Sant'Ambrogio della Massima (also Sant'Ambrogio alla Massima) is an ancient
Catholic
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
church in
rione
A (; : , ) is an administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions () and provinces (). The can also have the title of ().
Formed a ...
Sant'Angelo, Rome, Italy. It is home to the General Curia of the
Subiaco Cassinese Congregation of the
Order of Saint Benedict
The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...
.
Perhaps dating to the 4th century it is said to have been the house of
Saint Ambrose
Ambrose of Milan (; 4 April 397), venerated as Saint Ambrose, was a theologian and statesman who served as Bishop of Milan from 374 to 397. He expressed himself prominently as a public figure, fiercely promoting Roman Christianity against Ari ...
’s sister,
Saint Marcellina
Marcellina (c. 327 – 397) was born in Trier, Gaul the daughter of the Praetorian prefect of Gaul, and was the elder sister of Ambrose of Milan and Satyrus of Milan. Marcellina devoted her life as a consecrated virgin to the practice of pray ...
who first established a monastery on the site. This monastery was home to a great many different communities of women through the centuries until a canonical investigation in the 19th century, when it was disbanded and repurposed as a missionary college later becoming the church of the General Curia of the Cassinese Benedictines.
Etymology
The name of the church derives from the tradition that the church was built on the site of the house in which
Saint Ambrose
Ambrose of Milan (; 4 April 397), venerated as Saint Ambrose, was a theologian and statesman who served as Bishop of Milan from 374 to 397. He expressed himself prominently as a public figure, fiercely promoting Roman Christianity against Ari ...
lived in Rome, before he moved to become the consul in
Milan
Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...
. The family home was built on the ruins of a temple to Hercules. Archeological research has discovered parts of the temple and porch beneath the current Sant’Ambrogio buildings.
["Impressions of Rome: Sant’Ambrogio della Massima:, Christ in the Desert Monastery]
/ref>
The name "Massima" may derive from the Cloaca Maxima, a branch of which flows nearby, or from the ''Porticus Maximae'', the long arcaded road passed in the immediate vicinity of the church. The ''Porticus Maxima'' was part of a larger passageway for pilgrims to reach the tomb of Saint Peter at the Vatican,
History
According to legend, the church of Saint Mary was founded by Saint Marcellina
Marcellina (c. 327 – 397) was born in Trier, Gaul the daughter of the Praetorian prefect of Gaul, and was the elder sister of Ambrose of Milan and Satyrus of Milan. Marcellina devoted her life as a consecrated virgin to the practice of pray ...
, the older sister of Saint Ambrose, in 353. The house was also the seat of her religious community, but later became the property of a certain Maxima who, under the pontificate of Pope Leo III
Pope Leo III (; died 12 June 816) was bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from 26 December 795 to his death on 12 June 816. Protected by Charlemagne from the supporters of his predecessor, Adrian I, Leo subsequently strengthened Charlem ...
, had a Latin cross church with a monastery built there. It was called variously "Santo Stefano de Maxima" or "Santa Maria in Formosa".
Around 1500, the church was renovated and turned over to the Benedictines
The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly Christian mysticism, contemplative Christian monasticism, monastic Religious order (Catholic), order of the Catholic Church for men and f ...
, who re-dedicated it to St. Ambrose. Giacomo della Porta
Giacomo della Porta (1533–1602) was an Italian architect and sculptor. Most likely born in Genoa or Porlezza, Italy, his work was inspired by famous Renaissance artists such as Michelangelo and Giacomo Barozzi da Vignola. He started in his car ...
added a new wing in 1578. In 1606, Beatrice de Torres, sister of the abbess, Olympia de Torres, and her brother Cardinal Ludovico de Torres commissioned Carlo Maderno
Carlo Maderno or Maderna (1556 – 31 January 1629) was an Italian architect, born in today's Ticino, Switzerland, who is remembered as one of the fathers of Baroque architecture. His façades of Santa Susanna, St. Peter's Basilica, and Sant ...
to redesign the church. It was rebuilt by Orazio Torriani incorporating the remains of the previous building. The church was abandoned during the Napoleonic Wars
{{Infobox military conflict
, conflict = Napoleonic Wars
, partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars
, image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg
, caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...
