaller than that of St. John Lateran, nevertheless it is more ornate, better preserved, and more beautiful. It is thought to be the work of Pietro Vassalletto (Rome 1154-1186), who also worked on the large Easter candlestick in the basilica. While at the basilica, visit the Chapel of the Relics which houses the chains which once bound the Apostle Paul while a prisoner in Rome.

This basilica was the traditional site of the First Scrutiny of the Catechumenate. This is the reason why a major basilica was erected by Gregory the Great as a station church in mid-week. The tomb of the Apostles, called so specially by Christ, reminds one of the Lenten theme of conversion. Traditionally the Title of this basilica was bestowed upon the reigning King of England with the designation “Proto-Canon.” Regrettably, this Title is now vacant. The basilica is cared for by Benedictine monks.

Let Thy merciful ears be open, Lord,

to the prayers of those who entreat Thee,

and in order that they may obtain what they desire,

make their petitions accord with Thy will:

through Our Lord...

Statio ad St Laurentium in Damaso

May this holy season's fasting
procure us an increase of godly living
and the unfailing succour of Thy mercy, Lord:
through Our Lord...

The Station today is in St. Lawrence's in Damaso—a church built by Pope St. Damascus in honor of the martyred deacon. It was one of the first parish churches in Rome and was rebuilt in the late 15th century by Bramante, and has since been restored several times. Pope St. Damasus' relics are beneath the altar. Today the church is part of the Cancelleria, or the chancery, and houses the Holy Father's Tribunals: the Roman Rota, Apostolic Signatura, and Apostolic Penitentiary.

San Lorenzo in Damaso, dedicated to St. Lawrence the Deacon – again! – is located at the site of the ancient titulus Damasi, one of the twenty-five original parishes of Rome. The first church was built by Pope St. Damasus (366-384) over his house near the Theater of Pompey. It was here that he founded his public library, so an inscription reads: “I have erected this building for the archives of the Roman church; I have surrounded it with porticoes on either side, and I have given it my name, which I hope will be remembered for centuries.” This ancient basilica and palace were demolished in 1484 to make room for the new Palazzo della Cancelleria. Considered a masterpiece of Renaissance architecture, the palazzo was built for Raffaele Cardinal Riario, nephew of Sixtus IV (1471-1484), by an unknown architect; the records were lost in the sack of 1527. It is thought that Bramante may have helped at a late stage, possibly designing the beautiful courtyard. Since the sixteenth century it has housed the presiding cardinal and the offices of the papal chancellery, which has given it its name of Cancelleria. The palace is still the property of the Vatican and contains the offices of the various Tribunals of the Roman Curia: the Apostolic Penitentiary, the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura, and the Tribunal of the Roman Rota.

The present basilica is incorporated into the fabric of the palace. It does not occupy the same site as the original San Lorenzo did; not only is it farther west than the former, but neither does it face onto the Via del Pellegrino. Nevertheless, the Renaissance church is large and spacious, having a nave, two aisles, apse, and an interesting double portico in the front forming a vestibule; perhaps this alludes to Saint Damasus’ porticoes that surrounded his ancient church. During a restoration after a fire in 1944, inscriptions were found indicating that this was the ancient site of the barracks of the Green Company of Charioteers, thus explaining another ancient name for the church, “San Lorenzo in Prasino” since prasinus, as you probably know, means “leek green” in Latin.

Under the high altar, which is a work of Bernini, are the remains of Pope St. Damasus and many others, including the martyr St. Eutychius and St. John Calybites and St. Hippolytus. At the rear of the left aisle is venerated a beloved image of the Black Madonna, of Byzantine origin. In a chapel off the right aisle is a miraculous, 14th century crucifix before which St. Bridget of Sweden often prayed while she lived here for a period of time. Above the colonnades is an interesting row of paintings depicting scenes from the life of St. Lawrence.

Have mercy on Thy people, Lord,
and graciously allow us who are oppressed
by unceasing trials to breathe again:
through Our Lord...

Statio ad Ss Quatuor Coronatos

Grant, we beseech Thee, O almighty God,

that we, who for our evil deeds justly deserve to be punished,

by the comfort of Thy grace may mercifully be relieved.

Through Our Lord...

The Station is in the venerable church of the Four Crowned (brothers); their names are, Severus, Severianus, Carpophorus, and Victorinus; they suffered martyrdom under the persecution of Diocletian. Their bodies, as also the head of the great martyr St. Sebastian, are among the relics of this church.

The church of the Collecta, built in the seventh century, is the location for today's Holy Mass. The church is the Station at the Church of the Four Holy Crowned Martyrs. Their relics are venerated in this sanctuary along with the head of the martyr St. Sebastian, an officer of the army of Diocletian. In the fifth century this church was one of the twenty-five parishes of Rome.

By far one of the most structurally interesting churches in Rome, the Quatto Coronati may be linked to the ancient titulus Aemilianae, referred to by the First Roman Council of 499. It would then be one of the original twenty-five parishes of Rome. Scholars are uncertain about this, but they are sure about the reference to the church by the Roman Council of 595. It is also on the list of stational churches by Gregory the Great.

Unfortunately, nothing remains of the original church. The present structure was built in the ninth century by Leo IV, who brought the relics of four martyrs to the church from the catacombs of Saints Peter and Marcellinus. They were four brothers, Severus, Severinus, Carpophorus, and Victorius, all Roman officials who were scourged to death under Diocletian (284-305) for refusing to honor a statue of the god Aesculapius. In 1084 Robert Guiscard sacked and burned the building. In 1111 Paschal II began restoring the church, but he decided to reduce its size, incorporating much of the old nave and its Ionic columns into a large courtyard, leaving the old atrium to form a forecourt. He also built the squat campanile which gives the approach to the church a fortress-like effect. Inside the church, the apse is now somewhat out of proportion with the present nave of the church. Paschal also added the galleries above the aisles which further reduce the sense of spaciousness.

Of special note is the courtyard to the side of the church, entered through a door on the left side. An addition of Paschal, it is serene and contains a 12th century fountain, probably originally in front of the church. Now it the cloister for a nun’s convent and is not usually shown to the public, except on special days like today. Also to be seen is the Chapel of St. Sylvester which is located in the portico and right aisle of Leo’s old nave. It was built by Innocent IV (1243-1254) and has frescoes depicting the Last Judgment; also note the eight panels, in Byzantine style, recounting the legend of Constantine’s cure from leprosy by St. Sylvester, and the (inaccurate) tradition that Constantine was baptized by Sylvester. The cycle depicts the supremacy of papal power over imperial power, represented by the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II. The chapel belongs to the confraternity of stonecutters and sculptors and is now rarely open. On the right side is the matronea, a gallery for women in Eastern style. Finally, do not miss the beautiful cosmatesque floor and coffered ceiling.

In the Middle Ages this church and its surrounding monastery formed the only fortified abbey in Rome and was often the temporary papal residence. Leo IV was proclaimed pope here in 847, but not, the story goes, until after the true identity of the infamous “Papessa Giovanna” was discovered. The discredited legend of Pope Joan is still linked to the church, because it lies on the old route of the papal cavalcade. Besides the relics of the Four Crowned Martyrs, the church also preserves the skull of St. Sebastian in an altar on the left side.

The first non-Italian titular, Dietrich of Trier, was given this church in 975 by Pope Benedict VII. In 1914, Giacomo della Chiesa, who became Pope Benedict XV, was the titular here.

Graciously hear our entreaties, Lord, we beg Thee,

and grant Thy protecting help to those who are moved by Thee

to pray for it: through Our Lord...

