San Pancrazio: Difference between revisions

The basilica of '''San Pancrazio''' ({{lang-en|St Pancras}}; {{lang-la|S. Pancratii}}) is a [[Roman Catholic]] [[minor basilica|ancient basilica]] and [[titular church|titular]], [[conventual church|conventual]], and [[parish church]] founded by [[Pope Symmachus]] in the 6th century in Rome, Italy. It stands in via S. Pancrazio, westward beyond the [[Porta San Pancrazio]] that opens in a stretch of the [[Aurelian Wall]] on the [[Janiculum]]. Itand covers the [[Catacomb of San Pancrazio]]. The adjacent convent was established perhaps as early as the church and has been occupied by the [[Discalced Carmelite]] since 1662.

The basilica was built by [[Pope Symmachus]] (498–514), on the place where the body of the young martyr Saint [[Pancras of Rome]], or Pancratius, had been buried, ''Via Aurelia miliario secundo'' ('on the Via Aurelia at the second milestone'). The church was originally placed by him under the care of the clergy of the Church of S. Crisogono. Due to their neglect of the site, Pope Gregory I (590–604) handed it over to the members of the newly founded [[Order of Saint Benedict|Benedictine Order]] after the [[Lombards]] sacked their monastery of [[Monte Cassino|Montecassino]] in 580.<ref>Matilda Webb, ''The Churches and Catacombs of Early Christian Rome: A Comprehensive Guide'' (Brighton: Sussex Academic Press, 2001), p. 273.</ref> In the seventh century Pope Honorius I (625–638) built a larger church for the increasing numbers of pilgrims; he placed the relics of the saint beneath the high altar, with a window of access from a semi-circular corridor that led behind and below the altar.<ref>Webb, p. 273.</ref> In the 17th century, it was given to the [[Discalced Carmelites]], who completely remodeled it. The church underwent further rebuilding in the 19th century, having been heavily damaged during Garibaldi'sthe French attack on Romethe incipient [[Roman Republic (1849–1850)|Roman Republic]] in 1849; but it retains its plain brick facade of the late 15th century, with the arms of [[Pope Innocent VIII]].<ref name="Touring Club Italiano 1965 p. 455">Touring Club Italiano, ''Roma e dintorni'' (Milan, 1965) p. 455.</ref>