2012-03-12

Monday of Week III of Lent


Built in 336 by Pope Mark, the Basilica of St. Mark was one of the original 25 parishes in Rome. It was dedicated to St. Mark the Evangelist, one of the 70 disciples of Christ, the founder of the Church of Alexandria, and the first writer of the first gospel shortly after 70 AD. The Gospel of Mark then became a source for Matthew and Luke. The church was later also to Pope St. Mark who lived at that site.

Cardinal Marco Cé, Patriarch emeritus of Venice, is the Cardinal-Priest of the titular church. Venice, of course, is most famous for its own Byzantine-style Basilica of St. Mark which holds the tomb of the evangelist and has the saint as its patron. Cardinal Albino Luciani, who was also Patriarch of Venice and later became Pope John Paul I was Cardinal-Priest of this basilica, as well as six other popes.

Each region of Italy has a church in Rome to give pastoral care to the people coming from the region. Fittingly, this church was assigned to the Venetian people living in Rome.

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2012-03-11

Third Sunday of Lent


The first church at the present site of Basilica of St. Lawrence Outside the Walls was built by Constantine. Next to it was another church built by Pope Sixtus II. The two churches were so close to each other that eventually the walls that separated them were torn down to form a single basilica. Damaged by a bomb by the Allies in 1943, it was beautifully restored in 1948. Along with the 4 major basilicas, it is one of the five patriarchal basilicas in Rome. A patriarchal basilica was historically assigned to each of the 5 ancient patriarchal sees (Pentarchy):

Basilica of St. John Lateran: Patriarchate of Rome
Basilica of St. Peter: Patriarchate of Constantinople
Basilica of St. Paul: Patriarchate of Alexandria
Basilica of St. Mary Major: Patriarchate of Antioch
Basilica of St. Lawrence: Patriarchate of Jerusalem

There are two other patriarchal basilicas in Assisi that have great historical significance: the Basilica of St. Francis, and the Basilica of St. Mary of the Angels. Despite the name, neither of them has a patriarchate assigned to it. I'll talk about these basilicas some other time.

Since 2006, Pope Benedict XVI decided to stop using the title "patriarchal basilica" in these seven churches. Since then, they have instead been known as papal basilicas.


Under the main altar is the tomb of St. Lawrence, and the protomartyr St. Stephen (both deacons). The body of St. Stephen was transferred from Constantinople by Pope Pelagius II. Read about the story of the deacon St. Lawrence in the blog entry of the station church of Thursday of Week I of Lent. Pope Pius IX is also buried in this basilica.

As a papal basilica, it is not a titular church. While the four papal major basilicas have archpriests who act as delegates of the pope, the papal minor basilica of St. Lawrence is governed by a commendatory abbot. The parish is now served by Franciscan Capuchins. Avoid the hours of noon to 4 pm on weekdays to visit the basilica when it is closed.

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2012-03-10

Saturday of Week II of Lent


Every year on the Solemnity of Corpus Christi, the pope leads a Eucharistic procession along Via Merulana from St. Mary Major to St. John Lateran, and passes by the Church of Sts. Marcellinus and Peter, just 300 metres away from the destination. The church was one of the original 25 parishes of Rome. It overlooks the Basilica of St. Anthony that is on the opposite side of the street.

St. Marcellinus (priest) and St. Peter (excorcist) were under persecution by Emperor Diocletian around 303 AD. After an exorcism of the jailer's daughter, they freed themselves from the prison. The jailer and his whole family were later baptized into Catholicism. The two saints were martyred a year later, and their bodies were found through a vision. Although the church was dedicated in the fourth century by Pope St. Siricius, the relics of the two saints were not brought here to this church until 1256.

The newly-appointed Cardinal-Priest of the titular church is the Dominican Cardinal Dominik Duka, Archbishop of Prague and the President of the Czech Episcopal Conference, who became a cardinal less than a month ago. Cardinal Aloysius Ambrozic, the late Archbishop of Toronto who died less than a year ago, was the previous Cardinal-Priest. Blessed Pope Pius IX was also the Cardinal-Priest of this church before he was elected to the papacy in 1846. His remains can be found in the Papal Basilica of St. Lawrence Outside-the-Walls which we will visit tomorrow.

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2012-03-09

Friday of Week II of Lent


Built in the year 400, Pope Innocent I dedicated the Basilica of St. Vitalis and Companion Martyrs in 402 to the martyrs St. Gervase and St. Protase, whose father is St. Vitalis. It has been restored multiple times, especially for the Jubilee of 1475.

It is located next to the neoclassical Palazzo delle Esposizioni, on the popular bus route of Via Nazionale that goes from Termini to the Vatican.

Cardinal Adam Maida, archbishop emeritus of Detroit, is presently the Cardinal Priest of the church. St. John Fisher, who was killed by King Henry VIII, was among the previous titulars. Pope Paul III made him a cardinal in the hope that the king would spare him, but after a month he died a martyr for refusing to declare the king as the Supreme Head of the Church of England. Pope Pius XI canonized John Fisher in 1935.

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2012-03-08

Thursday of Week II of Lent


The Basilica of St. Mary in Trastevere may be the first church in Rome to hold public Masses, before the time when Christianity was permitted by Emperor Constantine. Pope Callixtus I built this church in 220 (his relics can still be found in it), and was later martyred in this region. Pope Julius I enlarged this church in 340. The tower dates back to 1200, and the façade to 1702. This church is 600 metres away from the Basilica of St. Cecilia, the station church of the previous day.

Mosaics in the interior of the basilica were done in the 13th century. When popes returned to Rome from Avignon, they took up residence in this basilica and later at St. Mary Major before the Vatican palace was built. St. Mary in Trastevere also had the honour as a replacement to one of the major basilicas when the Basilica of St. Paul was flooded.


The Polish Cardinal Józef Glemp, now 82, is the Cardinal-Priest of the titular church. In 1981, he was appointed Archbishop of both Gniezno and Warsaw, and the Ordinary of Gniezo had traditionally been given the title of Primate of Poland. Since 1515, Primates of Poland have had the singular privilege of using the red zucchetto, normally reserved only to cardinals. Even though Cardinal Glemp ceased to be the Archbishop of Gniezno in 1992, he remained as Archbishop of the capital see until 2006, and held on to the title of Primate until 2009 when he became 80.

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