The Station at Rome is in the basilica of Holy Cross in Jerusalem, one of the seven principal churches of the holy city. It was built in the fourth century, by the emperor Constantine. The emperor's mother, St. Helen, enriched it with most precious relics, and wished to make it the Jerusalem of Rome.

Today's Station is at the Church of the Holy Cross of Jerusalem. St. Helena, mother of Constantine lived on Mount Coelius in a palace known as the house of Sessions. She transformed it, in order to keep therein important relics of the true Cross, into a sanctuary which became the Basilica of the Holy Cross of Jerusalem. Hence the Introit, Communion and Tract speak of Jerusalem, which St. Paul in the Epistle compares to Mount Sinai.

Just as the Sunday of Gaudete or "Rejoice" comes in the middle of Advent to excite us with holy joy courageously to continue our diligent preparation for the Feast of Christmas, so the Sunday of Laetare or "Be glad" offers us a rest in the middle of the Lenten observance.

"Rejoice, be thrilled with joy," says the Introit, for, dead to sin with Jesus during Lent, we are soon to rise again with Him through confession and Paschal communion. Wherefore the Gospel tells us of the miracle of the multiplication of loaves and fishes, symbols of the Eucharist. You might say also, that the multiplication of the loaves is really a type of Christian Passover.

The Basilica of Santa Croce dates from the reign of Emperor Constantine, whose imperial palace, palatium Sessorianum, was the official residence of his mother, Helena. She is said to have converted part of her palace into a basilica to house the True Cross which she had brought back from the Holy Land. A medieval renovation left us the campanile, the columns that divide the nave and aisles, and a cosmatesque floor. Most visible today is an 18th century modernization with rebuilt façade, large oval vestibule, and reconstructed sanctuary with a green basalt altar containing the relics of Ss. Anastasius and Caesarius.

The niche on the left of the apse frontal was the Chapel of the Relics of Our Lord’s Passion where they were sealed up for safety during the Middle Ages. Now there is a modern (1930) Chapel of the Relics, where Saint Helena’s sacred treasures are preserved: a large relic of the True Cross, a nail from the Cross, a thorn from the Crown of Jesus, and a large piece of the cross of the Good Thief. There is an interesting story, depicted in the 15th century apse frescoes, of how Helena discovered the True Cross. When visiting the Holy Land and gathering precious relics, she had the foot of Mount Calvary excavated and then placed invalids from nearby Jerusalem on the wooden beams unearthed. When one beam healed the sick, she knew it to be from the True Cross. Also in this church is the first part of the INRI sign that Pilate had nailed to Our Savior’s Cross, with the inscription (in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin) “Jesus of Nazareth, King…” The relic was found in 1492, hidden in the wall of the basilica behind a mosaic that was being repaired, presumably to guard it from raiding armies. We know that such a relic was venerated in the courtyard on Calvary in Jerusalem before St. Helena’s visit. Interestingly, the Greek and Latin words are written, like Hebrew, backwards. Some scholars thus believe that the inscription was written by a Hebrew used to writing in that direction. It does seem unlikely that a medieval forger would do such a thing.

On either side of the sanctuary, a sloping walk leads down to the original level of the Constantinian basilica. The left chapel is dedicated to St. Gregory and contains a 17th century Pieta flanked by 14th century statues of Peter and Paul. On the right is the chapel of St. Helena, possibly her original private chapel where the relics were first kept. The altar here is reserved for the Pope and the Cardinal Titular.

On this Sunday of Lent, Laetare Sunday, the Pope used to come here not only to hold the Station Mass but also to bless the Golden Rose, a traditional symbol of the joys of heaven bought for us by the Passion of Christ. The flower was of solid gold, with diamond decorations and usually presented to a notable Catholic prince. Though a 900 year tradition, today the Rose is sent frequently, but not annually. Past recipients include Henry VI of England, James III of Scotland, and Henry VIII of England, who received it three times!

Santa Croce is one of the three Minor Basilicas of Rome.

Location: At the Piazza di S. Croce in Gerusalemme, east of St. John Lateran.

Statio ad St Susannam

Grant, we pray Thee, Almighty God,

that Thy servants, who afflict their bodies by fasting,

may also abstain from sin and following after justice:

through Our Lord...

The Station is in the church of St. Susanna, virgin and martyr of Rome. The first Christian place of worship was built here in the 4th century. It was probably the titulus of Pope Caius (283-296). Caius was St. Susanna's uncle, and tradition claims that the church stands on the site of her martyrdom.

We are told that Santa Susanna was the daughter of a learned priest, Gabinus, and niece of Pope St. Caius (or Gaius, 283-296). She was not only beautiful, but charming and highly educated. Diocletian himself sought her through his courtiers and her uncles, Claudius and Maximus, to be the wife of his son-in-law and adopted heir, Maximian. She refused, however, considering herself a bride of Christ, and was sentenced to death – but not before converting Claudius and Maximus to the Faith. Her uncles were burned alive, while she was beheaded privately at home (on the site of this church) in 290 along with her father, St. Gabinus.

Soon afterwards, Pope Caius dedicated Gabinus’ home as a public oratory. It became known as the titulus Gabini ad duas domos, one of the original twenty-five parishes of Rome. This oratory was enlarged by Sergius I (687-701) and redecorated in the sixteenth century with vast Renaissance frescoes, depicting principally the story of the biblical Susanna, the Jewish woman who was the victim of false charges of impurity but saved by Daniel.

The façade of 1603 is Maderna’s masterpiece, completed five years before he began the façade of St. Peter’s Basilica. It has two stories, the lower in five tiers and the upper in three. All the elements are arranged so that they point to the center, where there is a loggia in the upper level. This is one of the finest examples of a fully-developed Baroque façade, marking the transition from Renaissance to Baroque, via Mannerism. Inside, note the chapel of St. Lawrence which contains relics of the martyr St. Genesius, the patron saint of actors (he was also known as Genesius the Comedian), and possibly those of St. Eleutherina, who presented a dowry of fifty scudi to be paid every year on the feast day of Santa Susanna, to the nine best-behaved girls in the parish. Also note the Chapel of the Crucifixion, redecorated by Richard Cardinal Cushing, Archbishop of Boston and titular from 1958-1970. The crypt is on the ground level of the early church, and recent excavations have revealed the remains of a third-century tomb which may well have been that of Gabinus. The relics of Sts. Caius, Gabinus, and Susanna are reserved under the main altar; the bodies of Saints Felicity and Silenus are in the crypt.

The station was formally erected by Gregory the Great and has been established as the official American parish in Rome since Pope Benedict XV (1914-1922) invited the Missionary Priests of St. Paul (Paulist Fathers) to serve here in 1922.

Location: In the Largo S. Susanna, at the head of the Via Barberini, on a straight line from S. Maria Maggiore up the Via Torino.

Stretch forth a helping hand

from heaven to Thy faithful, Lord;

and may those who with all their heart

seek after Thee be found worthy to

have their just petitions answered:

through Our Lord...

Statio ad St Laurentium in Lucina

Accompany our fasts, we beseech,

O Lord with Thy benignant favor, that,

as in the body we abstain from food,

so in spirit we may refrain from sin.

Through our Lord...

The Station today is at St. Lawrence's in Lucina. Near the church was a well which was very dear to the Romans and which probably suggested the Epistle and Gospel of today's Mass. The church also contains a part of the gridiron on which St. Laurence was burned. The Introit and Gradual refer to the prayers of the Saint while he was being tortured.

The Collecta today is at St. Mary ad Martyres which is the name given to the beautiful Pantheon of Agrippa when it was turned into a Christian Church by Pope Boniface IV (608-15). The Romans of the Middle Ages loved this majestic sanctuary, where among other relics was preserved in a casket locked with thirteen keys the image of the Holy Face.