, but was restored under Pope Pius VII
Pope Pius VII (; born Barnaba Niccolò Maria Luigi Chiaramonti; 14 August 1742 – 20 August 1823) was head of the Catholic Church from 14 March 1800 to his death in August 1823. He ruled the Papal States from June 1800 to 17 May 1809 and again ...
beginning in 1814.[
During this period the convent was inhabited by ]Franciscans
The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor being the largest conte ...
nuns. The founding abbess of the restored convent, Maria Agnese Firrao, was convicted in 1816 of "false sanctity", or pretending to be a saint, and was removed from her post and imprisoned. Despite this, she continued to direct activities at the convent via smuggled correspondence with followers there. In 1859, Princess Katharina of Hohenlohe-Waldenburg-Schillingsfürst, who had recently joined the convent as a novice, denounced its activities to the Holy Office
The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) is a department of the Roman Curia in charge of the religious discipline of the Catholic Church. The Dicastery is the oldest among the departments of the Roman Curia. Its seat is the Palace o ...
, accusing the mistress of novices Maria Luisa, among others, of "sexual transgressions, heretical practices and homicidal schemes". Katharina noted the veneration of Firrao as well as Maria Luisa herself; the latter claimed to receive messages from Mary, and slept with several of the novices. Other transgressions included alleged affairs between the women and priests. According to Katharina, when she challenged convent practices, she became the victim of an attempted poisoning. As the investigation proceeded the Holy See
The Holy See (, ; ), also called the See of Rome, the Petrine See or the Apostolic See, is the central governing body of the Catholic Church and Vatican City. It encompasses the office of the pope as the Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop ...
removed the sisters from the convent and sent Maria Luisa into "forced isolation".
It emerged that the Jesuit
The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...
priest who as the "spiritual father" of the nuns had been accustomed to administer the sacrament of Penance
The Sacrament of Penance (also commonly called the Sacrament of Reconciliation or Confession) is one of the seven sacraments of the Catholic Church (known in Eastern Christianity as sacred mysteries), in which the faithful are absolved from si ...
had entered into sexual relations with Maria Luisa. Styling himself Giuseppe Peters, his real name was Joseph Kleutgen, an influential German theologian. He was convicted as a heretic for his fostering of the cult of Agnese Firrao and sentenced to three years of imprisonment. Pope Pius IX
Pope Pius IX (; born Giovanni Maria Battista Pietro Pellegrino Isidoro Mastai-Ferretti; 13 May 1792 – 7 February 1878) was head of the Catholic Church from 1846 to 1878. His reign of nearly 32 years is the longest verified of any pope in hist ...
reduced the sentence to two years. Later Kleutgen was instrumental in the drafting of the dogma of papal infallibility
Papal infallibility is a Dogma in the Catholic Church, dogma of the Catholic Church which states that, in virtue of the promise of Jesus to Saint Peter, Peter, the Pope when he speaks is preserved from the possibility of error on doctrine "in ...
. The details of the affair became known when discovered by researchers in 1976.
In 1861 Pope Pius IX gave the building to a group of Benedictine monks; they adopted it for a missionary college and replaced its façade when it collapsed the following year.[ Side altars were also added to the church. After 1870, the church and the monastery were expropriated by the Italian State, but later the church and part of the convent were returned to the Benedictines. Initially, the monastery was used as a missionary college to train monks for overseas work. The church is currently an abbey and the ]curia
Curia (: curiae) in ancient Rome referred to one of the original groupings of the citizenry, eventually numbering 30, and later every Roman citizen was presumed to belong to one. While they originally probably had wider powers, they came to meet ...
l house of the Subiaco Cassinese Congregation.
Architecture
The current building, parts of which date to the 17th century, is a domed basilica. It is cross-shaped, with a chapel to either side of the nave
The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...
. The church includes "rich gold stucco decorations and frescos depicting the life of Mary". What is now the main refectory at Sant’Ambrogio was at one point the sisters’ chapter house.[
]
Relics
In the church deposited are the relics of St Polycarp, the bishop of Smyrna
Smyrna ( ; , or ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek city located at a strategic point on the Aegean Sea, Aegean coast of Anatolia, Turkey. Due to its advantageous port conditions, its ease of defence, and its good inland connections, Smyrna ...
.
Cardinal-Protectors
* Claudio Gugerotti, (30 September 2023 - present)
References
;Additional sources
*
* (first published in German as: ''Die Nonnen von Sant'Ambrogio.'' 2013).
External links
Official church homepage
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ambrogio della Massima, Sant'
Roman Catholic churches in Rome
17th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy
Roman Catholic churches completed in 1606
1606 establishments in Italy
Churches of Rome (rione Sant'Angelo)