Sant'Agnese fuori le mura

0 views
Saint Agnes Outside the Wall
Titulus S. Agnetis extra moenia (Latin)
Sant'Agnese fuori le mura (Italian)
Facade
Map
Click on the map for a fullscreen view
41°55′23″N 12°31′08″E / 41.92292°N 12.51888°E / 41.92292; 12.51888
LocationRome
AddressVia Nomentana, 349
CountryItaly
DenominationCatholic
TraditionRoman Rite
Religious orderCanons Regular of the Lateran
Websitewww.santagnese.com (Parish website)
www.santagnese.org (Archeological website)
History
StatusTitular church, minor basilica, parish church
DedicationSaint Agnes
Architecture
Architectural typeByzantine
Groundbreaking4th century AD
Completed7th century AD
Clergy
Cardinal protectorCardinal Camillo Ruini

Saint Agnes Outside the Walls (Italian: Sant'Agnese fuori le mura) is a titular church and minor basilica in Rome located on a slope descending from the Via Nomentana.[1] The church stands above the Catacombs of Saint Agnes, where the saint was originally buried and which remain accessible from the church. A larger basilica of the same name was built nearby in the 4th century; its ruins can still be seen near Santa Costanza. The present church was constructed by Pope Honorius I in the 7th century and largely preserves its original structure. Notably, the apse mosaic depicting Saint Agnes, Honorius, and another unidentified pope remains mostly intact. The current Cardinal Priest of Titulus S. Agnetis extra moenia is Camillo Ruini.[2]

History

[edit]

A very large basilica was built some metres from the present church in the 4th century, to which was attached the large private mausoleum for Constantina, the daughter of Constantine I. The mausoleum was later converted into a church, which survives and is now known as Santa Costanza (she was venerated as a saint, even though she was not one officially). It contains very important 4th century mosaics, especially large areas of ceiling in a secular style, but also two small apse mosaics, one including an early depiction of Jesus in what has become the standard style of long fair hair and a halo.

The large basilica decayed during the decline of Rome, and was replaced in the 7th century by the present much smaller church, commissioned by Pope Honorius I. The lower part of the walls from about half of one side of the Constantinian basilica, and its apse, can still be seen. The new church was over what was believed to be Agnes's grave. The floor level of the 7th-century church is some two metres above the level of the catacomb floor, and the public street entrances are at the level of the 2nd floor gallery. A long wide internal set of steps, lined with inscriptions from the catacombs and other ancient buildings set into the walls, leads down from the street level to the floor level of the church. The apse mosaic from Honorius's time is still present, and less affected by restoration than most mosaics of this date. On a gold ground, a central standing figure of Agnes in the costume of a Byzantine empress is flanked by Honorius, offering a model of the building, and another pope, whose identity is uncertain. The church was also built with a separate upper gallery for women (matronaeum), similar to that of San Lorenzo fuori le mura. Saint Emerentiana was also buried here.[3]

The catacombs are on three levels, dating from the 2nd to the 5th centuries; part of the highest level dating to the 2nd century can be visited by a guided tour. Though no paintings remain in place, there are a number of inscriptions and engraved images of interest. Many more inscriptions line the large staircase leading from the main convent above to the church.

It is in this church that on the feast day of St. Agnes (January 21), two lambs are specially blessed, usually by the pope after a pontifical high Mass; their wool is later woven into pallia, ceremonial neck-stoles sent by the popes to newly elevated Metropolitan-archbishops to symbolise their union with the papacy.

The church was assigned to the Canons Regular of the Lateran by Pope Innocent VIII in 1489; and they continued to serve it after Pope Clement XI made it a parish church in 1708. It is the headquarters of the primaria sodality of the Children of Mary, founded here in 1864.[4]

In legend and literature

[edit]

The church is the topic of Canadian author and anthropologist Margaret Visser's book The Geometry of Love, published in 2000, which describes it in exhaustive detail and discusses aspects of history, theology, architecture, symbolism and the emotional and aesthetic effects of visiting the church.