Station at St. Lawrence in Lucina. Lucina was a matron living in the time of Pope Marcellus (304-9) who placed her houses in the Via Lata at the disposal of the ecclesiastical authorities; these erected there the titulus Marcelli, and, when the church was confiscated, built another not far off, in Lucina. Pope Celestine III placed under the altar a large piece of the gridiron on which St. Lawrence was martyred.

The Liturgy now becomes permeated with the thought of Baptism. After hearing of the water gushing from the rock in the desert, we now read in the Gospel (St. John 4: 5-42) of the living water which Our Lord promised to the Samaritan woman. This second scriptural scene was also familiar to the faithful as a type of the sacrament of Baptism, and we see it, represented as early as the second century in the cemetery of Prutextatus.

The Basilica of San Lorenzo in Lucina is dedicated to Saint Lawrence the Deacon. It is also called the titulus Lucinae, one of the original twenty-five parishes of Rome, because it commemorates the Lady Lucina who built the original oratory. Since it conserves Lawrence’s gridiron, it is also known to many Romans as “San Lorenzo in Cucina!”

Known as the apostolorum discipula, Lucina is usually presented as a pious woman dedicated to works of charity towards all Christians in general and towards martyrs in particular. In fact, she is said to have cared for the burial of the martyr-saints Sebastian, Faustinus, Simplicius and Beatrice, Cyriacus, Largus and Smaragdus, and Pope Marcellus. Some of these attributions, however, must be mistaken since it would mean that she lived over a span of 200 years! There may, therefore, have been more than one lady named Lucina who exercised these acts of charity towards the martyrs.

The church was originally a fourth-century oratory, and was enlarged into a church in the fifth century. When it was destroyed by Robert Guiscard in 1084, Paschal II (1099-1118) rebuilt it. It was modernized in the seventeenth century by Pope St. Pius V.

Note Paschal’s delicate campanile and austere façade and porch. In the first chapel on the right is Lawrence’s gridiron. The fourth chapel on the right was designed by Bernini for Innocent X’s doctor, Gabriele Fonseca. Bernini also executed the bust of the good doctor. In the thirteenth century, the church was titular of Hugh of Evesham, author of Canones Medicinales, who was created cardinal by Martin IV (1281-1285) and summoned to Italy not only to act as his physician but also to rid Rome of malaria. (Sadly, Hugh himself succumbed to the dreaded Roman fever a few years after his arrival.) Over the high altar is Guido Reni’s Crucifixion, a masterpiece of religious art, and in the choir is Paschal’s beautiful episcopal throne. The station here was formally erected by Gregory the Great.

Grant, we pray Thee, Almighty God,

that we, who trust in Thy protection,

may by Thy help triumph over all things

that withstand us: through Our Lord...

Statio ad Ss Cosmam et Damianum

The Station is at the church of Sts. Cosmas and Damian, physicians. These martyrs were twin brothers originating from Arabia. They practiced medicine in Aegea, Cilicia, but accepted no money from the poor. Their beautiful Christian lives edified the pagans and converted many to the Faith. They were arrested in the persecution of Diocletian, subjected to torture, and finally beheaded.

According to tradition, Cosmas and Damian were twin brothers, born in Arabia, who studied the sciences in Syria and became eminent for their skill in medicine. Filled with Christian charity, they practiced their profession without taking payment from their patients, and on this accounted they were surnamed in the East anagyroi (?the moneyless ones?). During the persecution of Diocletian, they were apprehended in Aegea in Cilicia by order of the governor Lysias, and after various torments ? including trial by drowning, burning, and crucifixion ? they were eventually beheaded. Their bodies were carried to Syria and buried at Cyrrhus, which was the chief center of their cultus. Later their relics were brought to Rome, and the reception of their cultus here is an early example of the orientalization of Roman cult, which reached a crescendo in the seventh century.

The body of the church was built by Vespasian (69-79) as the templum alma urbis to conserve censorial records, municipal street plans, etc. The circular vestibule opening onto the Forum was constructed by Maxentius, possibly as a mausoleum for his son (the so-called ?Temple of Romulus?). Originally, the external wall was clad with about 150 marble slabs incised with a street map of Rome at the time of the Severi (3rd century AD) known as the Forma Urbis. Felix IV (526-530) united the two structures and rededicated them as a church, the first such appropriation in the Forum of pagan temples. Urban VIII (a Barberini, 1623-1644) solved the problem of dampness by building a new floor across the middle of the church, creating a lower crypt and an upper church of unusual proportions.

Note the pleasant 17th century cloister, the street plan of San Severus in the back of the church, several typical baroque paintings, and one of the finest apse mosaics in Rome, installed by Felix IV (526-530) and frequently copied: Christ coming on the clouds with Peter and Paul, Cosmas and Damian, and Theodore and Felix IV presenting the church. Despite the overall Byzantine style, Christ is depicted in a Roman manner. They stand on golden water plants, symbolizing the River Jordan. On the triumphal arch, the enthroned lamb with motifs from the Apocalypse is also very beautiful. The ambone and baldachino were added in the seventh century. One curiosity is found in the series of 17th century depictions of saints below the mosaic. Included with the Franciscan women on the right side is Saint Bridget of Sweden in a Franciscan habit. Though not Franciscan, she did wear a widow?s costume and thus was often mistaken as a member of the Order.

Cosmas and Damian are named in the Roman Canon at Mass. With St. Luke, they are patrons of physicians and surgeons. Their church here is one of the nineteen urban deaconries of Leo III (795-816) and was erected as a station by Gregory II (715-731). It is cared for by the Third Order Regulars of Saint Francis.

Location: facing into the Forum just north of the Basilica of Maxentius. One enters from the Via dei Fori Imperiali.

Statio ad St Xystum

The Station, at Rome, is in the church of St. Sisto Vecchio. It was built in the 4th century, and was one of the first parish churches in Rome and was known as the Titulus Crescentianae. Tradition claims that it was founded by Pope Anastasius I.

By tradition, this church was built to mark the spot where Pope Saint Sixtus II (257-258), on his way to martyrdom, met Saint Lawrence during the Valerian persecution (253-260) towards the end of the Roman Empire. Its original name was the titulus Tigridae, possibly the name of the Roman lady on whose property it was built. The first recorded mention of it was in 595 at the Council of Rome. The Dialogues of St. Gregory the Great mention the nomination of the priest Basso to the title of St. Sixtus, and St. Gregory chose the church as one of the Lenten stations.

The church was restored in the eighth and ninth centuries, and Gregory IV (827-844) presented the church with sacred vestments. After that it seems to have been neglected, since Innocent III (1198-1216) had to rebuild it almost completely. In 1219 Honorius III (1216-1227) entrusted the church and monastery to the recently-founded Dominicans, and St. Dominic (1170-1221) himself lived for some time in the monastery, collecting there about a hundred friars before he was given Santa Sabina on the Aventine. Sixtus IV (1471-1484) ordered the complete renovation of the ceiling and the rebuilding of the façade, and its doorway is now in the southern wall. In the 16th century Filippo Cardinal Boncompagni, its titular, carried out extensive renovations. About the same time, the Dominican nuns living in the convent attached to the church received permission to vacate it on account of the malaria raging in the district. In the 18th century Pope Benedict XIII (1724-1730), a Dominican, planned a restoration for the church. This plan, however, was abandoned in the midst of the invasion of Napoleon until 1856 when the Irish Dominicans, who had charge of the church from 1677-1798, restored it.

In the 6th century the relics of Pope St. Sixtus II were translated from the Catacombs of St. Callistus to this church. Its Romanesque bell-tower dates from the 13th century, and inside the church is an interesting 13th century fresco cycle depicting Scenes from the New Testament and the Apocrypha.

