2012-04-02

Monday of Holy Week


St. Praxades is the sister of St. Pudentiana, whose church we visited on Tuesday of Week III. They are daughters of the senator Pudens who gave hospitality to Peter when he first arrived in Rome.

Built in the 4th century, the Basilica of St. Praxades was one of the first 25 parishes of Rome. The present church dates back to the 8th century. Many relics were brought here by Pope Paschal I, including the bodies of Pudentiana and Praxades.


Cardinal Paul Poupard is the titular of the church. He had been auxiliary bishop of Paris before being his appointment as President of the Secretariat for Non-Believers. The Secretariat was later raised to the status of Pontifical Council before merging with the Pontifical Council for Culture in 1993. The cardinal remained as president of the pontifical council till 2007 when he retired. He was at the same time the president of the Pontifical Council for Inter-Religious Dialogue (for dealing with other non-Christian religions) from 2006 and 2007, when Pope Benedict XVI was considering to combine the two pontifical councils.

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