San Sebastiano fuori le mura (Saint Sebastian beyond the Walls), or San Sebastiano ''ad Catacumbas'' (Saint Sebastian at the Catacombs), is a Minor basilica in Rome, Central Italy. Up to the Great Jubilee of 2000, San Sebastiano was one of the Seven Pilgrim Churches of Rome, and many pilgrims still favor the traditional list (not least perhaps because of the Catacombs, and because the Santuario della Madonna del Divino Amore, which replaced it in the list, is farther from the inner city).

History

Built originally in the first half of the 4th century, the basilica is dedicated to

St. Sebastian Saint Sebastian (in Latin: ''Sebastianus''; Narbonne, Narbo, Gallia Narbonensis, Roman Empire c. AD 255 – Rome, Roman Italy, Italia, Roman Empire c. AD 288) was an early Christianity, Christian saint and martyr. According to traditional beli ...

, a popular Roman martyr of the 3rd century. The name ''ad catacumbas'' refers to the catacombs of St Sebastian, over 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 on the

Palatine Hill The Palatine Hill (; la, Collis Palatium or Mons Palatinus; it, Palatino ), which relative to the seven hills of Rome is the centremost, is one of the most ancient parts of the city and has been called "the first nucleus of the Roman Empire." ...

. According to the founding tradition, 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 dedication of the church, ''Basilica Apostolorum'' ("Basilica of the Apostles"). The dedication to Sebastian dates to the 9th century. 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 Pope Nicholas I ( la, Nicolaus I; c. 800 – 13 November 867), called Nicholas the Great, was the bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from 24 April 858 until his death. He is remembered as a consolidator of papal authority, exerting dec ...

(858–867), while the martyr's altar was reconsecrated by Honorius III (1216–1227), by request of the

Cistercians The Cistercians, () officially the Order of Cistercians ( la, (Sacer) Ordo Cisterciensis, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint ...

, who had received the place. In the 13th century the arcade of the triple nave was walled in. S. Sebastiano is one of the seven basilicas travellers to Rome traditionally visited, especially after 1553 when St. Philip Neri, initiated the

Seven Churches Visitation The Seven Churches Visitation is a Christian, especially Roman Catholic, Lenten tradition to visit seven churches on the evening of Maundy Thursday. Following the Mass of the Lord's Supper, the Blessed Sacrament is placed on the Altar of Repose in ...

, a special pilgrimage done in one day starting from St. Peter's Basilica and ending at the

Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore The Basilica of Saint Mary Major ( it, Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore, ; la, Basilica Sanctae Mariae Maioris), or church of Santa Maria Maggiore, is a Major papal basilica as well as one of the Seven Pilgrim Churches of Rome and the larges ...

. The street which links

Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls The Papal Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls ( it, Basilica Papale di San Paolo fuori le Mura), commonly known as Saint Paul's Outside the Walls, is one of Rome's four major papal basilicas, along with the basilicas of Saint John in the ...

with S. Sebastiano is still called "Via delle Sette Chiese". The current edifice is largely a 17th-century construction, commissioned by Cardinal Scipione Borghese in 1609 from

Flaminio Ponzio Flaminio Ponzio (1560–1613) was an Italian architect during the late-Renaissance or so-called Mannerist period, serving in Rome as the architect for Pope Paul V. Ponzio was born in Viggiù near Varese, and he died in Rome. After juvenile ...

and, after Ponzio's death in 1613, entrusted to Giovanni Vasanzio, who completed it.

Overview

The statue of St Sebastian at the altar in the first chapel on the left is by Giuseppe Giorgetti. The Chapel of Relics, located directly across the nave, houses a stone allegedly imprinted with the footprints of Jesus related to the episode of "

Quo vadis? ''Quō vādis?'' (, ) is a Latin phrase meaning "Where are you marching?". It is also commonly translated as "Where are you going?" or, poetically, "Whither goest thou?" The phrase originates from the Christian tradition regarding Saint Pet ...

" in the apocryphal '' Acts of Peter''; and one of the arrows which struck St Sebastian together with part of the column to which he was tied during the martyrdom. Noteworthy is the Albani Chapel (built 1716)About 1716 according to TCI ''Roma e dintorni''. and designed by Carlo Maratta, Alessandro Specchi, Filippo Barigioni and Carlo Fontana; commissioned by

Pope Clement XI Pope Clement XI ( la, Clemens XI; it, Clemente XI; 23 July 1649 – 19 March 1721), born Giovanni Francesco Albani, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 23 November 1700 to his death in March 1721. Clement XI w ...

; and dedicated to Pope Fabian. Fabian had been Bishop of Rome during the persecution of Decius. Flanking the altar, busts of Saints Peter and Paul by

Nicolò Cordier Nicolas Cordier (1567–1612), was a French sculptor, painter and printmaker working in Rome and also known as "il Franciosino" (the little Frenchman), Nicholas Cordier, or Niccolò da Lorena. Cordier was born in Saint-Mihiel. As a sculptor he pr ...

recall the first dedication of the basilica.

Bernini

On the right side in a niche, the famous

Bust of the Saviour The ''Bust of the Saviour ''(''Salvator Mundi'') is the last sculpture created by baroque artist Gian Lorenzo Bernini, who died from the after-effects of a stroke, when the artist was 81 years old. He left the sculpture in his will to his friend ...

(Salvator Mundi), the last masterpiece by

Gian Lorenzo Bernini Gian Lorenzo (or Gianlorenzo) Bernini (, , ; Italian Giovanni Lorenzo; 7 December 159828 November 1680) was an Italian sculptor and architect. While a major figure in the world of architecture, he was more prominently the leading sculptor of his ...

rediscovered in 2001 in the convent adjacent to the church, is shown.

Burials

* Quirinus of Sescia * Pope Fabian

Notes

References

*Paolo Coen, ''Le sette chiese. Le basiliche giubilari romane'', Newton Compton, Rome, 1994. * Claudio Rendina, ''Enciclopedia di Roma'', Newton Compton, Rome, 2000.
"San Sebastiano fuori le Mura"
by Chris Nyborg. * *

External links

"San Sebastiano fuori le Mura"
site {{DEFAULTSORT:San Sebastiano Fuori Le Mura Sebastiano Sebastiano Sebastiano fuori le mura Sebastiano fuori le mura Rome Q. XX Ardeatino Saint Sebastian