Location: In the Piazzale Numa Pompilio, at the intersection of the Via di Terme di Caracalla and Via Druso.

Statio ad St Pudentianam

Almighty and merciful God, heed our prayers

and by Thy goodness grant us graces won

by wholesome self-denial:

through Our Lord...

The Station is in the church of St. Pudentiana, daughter of Pudens the senator. This holy virgin of Rome lived in the second century. She was remarkable for her charity, and for the zeal wherewith she sought for and buried the bodies of the martyrs. Her church is built on the very spot where stood the house in which she lived with her father and her sister St. Praxedes. St. Peter the Apostle had honored this house with his presence, during the lifetime of Pudentiana's grandfather.

The church is one of the tituli, the first parish churches in Rome. It was known as the Titulus Pudentiana, named after the daughter of the Roman Senator St Pudens. It's mentioned in the Liber Pontificalis, and a tombstone from 384 refers to a man named Leopardus as lector de Pudentiana, this name refers to St Pudentiana. This latter form is first attested in the 4th century apse mosaic; earlier documents and inscriptions use Pudentiana, who was a daughter of St Pudens and sister of St Praxedes (see Santa Prassede). The first church or chapel on the site may have been established as early as in the pontificate of Pius I (140–155).

The first time this interpretation is mentioned in written sources is in a document from 745. The church is built over the house of St Pudens, which after the deaths of Peter and Paul was used as a 'house church'. Archaeologists have dated the first chapel, built in the bath, to c. 140. This fits with the tradition that claims that the first chapel was built by Pope Pius I. It was converted or rebuilt to a regular church after tolerance was granted to Christians in the early 4th century. Dedicatory inscriptions have been preserved, naming «Illiceus, Leopardus and the Presbyter Maximus» as the persons who financed work in the time of Pope Siricius (384-399).

It was altered in 1588 by Francesco da Volterra, on orders from Cardinal Enrico Caetani. The dome mosaics from c. 390. was added at this time. Some of the changes were very unfortunate, such as the partial mutilation of the

In 1870, when the façade was rebuilt, remains of Roman houses were found beneath the church and neighbouring buildings. It is possible that one of these houses was the original house-church.

Among former titulars of the church is Cardinal Luciano Bonaparte, great-nephew of the emperor. The current titular is H.E. Joachim Meisner, Archbishop of Cologne.

The church was granted to the Filipino community by the Italian bishops, making it the national church of the Philippines. The Philippines has the largest Catholic population in Asia.

It is served by diocesan clergy.

After the close of the eighth century, a story arose of Saints Pudentiana and Praxedes, in which they were described as sisters (Pudentiana being only 16 years old) and the daughters of Pudens, martyred by Nero, and granddaughters of the Senator Quintus Cornelius Pudens, the host of St. Peter. (Opinion is divided as to whether this Pudens is to be identified with the Pudens mentioned in 2 Tim 4:21.) The sisters are said to have buried Neronian martyrs in a well, now enclosed within this church. When Paschal I (817-882) began to translate relics from the catacombs, these two sisters stand together first in the list of virgins transferred.

Though the story of the sisters is somewhat uncertain, it is certain that there was a Christian named Pudens in whose bathhouse Pius I (141-155) later built an oratory, which was rebuilt in the fourth century and constitutes one of the original twenty-five parish churches (tituli) of Rome, known as the ecclesia Pudentiana or titulus Pudentis. Owing to a confusion in the name, the church later became associated not with Pudens, but with Pudentiana; indeed, the name was even misunderstood to be Potentiana!

The old basilica was modernized in 1598 by Volterra, and the façade was restored and Via Urbana staircase added in the 19th century. The house of Pudens, or possibly the baths adjoining the house, has been partially excavated under the church.

Note the 12th century campanile, 19th century façade mosaics, and the magnificent 4th century apse mosaic, thoroughly Roman in inspiration and unique in its treatment of Christ-Jupiter and the Apostles-Senators against a Roman panorama. The buildings in the background may be the churches built by Emperor Constantine in Jerusalem, suggested by the gemmed cross with which Constantine is said to have marked Calvary. The panorama is intended to symbolize the Heavenly Jerusalem toward which we are on pilgrimage. Next to the cross are symbols of the Evangelists, the oldest preserved example of these famous icons.

Unfortunately the 16th century “renovations” partially destroyed this mosaic, probably the oldest in Rome. The sisters’ well stands in the left aisle, which is said to contain the relics of 3,000 early martyrs, and behind it opens the Capella Caetani (family of Boniface VIII), built in the 16th century. Notice here the mosaics over the entrance, an Olivieri relief over the altar, and the columns of Lumachella (fossilized snails) marble. At the head of the left aisle is Cardinal Wiseman’s Chapel of St. Peter, with an ancient pavement, della Porta’s fine relief of the conferral of the Keys, and a slice of Peter’s altar table (the rest is embedded in the papal altar of St. John Lateran). A door in the left aisle opens into a cortile with a small chapel frescoed in the 11th century. The station was formally erected by Gregory the Great.

Among the former titulars of the church is Cardinal Luciano Bonaparte, great-nephew of the French emperor. Today it is the national church of the Philippines, which has the largest Catholic population in Asia.

Location: Near S. Maria Maggiore, on the Via Urbana, just off the Via Agostino Depretis.

Let Thy protection, Lord,

be our defence, and evermore

preserve us from all sin:

through Our Lord...

Statio ad St Marcum

The Station is in the church of St. Mark, which was built in the fourth century in honor of the evangelist, by the holy Pope Mark, whose relics are kept there.

Collecta at St. Adrian. Station at St. Mark The church of St. Adrian was dedicated by Pope Honorius I (625-38) to the memory of this famous martyr of Nicomedia, who, during the Byzantine era, was the object of much devotion in Rome.

The stational Basilica de Pallacine, dedicated later on to St. Mark the Evangelist, was erected by the Pope of that name (337-40), and is the only church in Rome sacred to the memory of this devoted disciple of St. Paul, and faithful Interpreter of St. Peter, who wrote his Gospel after St. Peter's death, at the request of the faithful in Rome.

The scriptural passages read to-day have in mind the Eastern origin of the titular patrons of the Basilica, and tell us, therefore, of the Syrian Naaman, who, rejecting the grander rivers of Damascus, was cleansed from his leprosy in the lesser waters of the Jordan. Catechumens desiring to be healed from the leprosy of infidelity and original sin, must humble themselves, and, abandoning the rivers of Damascus- that is, the attractions if their former worldly life- must wash themselves clean in she pure waters of holy baptism.

This basilica was originally dedicated to St. Mark the Evangelist. According to tradition, the author of the second Gospel, the man named Mark who is mentioned in the New Testament with Peter and Paul, is the same John Mark mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles and, it is sometimes said, the young man who ran away when Christ was arrested in Gethsemene. If these identifications are correct, then we learn that St. Mark was the son of a woman householder in Jerusalem named Mary, that St. Barnabas was his cousin, that he helped to evangelize Cyprus, and that he rejoined Paul in Rome where he probably wrote his Gospel. Papias, writing around 140, said that St. Mark was the interpreter of St. Peter. Later, Mark is said to have evangelized Alexandria, to have become bishop there, and to have been martyred under Trajan (98-117). In 829 the Venetians appropriated his relics and the “winged lion” has been their symbol, and patron saint, ever since. This church was later also dedicated to Pope Saint Mark (336).

Built by Pope St. Mark over an older oratory, the basilica became known as the titulus Marci, one of the original twenty-five parishes of Rome. The structure has been rebuilt several times, and the current rich and elegant interior is of the late-eighteenth century. The massive travertine portico and loggia, which precede the church, were constructed in 1465 by Pope Paul II (1464-1471) with stone quarried from the Colosseum to integrate San Marco into his new Palazzo Venezia. The upper story served as his loggia of benediction.

