Wednesday, March 25, 2015

A Roman Pilgrim at the Station Churches 2015 (Part 9)

Friday of the Fourth Week of Lent - Saint Eusebius
In the historical lectionary, this was the day on which the Gospel of the Raising of Lazarus (John 11, 1-45) was read; the station was therefore kept at the church of Saint Eusebius on the Esquiline hill, right next to a very ancient Roman cemetery.





Saturday of the Fourth Week of Lent - Saint Nicolas ‘in Carcere’
The peculiar name of this church, Saint Nicholas ‘in prison’, derives from a tradition that Saint Nicholas of Myra was brought to Rome and imprisoned by the Emperor Constantius for his refusal to accept the heresy of Arius. The church encompasses the remains of three temples built in the later years of the Roman Republic, the basements of which were in fact used a prisons in antiquity.





Passion Sunday (The Fifth Sunday of Lent) - Saint Peter’s
On this day, the chapter of St Peter’s Basilica celebrates Vespers with particular solemnity, after which the Veil of St Veronica is exposed for the veneration of the faithful from the balcony of one of the great pillars which support the church’s dome. The procession is held entirely within the church, which is of course the largest in the world; the high altar is covered with relics, as also on the Ember Saturday of Lent, when the Station is also held here.






Monday of Passion Week - Saint Chrysogonus






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