- Sant'Agnese fuori le mura
Sant'Agnese fuori le mura ("Saint Agnes Outside the Walls") is a basilica church in
Rome , in whichSaint Agnes 's bones are reputed to rest. The church lies on theVia Nomentana at some distance outside theAurelian Walls encircling the ancient city. The name distinguishes it from the other churches with the same name which are, or were, in Rome, the most famous beingSant'Agnese in Agone , erected on the location of the martyrdom of the saint. The religious complex includes this basilica and the mausoleum ofSanta Costanza .The current church (properly a
basilica ), as rebuilt by Pope Honorius I in the mid‑7th century , stands over a 4th‑centurycatacomb , one of the most important cemeterial complexes in Rome, with over 10 kilometres (6 miles) of corridors, only a couple of which are accessible. In the fourth century the soft rock was hollowed out around Saint Agnes's tomb to create a gathering space, probably for her family to observe the anniversary of her death. The visits of her family and friends spread early to others in Rome, and the site became a place ofpilgrimage . By340 ,Constantina , daughter of Emperor Constantine, enlarged the underground area and built a large private mausoleum over it which is now known as the "mausoleo diSanta Costanza " (she was venerated as saint, even though she was not one officially), while the church of Saint Agnes was then built aside. The floor level of the 7th century church is at the level of the catacomb floor, and the public street entrances are at the level of the 2nd floor gallery. Mosaics from the Honorius' edifice are still present. This church was also built with a separate upper gallery for women ("matronaeum"), similar to that ofSan Lorenzo fuori le mura .It is in this church that on the feast day of St. Agnes (
January 21 ), two lambs are specially blessed, usually by thepope after a pontifical high Mass; theirwool is later woven into pallia, ceremonial neck-stoles sent by thepopes to newly-elevated Metropolitan-archbishops to symbolise their union with thepapacy . The church is currently administrated by a French traditionalist order, [The editors of this article do not currently have the source of this information regarding the order's national origin or its traditionalism, but those who wish to further research the matter might find information about it on the Italian-language website of the Canons Regular of St. John Lateran, http://www.lateranensi.it/page.php?159] the Canons Regular of San Giovanni in Laterano. [ [http://romanchurches.wikia.com/wiki/Sant'Agnese_fuori_le_Mura Sant'Agnese fuori le Mura - Churches of Rome Wiki - a Wikia wiki ] ]A popular local legend says that every lord mayor of Rome secretly comes to pray to this church, on the third night after his election; in fact, there is little evidence that new "sindaci" really do so.
The current
Cardinal Priest of the "Titulus S. Agnetis extra moenia" isCamillo Ruini .Footnotes
External links
* [http://www.santagnese.org/ "Il complesso monumentale di S. Agnese fuori le mura"] it icon
* [http://www.santagnese.org/catacombe.htm Le catacombe di S. Agnese] The catacombs of Saint Agnes
* [http://library.thinkquest.org/19592/arts/st_agnes.htm Santa Agnese fuori le Mura] Thinkquest library article
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