In the portico note, on the right wall, the funerary inscription of Vanozza Cattanei, mistress of Pope Alexander VI (1492-1503) and mother of Cesare and Lucrezia Borgia. Inside, note especially the columns veneered in Sicilian jasper and the coffered fifteenth-century ceiling by dei Dolci, architect of the Sistine Chapel. It may be the oldest such ceiling in Rome, rivaled only by that of St. Mary Major. The rough apse mosaic from the ninth century depicts, from left to right, St. Agnese, St. Agapitus, Pope Saint Mark, Christ giving a Greek blessing, St. Felicissimus, St. Mark the Evangelist, and Pope Gregory IV (827-844) offering the church, which he restored following a severe flood. It was the last major mosaic in Rome for three hundred years.

Visit the ninth-century crypt of Gregory IV, and try to see some of the church’s vast relic collection, including Sts. Abdon and Sennen, two Persians martyred in the Colosseum. The church also contains the body of Pope St. Mark and relics from the Holy Innocents murdered in Bethlehem by Herod.

The station was formally erected by Gregory the Great and is the national church of Venetians. One former Patriarch of Venice to have become titular of this church was Albino Luciani, later Pope John Paul I.

Have pity, Lord, and come to our rescue,

so that with Thee for our protector and redeemer

we may earn deliverance and safety from the perils

that threaten us by reason of our sins:

through Our Lord...

Assuredly we should be the blindest and most unhappy of men if, surrounded as we are by enemies who unceasingly seek to destroy us, and are so superior to us both in power and knowledge, we were seldom or never to think of the existence of these wicked spirits. And yet, such is really the case with innumerable Christians nowadays; for, truths are decayed from among the children of men. (1)-{Ps. xi. 2} So common, indeed, is this heedlessness and forgetfulness of truth, which the holy Scriptures put before us in almost every page, that it is no rare thing to meet with persons who ridicule the idea of devils being permitted to be on this earth of ours! They call it a prejudice, a popular superstition of the middle ages! Of course they deny that it is a dogma of faith. When they read the history of the Church or the lives of the saints, they have their own way of explaining whatever is there related on this subject. To hear them talk, one would suppose that they look upon satan as a mere abstract idea to be taken as the personification of evil.

One would scarcely have expected that this species of incredulity could have found its way into an age like this, when sacrilegious consultations of the devil have been, we might almost say, fashionable. Means which were used in the days of paganism have been resorted to for such consultations; and those who employed them seemed to forget, or ignore, that they were committing what God in the old Law punished with death, and what, for many centuries, was considered by all Christian nations as a capital crime.

?It is our duty to consider what have been the causes of our past sins, what are the spiritual dangers we have to fear for the future, and what means we should have recourse to for preventing a relapse. ?Being possessed by the devil is not only a fact which testifies to God's impenetrable justice; it is one which may produce physical effects upon them that are thus tried or punished. The casting out of the devil restores the use of speech to him that had been possessed. ...We would not merely show that the wicked spirits are sometimes permitted to have power over the body, and would refute, by this passage from the Gospel, the rationalism of certain Christians. Let these learn, then, that the power of our spiritual enemies is an awful reality; and let them take heed not to lay themselves open to their worst attacks, by persisting I the disdainful haughtiness of their reason.

And here we have the origin of all those diabolical practices, which, under certain scientific names, are attempted first in secret, and then are countenanced by being assisted at by well-meaning Christians. Were it not that God and His Church intervene, such practices as these would subvert society. Christians! Remember your baptismal vow; you have renounces satan: take care, then, that by a culpable ignorance you are not dragged into apostasy. It is not a phantom that you renounced at the font; he is a real and formidable being, who, as our Lord tells us, was a murderer from the beginning. (1)- {St. John viii. 44}

...During this holy season, the Church is putting within your reach those grand means of victory-fasting, prayer, and almsdeeds. The sweets of peace will soon be yours, and once more you will become God's temple, for both soul and body will have regained their purity. But be not deceived; your enemy is not slain. He is irritated; penance has driven him from you; but he has sworn to return. Therefore, fear a relapse into mortal sin; and in order to nourish within you this wholesome fear, meditate upon the concluding part of our Gospel.

[For the Epistle:] We were sanctified almost as soon as we came into the world; have we been faithful to our Baptism? We, heretofore, were light; how comes it that we are now darkness? The beautiful likeness to our heavenly Father, which was once upon us, is perhaps quite gone! But, thanks to divine mercy, we may recover it. Let us do so by again renouncing satan and his idols. Let our repentance and penance restore within us that light, whose frit consists in all goodness, justice, and truth.

[For the Gospel:] As soon as Jesus had cast out the devil, the man recovered his speech, for the possession had made him dumb. It is an image of what happens to a sinner, who will not, or dare not, confess his sin. If he confessed it, and asked pardon, he would be delivered from the tyranny which now oppresses him. Alas! How many there are who are kept back, by a dumb devil, from making the confession that would save them! The holy season of Lent is advancing; the days of grace are passing away; let us profit by them; and if we ourselves be in the state of grace, let us offer up our earnest prayers for sinners, that they may speak, that is, may accuse themselves in confession and obtain pardon.

Let us also listen, with holy fear, to what our Savior tells us with regard to our invisible enemies. They are so powerful and crafty, that our resistance would be useless, unless we had God on our side, and His holy angels, who watch over us and join us in the great combat. It is to these unclean and hateful spirits of hell that we delivered ourselves when we sinned: we preferred their tyrannical sway to the sweet and light yoke of our compassionate Redeemer. Now we are set free, or are hoping to be so; let us thank our divine Liberator; but let us take care not to readmit our enemies. Our Savior warns us of our danger. They will return to the attack; they will endeavor to force their entrance into our soul, after it has been sanctified by the Lamb of the Passover. If we be watchful and faithful, they will be confounded, and leave us: but If we be tepid and careless if we lose our appreciation of the grace we have received and forget our obligations to Him who has thus saved us, our defeat is inevitable; and as our Lord says, our last state will be worse than the first.

Therefore, let us be boldly and unmistakably with Christ. He that is a soldier of Jesus, should be proud of his title!

The holy Church gave us, as the subject of our meditation for the first Sunday of Lent, the Temptation which our Lord Jesus Christ deigned to suffer in the Desert. Her object was to enlighten us with regard to our own temptations, and teach us how to conquer them. To-day, she wishes to complete her instruction on the power and stratagems of our invisible enemies; and for this she reads to us a passage from the Gospel of St. Luke.

During Lent, the Christian ought to repair the past, and provide for the future; but he can neither understand how it was he fell, nor defend himself against a relapse, unless he have correct ideas as to the nature of the dangers which have hitherto proved fatal, and are again threatening him. Hence, the ancient Liturgists would have us consider it as a proof of the maternal watchfulness of the Church, that she should have again proposed such a subject to us. As we shall find, it is the basis of all to-day’s instructions.

Assuredly, we should be the blindest and most unhappy of men, if, - surrounded as we are by enemies, who unceasingly seek to destroy us, and are so superior to us both in power and knowledge, - we were seldom or never to think of the existence of these wicked spirits. And yet, such is really the case with innumerable Christians now-a-days; for, truths are diminished from among the children of men [Ps. xi. 2].

So common, indeed, is this heedlessness and forgetfulness of truth, which the Holy Scriptures put before us in almost every page, that it is no rare thing to meet with persons who ridicule the idea of Devils being permitted to be on this earth of ours! They call it a prejudice, a popular superstition, of the Middle-Ages! Of course they deny that it is a dogma of Faith. When we read the History of the Church or the Lives of the Saints, they have their own way of explaining whatever is there related on this subject. To hear them talk, one would suppose that they look upon Satan as a mere abstract idea, to be taken as the personification of evil.

