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Ss. Giovanni e Paolo, the station church for the first Friday of Lent, is built over the ancient ruins of the martyrs' home. There is a marble slab in the nave, covered in rose petals, that reads Locus martyrii Ss. Ioannis et Pauli in ædibus propriis—"The place of the martyrdom of Saints John and Paul in their own homes."
Would that today you might fast so as to make your voice heard on high!
Lenten Stational Churches
I debated whether I'd take photos during the Roman Lenten station church pilgrimage again this year, but then I decided, how could I not? (For more information about what it is, see this post from last year.) So, photos from the station for Ash Wednesday will be arriving shortly.
Ss. Silvestro e Martino (c. 320) is the station church for Thursday of the Fourth Week of Lent. Founded by Pope Sylvester on land donated by a certain Equitius, it was originally dedicated to all martyrs. Preparations for the Council of Ephesus in 324 were held here. The original level of the ancient church is accessible underneath the confessio of the high altar.
Stay tuned
Some belated station church photo posts are on the way.
Most passers-by are probably unaware it's even a church, as the station for Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Lent, S. Lorenzo in Damaso (c. 380), is completely integrated into the 15th-century Palazzo della Cancelleria. The church was originally constructed within the house of Pope Saint Damasus (r. 366–384), whose relics now repose under the altar along with those of Pope Saint Eutychian.
S. Lorenzo in Lucina (440) is the station church for Friday of the Third Week of Lent. Pope Damasus was elected here in 366, in the ancient church that had been built at the home of Lucina, a Roman noblewoman. It has been variously reconstructed in the 1100s and 1600s. The grill of Saint Lawrence is kept under the altar of a chapel on the right side of the nave (pictured above).
S. Pudenziana (c.150) is the station church for Tuesday of the Third Week of Lent. Built over the home of the Senator Pudens (the same Pudens, perhaps, mentioned in 2 Timothy 4:21), it can claim to be the oldest place of Christian worship in Rome. Pudens hosted Saint Peter in his home, and it was the residence of the Pope until Constantine offered him the Lateran Palace in 313. A side altar of the church contains a piece of the table Peter would have used to celebrate the Eucharist. The apse mosaic is one of the oldest in the city, though highly restored.
The station for the Saturday after Ash Wednesday is Sant'Agostino. Arguably the first Renaissance-style church in Rome, the facade was completed in 1483 using travertine marble from the Colosseum. The bones of Saint Augustine's mother, Monica, are reserved under a side altar in the church.