List of cardinal priests

[edit]

S. Agnese fuori le mura was established as a titular church for a cardinal priest on 5 October 1654 by Pope Innocent X. The following is a list of cardinal priests:[5]

Image Name Dates Notes
Baccio Aldobrandini [it] 5 Oct 1654 – 1 Apr 1658 Transferred to Santi Nereo ed Achilleo
Girolamo Farnese 6 May 1658 – 18 Feb 1668 Died
Vitaliano Visconti 18 Mar 1669 – 7 Sept 1671 Died
Federico Borromeo 8 Aug 1672 – 18 Feb 1673 Died
Toussaint de Forbin-Janson 10 Jul 1690 – 28 Sept 1693 Transferred to San Callisto
Giambattista Spínola 20 Feb 1696 – 7 Apr 1698 Transferred to Santa Maria in Trastevere
Rannuzio Pallavicino [it] 25 Jun 1706 – 30 Jun 1712 Died
Giorgio Spinola [it] 20 Jan 1721 – 15 Dec 1734 Transferred to Santa Maria in Trastevere
Serafino Cenci [it] 27 Jun 1735 – 24 Jun 1740 Died
Filippo Maria Monti 23 Sept 1743 – 10 Apr 1747 Transferred to Santo Stefano al Monte Celio
Frédéric Jérôme de La Rochefoucauld 15 May 1747 – 29 Apr 1757 Died
Étienne-René Potier de Gesvres [fr] 2 Aug 1758 – 24 Jul 1774 Died
Luigi Valenti Gonzaga 30 Mar 1778 – 29 Nov 1790 Transferred to Santi Nereo ed Achilleo
Giuseppe Spina 24 May 1802 – 21 Feb 1820 Appointed Cardinal Bishop of Palestrina
Dionisio Bardají y Azara [it] 27 Sept 1822 – 3 Dec 1826 Died
Ignazio Nasalli-Ratti [it] 17 Sept 1822 – 2 Dec 1831 Died
Filippo Giudice Caracciolo 30 Sept 1833 – 29 Jan 1844 Died
Hugues de La Tour d'Auvergne-Lauraguais [fr] 16 Apr 1846 – 20 Jul 1851 Died
Gerolamo Marquese d'Andrea 18 Mar 1852 – 14 May 1868 Died
Lorenzo Barili [it] 24 Sept 1868 – 8 Mar 1875 Died
Pietro Giannelli 31 Mar 1875 – 5 Nov 1881 Died
Charles Lavigerie 3 Jul 1882 – 26 Nov 1892 Died
Georg von Kopp 19 Jan 1893 – 4 Mar 1914 Died
Károly Hornig 28 May 1914 – 9 Feb 1917 Died
Adolf Bertram 18 Dec 1919 – 6 jul 1945 Died
Samuel Stritch 22 Feb 1946 – 27 May 1958 Died
Carlo Confalonieri 18 Dec 1958 – 15 Mar 1972 Appointed Cardinal Bishop of Palestrina
Louis-Jean Guyot 5 Mar 1973 – 1 Aug 1988 Died
Camillo Ruini 28 Jun 1991 – present Current cardinal priest
[edit]
  • Floorplan and elevation
    Floorplan and elevation
  • Interior
    Interior
  • Catacombs of Saint Agnes
    Catacombs of Saint Agnes

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "S. Agnese fuori le mura". Retrieved 25 October 2016.
  2. ^ Acta Apostolicae Sedis (PDF). Vol. LXXXIII. 1991. p. 630.
  3. ^ David Farmer, Oxford Dictionary of Saints Oxford University Press, 1996, p. 157
  4. ^ Catholic Encyclopedia, 1922, s.v. canons, p. 153
  5. ^ David M. Cheney, Catholic-Hierarchy: S. Agnese fuori le mura. Retrieved: 2016-03-12.

Further reading

[edit]
[edit]

Media related to Sant'Agnese fuori le mura (Rome) at Wikimedia Commons

Preceded by
San Lorenzo fuori le mura 		Landmarks of Rome
Sant'Agnese fuori le mura 		Succeeded by
Sant'Agostino

This article is sourced from Wikipedia. Content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.