When they would account for the origin of their own or others’ sins, they explain all by the evil inclination of man’s heart, and by the bad use we make of our free-will. They never think of what we are taught by Christian doctrine; namely, that we are also instigated to sin by a wicked being, whose power is as great as is the hatred he bears us. And yet, they know, they believe, with a firm faith, that Satan conversed with our First Parents, and persuaded them to commit sin, and showed himself to them under the form of a serpent. They believe, that this same Satan dared to tempt the Incarnate Son of God, and that he carried him through the air, and set him first upon a pinnacle of the Temple, and then upon a very high mountain. Again; they read in the Gospel, and they believe, that one of the Possessed, who were delivered by our Saviour, was tormented by a whole legion of devils, who, upon being driven out of the man, went, by Jesus’ permission, into a herd of swine, and the whole herd ran violently into the sea of Genesareth, and perished in the waters. These, and many other such like facts, are believed, by the persons of whom we speak, with all the earnestness of faith; yet, notwithstanding, they treat as a figure of speech, or a fiction, all they hear or read about the existence, the actions, or the craft of these wicked spirits. Are such people Christians, or have they lost their senses? One would scarcely have expected that this species of incredulity could have found its way into an age like this, when sacrilegious consultations of the devil have been, we might almost say, - fashionable. Means, which were used in the days of paganism, have been resorted to for such consultations; and they who employed them seemed to forget, or ignore, that they were committing what God in the Old Law, punished with death, and which, for many centuries, was considered by all Christian nations as a capital crime.

But if there be one Season of the Year more than another in which the Faithful ought to reflect upon what is taught us both by faith and experience, as to the existence and workings of the wicked spirits, - it is undoubtedly this of Lent, when it is our duty to consider what have been the causes of our last sins, what are the spiritual dangers we have to fear for the future, and what means we should have recourse to for preventing a relapse. Let us, then, hearken to the Holy Gospel. Firstly, we are told, that the devil had possessed a man, and that the effect produced by this possession was dumbness. Our Saviour casts out the devil, and, immediately, the dumb man spoke. So that, the being possessed by the devil is not only a fact which testifies to God’s impenetrable justice; it is one which may produce physical effects upon them that are thus tried or punished. The casting out the devil restores the use of speech to him that had been possessed. We say nothing about the obstinate malice of Jesus’ enemies, who would have it, that his power over the devils, came from his being in league with the prince of devils:- all we would now do is, to show that the wicked spirits are sometimes permitted to have power over the body, and to refute, by this passage from the Gospel, the rationalism of certain Christians. Let these learn, then, that the power of our spiritual enemies is an awful reality; and let them take heed not to lay themselves open to their worst attacks, by persisting in the disdainful haughtiness of their Reason.

Ever since the promulgation of the Gospel, the power of Satan over the human body has been restricted by the virtue of the Cross, at least in Christian countries; but this power resumes its sway as often as faith and the practice of Christian piety lose their influence. And here we have the origin of all those diabolical practices, which, under certain scientific names, are attempted first in secret, and then are countenanced by being assisted at by well-meaning Christians. Were it not that God and his Church intervene, such practices as these would subvert society. Christians! remember baptismal vow! you have renounced Satan: take care, then, that by a culpable ignorance you are not dragged into apostacy. It is not a phantom that you renounced at the Font; he is a real and formidable being, who, as our Lord tells us, was a murderer from the beginning [St. John, viii. 44].

But, if we ought to dread the power he may be permitted to have over our bodies; if we ought to shun all intercourse with him, and take no share in practices over which he presides, and which are the worship he would have men give him; - we ought, also, to fear the influence he is ever striving to exercise over our souls. See, what God’s grace has had to do in order to drive him from our soul! During this holy season, the Church is putting within your reach those grand means of victory, - Fasting, Prayer, and Almsdeeds. Tue sweets of peace will soon be yours, and, once more, you will become God’s temple, for both soul and body will have regained their purity. But be not deceived; your enemy is not slain. He is irritated; penance has driven him from you; but he has sworn to return. Therefore, fear a relapse into mortal sin; and in order to nourish within you this wholesome fear, meditate upon the concluding part of our Gospel.

Our Saviour tells its, that when the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through places without water. There he writhes under his humiliation; it has added to the tortures of the hell he carries everywhere with him and to which he fain would give some alleviation, by destroying souls that have been redeemed by Christ. We read in the Old Testament that, sometimes, when the devils have been conquered, they have been forced to flee into some far-off wilderness: for example. the holy Archangel Raphael took the devil, that had killed Sara’s husbands, and bound him in the desert of Upper Egypt [Tob. viii. 3]. But the enemy of mankind never despairs of regaining his prey. His hatred is as active now, as it was at the very beginning of the world, and he says: I will return into my house, whence I came out. Nor will he come alone. He is determined to conquer; and therefore he will, if he think it needed, take with him seven other spirits, even more wicked than himself. What a terrible assault is this that is being prepared for the poor soul, unless she be on the watch, and unless the peace, which God has granted her, be one that is well armed for war! Alas! with many souls the very contrary is the case and our Saviour describes the situation in which the devils finds them on his return: they are swept and garnished, and that is all! No precautions, no defence, no arms. One would suppose that they were waiting to give the enemy admission. Then Satan, to make his re-possession sure, comes with a seven-fold force. The attack is made;- but, there is no resistance, and straightways the wicked spirits entering in, dwell there; so that, the last state becometh worse than the first; for before, there was but one enemy, - and now there are many.

In order that we may understand the full force of the warning conveyed to us by the Church in this Gospel, we must keep before us the great reality, that this is the acceptable time. In every part of the world, there are conversions being wrought; millions are being reconciled with God; divine Mercy is lavish of pardon to all that seek it. But, will all persevere? They that are now being delivered from the power of Satan, - will they all be free from his yoke, when next year’s Lent comes round? A sad experience tells the Church, that she may not hope so grand a result. Many will return to their sins, and that too before many weeks are over. And if the Justice of God overtake them in that state - what an awful thing it is to say it, yet it is true, - some, perhaps many, of these sinners will be eternally lost! Let us, then, be on our guard against a relapse; and in order that we may ensure our Perseverance, without which it would have been to little purpose to have been for a few days in God’s grace, - let us watch, and pray; let us keep ourselves under arms; let us ever remember that our whole life is to be a warfare. Our soldier-like attitude will disconcert the enemy, and he will try to gain victory elsewhere.

Tue Third Sunday of Lent is called Oculi, from the first word of the Introit. In the primitive Church, it was called Scrutiny-Sunday, because it was on this day that they began to examine the Catechumens, who were to he admitted to Baptism on Easter night. All the Faithful were invited to assemble in the Church, in order that they might bear testimony to the good life and morals of the candidates. At Rome, these examinations, which where called the Scrutinies, were made on seven different occasions, on account of the great number of the aspirants to Baptism; but the principal Scrutiny was that held on the Wednesday of the Fourth Week We will speak of it later on.

The Roman Sacramentary of St. Gelasius gives us the form, in which the Faithful were convoked to these assemblies. It is as follows. “Dearly beloved Brethren: you know that the day of Scrutiny, when our elect are to receive the holy instruction, is at hand. We invite you, therefore, to be zealous and assemble on N., (here, the day was mentioned,) at the hour of Sext; that so we may be able, by the divine aid, to achieve without error, the heavenly mystery, whereby is opened the gate of the kingdom of heaven, and the devil is excluded with all his pomps.” The invitation was repeated, if needed, on each of the following Sundays. The Scrutiny of this Sunday ended in the admission of a certain number of candidates: their names were written down, and put on the Diptychs of the Altar, that they might be mentioned in the Canon of the Mass. The same also was done with the names of their Sponsors.

