.gif)
Santi Giovanni e Paolo (Rome)
Encyclopedia
Basilica
The Latin word basilica , was originally used to describe a Roman public building, usually located in the forum of a Roman town. Public basilicas began to appear in Hellenistic cities in the 2nd century BC.The term was also applied to buildings used for religious purposes...
church in
Churches of Rome
There are more than 900 churches in Rome. Most, but not all, of these are Roman Catholic, with some notable Roman Catholic Marian churches.The first churches of Rome originated in places where Christians met. They were divided into three categories:...
Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, located on the Celian Hill. It is also called Santi Giovanni e Paolo al Celio or referred to as SS Giovanni e Paolo.
The church was built in 398, by will of senator
Roman Senate
The Senate of the Roman Republic was a political institution in the ancient Roman Republic, however, it was not an elected body, but one whose members were appointed by the consuls, and later by the censors. After a magistrate served his term in office, it usually was followed with automatic...
Pammachius
Saint Pammachius
Saint Pammachius was a Roman senator who is venerated as a saint.-Biography:In youth he frequented the schools of rhetoric with St. Jerome. In 385 he married Paulina, second daughter of St. Paula....
, over the home of two Roman soldiers, John and Paul
John and Paul
For the musical partnership of John Lennon and Paul McCartney, see Lennon/McCartneyJohn and Paul are saints in the Roman Catholic Church. They were martyred at Rome on 26 June. They should not be confused with the famous apostles of the same name...
, martyred under Julian
Julian the Apostate
Julian "the Apostate" , commonly known as Julian, or also Julian the Philosopher, was Roman Emperor from 361 to 363 and a noted philosopher and Greek writer....
in 362. The church was thus called the Titulus Pammachii and is recorded as such in the acts of the synod held by Pope Symmachus
Pope Symmachus
Saint Symmachus was pope from 498 to 514. His tenure was marked by a serious schism over who was legitimately elected pope by the citizens of Rome....
in 499.
The church was damaged during the sack
Sack of Rome (410)
The Sack of Rome occurred on August 24, 410. The city was attacked by the Visigoths, led by Alaric I. At that time, Rome was no longer the capital of the Western Roman Empire, replaced in this position initially by Mediolanum and then later Ravenna. Nevertheless, the city of Rome retained a...
by Alaric I
Alaric I
Alaric I was the King of the Visigoths from 395–410. Alaric is most famous for his sack of Rome in 410, which marked a decisive event in the decline of the Roman Empire....
(410) and because of an earthquake (442), restored by Pope Paschal I
Pope Paschal I
Pope Saint Paschal I was pope from January 25, 817 to February 11, 824. A native of Rome and son of Bonosus, he was raised to the pontificate by the acclamation of the clergy, shortly after the death of Pope Stephen IV, and before the sanction of the emperor Louis the Pious had been obtained - a...
(824), sacked again
Sack of Rome (1084)
The Sack of Rome of May 1084 was a Norman sack, the result of the pope's call for aid from the duke of Apulia, Robert Guiscard.Pope Gregory VII was besieged in the Castel Sant'Angelo by the Emperor Henry IV in June 1083. He held out and called for aid from the Guiscard, who was then fighting the...
by the Normans (1084), and again restored, with the addition of a monastery and a bell tower.
It is home to the Passionist
Passionist
The Passionists are a Roman Catholic religious order founded by Saint Paul of the Cross . Professed members use the initials C.P. after their names.-History:St...
s and is the burial place of St. Paul of the Cross. Additionally, it is the station church of the first Friday in Lent
Lent
In the Christian tradition, Lent is the period of the liturgical year from Ash Wednesday to Easter. The traditional purpose of Lent is the preparation of the believer – through prayer, repentance, almsgiving and self-denial – for the annual commemoration during Holy Week of the Death and...
.
Interior
Cristoforo Roncalli
Cristoforo Roncalli was an Italian mannerist painter. He was one of the three painters known as il Pomarancio.Roncalli was born in Pomarance, a town near Volterra...
(one of the painters called il Pomarancio) [1588]; while below are three paintings: Martyrdom of Saint John, Martyrdom of Saint Paul, and the Conversion of Terenziano (1726) by Domenico Piastrini, Giacomo Triga, and Pietro Andrea Barbieri respectively. The sacristy features a canvas by Antoniazzo Romano
Antoniazzo Romano
Antoniazzo Romano, born Antonio di Benedetto Aquilo degli Aquili was an Italian Early Renaissance painter, the leading figure of the Roman school during the 15th century.-Biography:...
of the Madonna & Child with Saints John the Evangelist & John the Baptist, and Saints Jerome & Paul. Below the nave, thus under the church, some ancient Roman rooms, dating back to the 1st-4th century, were found during 19th century excavations. According to the writer Charlotte Anne Eaton, these rooms were dens that were part of a vivarium
Vivarium (Rome)
The Vivarium was the location where the ancient Romans kept wild animals used in their entertainments. It was near the Prenestina Gate of Rome. During the first siege of Rome in the Gothic Wars, the Goths broke part of the wall of the Vivarium in an attempt to enter the city...
in which wild animals were kept before being used in entertainments held at the Colosseum
Colosseum
The Colosseum, or the Coliseum, originally the Flavian Amphitheatre , is an elliptical amphitheatre in the centre of the city of Rome, Italy, the largest ever built in the Roman Empire...
. A low vaulted passage connected this vivarium with the Colosseum.
The Cardinal Priest of the Titulus Ss. Ioannis et Pauli is Edward Egan. Among previous Cardinal Priests of this Title are 2 who became Pope: Pope Honorius III
Pope Honorius III
Pope Honorius III , previously known as Cencio Savelli, was Pope from 1216 to 1227.-Early work:He was born in Rome as son of Aimerico...
(Cencio Savelli, elevated to cardinal in 1198) and Pope Pius XII
Pope Pius XII
The Venerable Pope Pius XII , born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli , reigned as Pope, head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of Vatican City State, from 2 March 1939 until his death in 1958....
(Eugenio Pacelli, elevated to cardinal in 1929). Since Francis Spellman became the next Cardinal Priest of the titulus in 1946 (after it had been vacated by Pacelli's election to the papacy in 1939), it has been held by cardinals who were Archbishops of New York
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York covers New York, Bronx, and Richmond counties in New York City , as well as Dutchess, Orange, Putnam, Rockland, Sullivan, Ulster, and Westchester counties in New York state. There are 480 parishes...
.