San Sebastiano fuori le mura

San Sebastiano fuori le mura (Saint Sebastian outside the walls), or San Sebastiano "ad Catacumbas" (Saint Sebastian at the Catacombs), is a basilica in Rome. Up to the Great Jubilee of 2000, San Sebastiano was one of the Seven Pilgrim Churches of Rome, but many pilgrims still favor the traditional list.

History

Built originally in the 4th century, the basilica is dedicated to St. Sebastian, a popular Roman martyr of the 3rd century. The name "ad catacumbas" refers to the catacombs of St Sebastian, on which the church was built, while "fuori le mura" refers to the fact that the church is built outside the Aurelian Walls, and is used to differentiate the basilica from the church of San Sebastiano al Palatino. In 258, during the Valerian persecutions, the catacombs were temporarily used as place of sepulture of two other saints martyred in Rome, Peter and Paul, whose remains were later transferred to the two basilicas carrying their names: whence the original name of the church, "Basilica Apostolorum" ("Apostles Basilica").

Sebastian's remains were moved here around 350. They were transferred to St. Peter's in 826, fearing a Saracen assault: the latter, in fact, materialized and the church was destroyed. The building was refounded under Pope Nicholas I (858-867), while the martyr's altar was reconsecrated by Honorius III, by request of the Cistercenses who had received the place.

The current edifice is largely a 17th construction, commissioned by Cardinal Scipione Borghese to Flaminio Ponzio and, after the former's death, Giovanni Vasanzio.

Overview

The Relics Chapel houses a stone carrying the alleged footprints of Jesus, one of the arrows which struck St. Sebastian and part of the column on which he was tied during the martyrdom. Noteworthy is the Albani Chapel, built in 1716 and designed by Maratta, Specchi, Filippo Barigioni and Carlo Fontana.

ee also

*St. Sebastian
*San Sebastiano al Palatino

External links

* [http://www.catacombe.org "San Sebastiano fuori le Mura"] site

References

*Paolo Coen, "Le sette chiese. Le basiliche giubilari romane", Newton Compton, Rome, 1994.
* Claudio Rendina, "Enciclopedia di Roma", Newton Compton, Rome, 2000.
* [http://roma.katolsk.no/sebastianofuori.htm "San Sebastiano fuori le Mura"] , by Chris Nyborg.