The Station was, and still is, in the Basilica of Saint Laurence outside the walls. The name of this, the most celebrated of the Martyrs of Rome, would remind the Catechumens, that the Faith they were about to profess, would require them to be ready for many sacrifices...

Statio ad St Laurentium extra muros

The Station for the Third Sunday in Lent is at St. Laurence-without-the-Walls in Rome which was built by Constantine on the Tiburtine Way. It contains the tomb of the celebrated deacon, the great martyr of Rome. Enlarged and enriched in the course of the ages, it has always been much visited by the faithful. The high Altar is reserved for the sole use of the Pope; it is one of the five patriarchal basilicas of Rome and St. Lawrence asks us to remember always our need to sacrifice.

The Station is in the basilica of St. Lawrence outside the walls. The name of this, the most celebrated of the martyrs of Rome, would remind the catechumens that the faith they were about to profess would require them to be ready for many sacrifices. In the primitive Church, the third Sunday in Lent was called Scrutiny Sunday, because it was on this day that they began to examine the catechumens, who were to be admitted to Baptism on Easter night.

St. Lawrence the deacon was the martyr who was roasted on a griddle in 258, or perhaps beheaded with Pope St. Sixtus II, and buried in the Agro Verano along the Via Tiburtina. Perhaps because tradition preserves Lawrence?s last quip, ?Turn me over, I?m done on this side!? he is known as the patron saint of cooks!

The station dates from the fourth century. San Lorenzo was declared a patriarchal basilica, one of the three Minor Basilicas of Rome, by Leo I (440-461) and assigned as the Roman residence of the Patriarch of Jerusalem. The present structure is composed of three originally-distinct buildings: 1) the western half (present nave) is the basilica of Sixtus III (432-440), 2) the eastern half (present chancel) is the basilica of Pelagius II (579-590), which originally faced east, and 3) its apse was built over the Constantinian oratory enclosing Lawrence?s tomb. Honorius III (1216-1227) demolished the two abutting apse walls and united the ends of the nave to form a single basilica with the old confessio in the middle; he also raised the level of the Pelagian basilica, so that the chancel now appears to have a full crypt (the original floor level) under the present pavement.

Note the Romanesque campanile and the fine mosaic frieze of the portico (13th century). In the portico on the left you will find a 5th century sarcophagus which once contained the remains of Damasus II (1049), a reforming pope whose reign of 24 days was cut short by malaria or poison. In the nave, at the head on the left is the entrance to the catacomb of St. Cyriaca (of Santa Maria in Domnica fame), substantially destroyed in the 19th century when the cemetery of Campo Verano was enlarged. On the right is the sacristy and entrance to a 12th century cloister. In the chancel, the 6th century mosaic on the triumphal arch is worth noting, with Pelagius offering his church. Also note the 12th century main altar, the 13th century episcopal throne and mosaic screen, and a slab stained with Lawrence?s blood. The old (east) narthex has been converted into the Funerary Chapel of Blessed Pius IX, who founded the North American College in 1859 ? look for the emblem of the College and the American flag here among the three mosaics. Under the baldachin, the tomb chapel contains the relics of St. Lawrence the deacon and Stephen the deacon and protomartyr whose death is described in the Acts of the Apostles. Justin, philosopher and martyr who died in Rome around 165, is also here.

Allied raids during the Second World War severely damaged Campo Verano and the basilica in their efforts to hit the railroad yards. It was the only church in Rome to be damaged during the war, and has been meticulously restored. The large bronze statue of Pius XII (1939-1958) in the Piazzale Verano commemorates the visit of the Papa Pacelli and Monsignor Giovanni Battista Montini (later Pope Paul VI) after the worst raids in August, 1943. The church is cared for by Franciscans of the Piemonte province. The College?s mausoleum is located in the nearby Campo Verano cemetery.

Location: At the Piazza San Lorenzo, not far from Stazione Termini, next to the Campo Verano cemetery.

Statio ad Ss Marcellinum et Petrum

Grant, we beseech Thee, O Lord,

a saving virtue to our fast:

that the chastisement of the flesh,

which we have taken upon us,

may bestow new life to our souls:

through Our Lord...

The Station is in the church of Sts. Peter and Marcellinus, two celebrated martyrs of Rome under the persecution of Diocletian. Their relics were brought to the church in 1256, and the church was restored the same year on order from Pope Alexander IV.

The Station at Sts. Marcellinus and Peter is in the basilica founded by St. Helen on the Via Lavicana, where were buried the bodies of St. Marcellinus, priest, and St. 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 fifth century.

The favors which Isaac had received from Abraham, he transmitted by his blessing to Jacob, chosen by God in preference to Esau, to become the ancestor of Christ. This week, we read about Jacob in the Breviary.

"The prodigal son," says St. Ambrose "lost grace. Learn from this, O thou, who possessest the likeness of God, not to destroy this image within thee by the ugliness of sin" (Matins)

The first church on the site was built by Pope Siricius in the 4th century, close to the Via Labicana 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.

The church was again restored in 1256, and the martyrs' relics moved into it, by Pope Alexander IV. (Also under the high altar at present 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, St Joseph and St Rita. Next to it is the Chapel of Reconciliation. 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 St Gregory the Great), with a new ceiling painting of her by N. Caselli, in 1903. Since 1911, it has been a parochial church served by diocesan clergy.

The church has a Greek cross plan.

Lord, keep Thy household with constant loving kindness,

so that they who rely solely upon th hope of Thy heavenly grace

may be defended evermore by Thy protection:

through Our Lord...

Statio ad St Vitalem

The Station for today is in the church of St. Vitalis, martyr, the father of the two illustrious Milanese martyrs, Sts. Gervasius and Protasius. It was built about 400, and consecrated by Pope Innocent I in 401/2. The dedication to St. Vitalis and his family was given in 412. The church has been rebuilt several times, of which the most comprehensive rebuilding was that of Pope Sixtus IV before the 1475 Jubilee. It was then granted to Clerics Regular.

Collecta at St. Agatha in Monasterio. Station at St. Vitalis. The meeting place today is in the deaconry of St. Agatha "of the Goths" in the Suburra, which was restored to Catholic worship by St. Gregory the Great.

From there the procession went to the neighboring Church of Vestian, dedicated under Innocent I (402-17) to the martyr Vitalis. The martyrology of Ado confused this Vitalis with the saint of the same name at Ravenna. In the Mass, the choice of the lesson of Joseph let down by his brothers into an empty well, and the Gospel of the wicked husbandmen who stoned their master's son, was suggested by the Acta of St. Vitalis, which tell us how the martyr was first buried up to the waist in a pit and then stoned to death.

The Church, as though she feared that the very splendor of her liturgy might lead simple folk into thinking that Christianity consisted merely in holding functions and receiving the sacraments, insists continually in her Lenten formulas that we should by our good works, give reality to what is so sublimely expressed in the liturgy.

Saint Vitalis is the titular saint of the famous Basilica of San Vitale in Ravenna. Little can be confirmed about him beyond the fact that he was an early martyr, probably at or near Milan. According to one account, Vitalis was a soldier who encouraged the physician St. Ursicinus of Ravenna to stand firm in the face of death for the sake of Christ. Accordingly, the governor ordered Vitalis to be racked and then burned alive, which was done. St. Valori, his wife, was set upon by pagans near Milan and died from their brutal treatment. These events are said to have transpired under the persecution of Nero, though the second-century persecution under Marcus Aurelius (161-180) is a more likely date for their martyrdom.

A disputed letter by St. Ambrose states that the twin martyrs Sts. Gervase and Protase were the sons of St. Vitalis, and when the brother-martyrs’ cult came to Rome in the fourth century, a richly-adorned oratory was erected to them. When the oratory was turned into a basilica, Pope St. Gregory the Great re-named it after their father, St. Vitalis. It is one of the original twenty-five parishes of Rome.

In 1475 San Vitale had to be rebuilt completely, and Sixtus IV (1471-1484) reduced it to a single nave. The Jesuits were entrusted with the basilica from 1598 until 1880. In 1859 Blessed Pius IX completely renewed the roof, pavement, and other parts. Of the fifth-century church, only the portico and its four columns, the façade, and the apse belong to the original structure. The carved wooden door shows us some fine 17th-century craftsmanship; inside, the painted columns along the walls remind us of the previous size of San Vitale. Note an amusing anachronism: though St. Ignatius of Antioch is said to have been martyred by wild lions in the Colosseum, the wall painting of his martyrdom shows him facing lions in a meadow with the Colosseum already in ruins in the background. Relics include those of Santi Feliciano, Illuminato, Vittore, Teodoro, and Bonasa, martyrs.

St. John Cardinal Fisher, martyred by Henry VIII, was the titular of San Vitale in 1535.

Grant health of soul and body to Thy people, Lord,

so that by persevering in good works they may

deserve always to be shielded by Thy mighty power:

through Our Lord...

Grant us, we beseech Thee, Lord,
the help of Thy grace,
so that we who are duly intent on
fasting and prayer
may be delivered from enemies of
soul and body:
through Our Lord...

The Station for today is in the celebrated basilica, St. Mary's across the Tiber. It was consecrated in the third century, under the pontificate of St. Callixtus, and was the first church built in Rome in honor of our blessed Lady.

This is the queen of the churches in Trastevere. The inscription on the episcopal chair states that it is the first church dedicated to the Mother of God, although some claim that privilege belongs to the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore. In its foundation it is certainly one of the oldest churches in the city. A Christian house-church was founded here about 220 by Pope Saint Callixtus I (217-222) on the site of the Taberna meritoria, an asylum for retired soldiers. The area was given over to Christian use by the Emperor Septimius Severus when he settled a dispute between the Christians and tavern-keepers, saying, "I prefer that it should belong to those who honor God, whatever be their form of worship." In 340 Pope Julius I (337-352) rebuilt the titulus Callixti on a larger scale, and it became the titulus Iulii commemorating his patronage, one of the original twenty-five parishes in Rome; indeed it may be the first church in which Mass was celebrated openly. It underwent two restorations in the fifth and eighth centuries. In 1140-43 the church was re-erected on its old foundations under Pope Innocent II. The richly carved Ionic capitals reused along its nave were taken either from the ruins of the Baths of Caracalla or the nearby Temple of Isis on the Janiculum. When scholarship during the nineteenth century identified the faces in their carved decoration as Isis, Serapis and Harpocrates, a restoration under Pius IX in 1870 hammered off the offending faces.

The predecessor of the present church was probably built in the early fourth century although that church was the successor to one of the tituli, those Early Christian basilicas that were ascribed to a patron and perhaps literally inscribed with his name. Though nothing remains to establish with certainty where any of the public Christian edifices of Rome before the time of Constantine the Great were situated, the basilica on this site was known as Titulus Callisti, since a legend in the Liber Pontificalis ascribed the earliest church here to a foundation by Pope Callixtus I (died 222), whose remains, translated to the new structure, are preserved under the altar.

Come, Lord, to the help of Thy servants,
and grant them the unceasing lovingkindness they implore.
Mend whatever is shattered in the lives of those whose
glory is to have Thee as their creator and guide;
and preserve what Thou hast mended:
through Our Lord...

Statio ad St Caeciliam

Look upon Thy people with favor,
we beseech Thee, O Lord,
and grant that they whom Thou dost command
to abstain from food may also cease from baneful vices.
Through Jesus Christ our Lord...

The Station is at the church of St. Cecelia where the Saint lived and was martyred and where her body now rests. The first church on the site was built in the 3rd or 5th century, and the baptistery from this church was found during excavations, situated underneath the present Chapel of Relics. A house from the Imperial era was also found, and tradition claims that the church was built over the house in which St Cecilia lived. This house was one of the tituli, the first parish churches of Rome, known as the titulus Ceciliae.

Collecta at St. George. Station at St. Cecilia The Basilica of St. George still stands on the further side of the pons Senatorum, in the region of the Velabrum.

The titulus Cecilice is in Trastevere, in the actual house of the martyr. In 1595, the sarcophagus under the altar containing her relics was opened, and the body of the holy virgin was found in the same position as it had assumed after the fatal blow of the executioner, lying on one side, with the knees slightly bent and her arms stretched along the side.

The privelege which Jesus concedes to His chosen friends is that of drinking His chalice. The draught is bitter, but it gives strength to the soul. Love is nourished on sacrifice and pain. The more we love Jesus, the more we shall suffer for Him.

Cecilia is one of the most popular of Roman saints. She lived in the 3rd century and the first legend of her life was written in the 6th century. A noblewoman from a senatorial family, Cecilia took a personal vow of virginity and pledged her life to God. Unfortunately for her, Cecilia's parents still married her off.

On her wedding night, Cecilia told her new husband (Valerian of Trastevere) about her pledge of virginity and persuaded him to be baptized. Valerian's brother Tibertius and another man named Maximus were converted and baptized as well, and the three men began a Christian ministry of giving alms to the poor and arranging for proper burial of martyrs. Eventually they also became martyrs for refusing to worship the Roman gods.

After burying her husband and his brother, Cecilia was persecuted as well. According to her legend, she was first locked in the caldarium of her own bathhouse for several days. This failed to suffocate her as planned; in fact, she sang throughout the ordeal (Cecilia is the patron saint of music). Next a soldier was sent to behead her, but after three hacks with an axe she was still alive. However, she died of her wounds three days later.

It has been difficult to determine the dates of Cecilia's life and death, but a few historical details given in early accounts provide a general range of 175 to 250 AD. The first account of Cecilia's martyrdom (from which the story above derives) was written in the middle of the 5th century; like most narratives of this period it is very much embellished. The Catholic Encyclopedia calls it a "pious romance."

Legend aside, Cecilia certainly seems to be a historical figure. She was a patrician woman who owned a house (domus) in Trastevere, in which she founded a church (titulus). Archaeological evidence shows there was a 2nd-century house on the site and that it was used for Christian worship by the 5th century. An early 5th-century document mentions a titulus of "Romae Transtibere, Caecili." Cecilia was buried in the Catacomb of San Callisto near the Crypt of the Popes, while Valerian and Tibertius were buried in the Catacomb of Pretestato.

The present church was built over the ruins of Cecilia's house by Pope Paschal I (817-24). The body of Cecilia (said to be found incorrupt) and those of Valerian, Tibertius and Maximus were exhumed from their original burial places and enshrined in the new church.

During a restoration of the church in 1599, Cecilia was exhumed again, and again she was found incorrupt, with three cuts in her neck. The exhumation was carried out in front of several witnesses, include a sculptor who made a statue of her body as he saw it (more on this below).

The church's facade was added by Ferdinando Fuga in 1725 and more renovations were done in 1823, including enclosing the nave columns inside piers. The ancient Roman buildings beneath the church were excavated and too-creatively restored in 1897. The church was restored again in 1990.

O God, the restorer and lover of innocence,
draw the hearts of Thy servants towards Thyself
and kindle the fire of Thy Spirit in them,
so that they may be found firm in faith
and fruitful in deed:
through Our Lord...