The Church of the Most Holy Name of Mary at the Trajan Forum ( it, Santissimo Nome di Maria al Foro Traiano, la, Ss. Nominis Mariae ad forum Traiani) is a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * C ...

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, Italy. This church should not be confused with the church

Santissimo Nome di Maria in Via Latina ''Santissimo Nome di Maria a Via Latina'' is a modern parish and titular church at Via Centirupe 18/22 in the Appio Latino quarter, just to the east of the Parco della Caffarella in Rome, Italy. The dedication is to the Holy Name of Mary. The pari ...

in south-east Rome. The pale marble church stands in front of the

Column of Trajan Trajan's Column ( it, Colonna Traiana, la, Columna Traiani) is a Roman triumphal column in Rome, Italy, that commemorates Roman emperor Trajan's victory in the Dacian Wars. It was probably constructed under the supervision of the architect Apo ...

, a few dozen steps from the similarly domed, but externally more colorful, church of Santa Maria di Loreto.

History

The feast of the ''

Holy Name of Mary The Feast of the Most Holy Name of the Blessed Virgin Mary is an optional memorial celebrated in the liturgical calendar of the Catholic Church on 12 September. It has been a universal Roman Rite feast since 1684, when Pope Innocent XI included i ...

'' was instituted by

Pope Innocent XI Pope Innocent XI ( la, Innocentius XI; it, Innocenzo XI; 16 May 1611 – 12 August 1689), born Benedetto Odescalchi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 21 September 1676 to his death on August 12, 1689. Poli ...

after the victory of the

Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ...

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...

armies An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

under the

command Command may refer to: Computing * Command (computing), a statement in a computer language * COMMAND.COM, the default operating system shell and command-line interpreter for DOS * Command key, a modifier key on Apple Macintosh computer keyboards * ...

John III Sobieski John III Sobieski ( pl, Jan III Sobieski; lt, Jonas III Sobieskis; la, Ioannes III Sobiscius; 17 August 1629 – 17 June 1696) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1674 until his death in 1696. Born into Polish nobility, Sobie ...

over the

Turks Turk or Turks may refer to: Communities and ethnic groups * Turkic peoples, a collection of ethnic groups who speak Turkic languages * Turkish people, or the Turks, a Turkic ethnic group and nation * Turkish citizen, a citizen of the Republic o ...

at the

Battle of Vienna The Battle of Vienna; pl, odsiecz wiedeńska, lit=Relief of Vienna or ''bitwa pod Wiedniem''; ota, Beç Ḳalʿası Muḥāṣarası, lit=siege of Beç; tr, İkinci Viyana Kuşatması, lit=second siege of Vienna took place at Kahlenberg Mou ...

in 1683.

Abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the male head of a monastery in various Western religious traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not the head of a monastery. The fem ...

Giuseppe Bianchi instituted devotion to the most holy name of Mary in 1685 at

Santo Stefano del Cacco Santo Stefano de Pinea or more commonly Santo Stefano del Cacco is a church in Rome dedicated to Saint Stephen, located at Via di Santo Stefano del Cacco 26. Name The name "del Cacco" may refer to the Roman deity Cacus, or more likely to a sta ...

, and soon afterwards established the Confraternity of the Most Holy Name of Mary, which was formally approved in 1688. Members included

and

Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I (Leopold Ignaz Joseph Balthasar Franz Felician; hu, I. Lipót; 9 June 1640 – 5 May 1705) was Holy Roman Emperor, King of Hungary, Croatia, and Bohemia. The second son of Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor, by his first wife, Maria An ...

."Church of Santissimo Nome di Maria al Foro Traiano", turismoroma.it, Major Events, Sport, Tourism and Fashion Department
/ref> It was later raised to an Archconfraternity. Every year up until 1870, the members would walk in procession on the Feast of the Holy Name of Mary to the church of Santa Maria della Vittoria, stopping at the

Quirinal Palace The Quirinal Palace ( it, Palazzo del Quirinale ) is a historic building in Rome, Italy, one of the three current official residences of the president of the Italian Republic, together with Villa Rosebery in Naples and the Tenuta di Castelporzian ...

for the pope's blessing.Chandlery, Peter Joseph. ''Pilgrim-walks in Rome'', America Press, 1908, p. 377
/ref> In 1694, the confraternity moved to

San Bernardo a Colonna Traiani San Bernardo della Compagnia (also known as San Bernardo a Colonna Traiani, San Bernardi ad Columnam Traiani or San Bernardo della Compagnia al Foro) was a small church in Rome, next to Trajan's Column, dedicated to Saint Bernard and the Virgin ...

, but the next year, realizing that they needed to build a new church, they acquired the adjacent plot and had Santissimo Nome di Maria built by the French architect

Antoine Derizet Antoine Dérizet (16 November 1685 – 6 October 1768), of Lyon, was an experimentally classicizing French Late Baroque architect who spent much of his career in Rome, where he designed the churches of Church of SS. Claudius and Andrew of the Bu ...

(1736-1741).

Description

The lower exterior is decorated by columns and pilasters. The interior is

elliptical Elliptical may mean: * having the shape of an ellipse, or more broadly, any oval shape ** in botany, having an elliptic leaf shape ** of aircraft wings, having an elliptical planform * characterised by ellipsis (the omission of words), or by conc ...

. There are seven small

chapel A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common ty ...

s, decorated in

polychrome Polychrome is the "practice of decorating architectural elements, sculpture, etc., in a variety of colors." The term is used to refer to certain styles of architecture, pottery or sculpture in multiple colors. Ancient Egypt Colossal statu ...

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite. Marble is typically not Foliation (geology), foliated (layered), although there are exceptions. In geology, the ...

. In 1748, San Bernardo was demolished, but the

icon An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Catholic churches. They are not simply artworks; "an icon is a sacred image used in religious devotion". The most ...

Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religious contexts * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...

had been transferred from it to the new church in 1741. Once a year, it is carried in solemn

procession A procession is an organized body of people walking in a formal or ceremonial manner. History Processions have in all peoples and at all times been a natural form of public celebration, as forming an orderly and impressive ceremony. Religious ...

from the site of San Bernardo to its present place above the

high altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in paganis ...

of Santissimo Nome di Maria.

Titular holders

In 1969,

Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI ( la, Paulus VI; it, Paolo VI; born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini, ; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City, Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 to his ...

made it a

Titular Church In the Catholic Church, a titular church is a church in Rome that is assigned to a member of the clergy who is created a cardinal. These are Catholic churches in the city, within the jurisdiction of the Diocese of Rome, that serve as honorary de ...

. Cardinal-deacons of Santissimo Nome di Maria al Foro Traiano: # Sergio Guerri (28 April 1969 – 15 March 1992) #

Darío Castrillón Hoyos Darío del Niño Jesús Castrillón Hoyos (4 July 1929 – 18 May 2018) was a Colombian cardinal of the Catholic Church. He was Prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy from 1996 to 2006 and President of the Pontifical Commission ''Ecclesia D ...

(21 February 1998 – 18 May 2018) #

Mauro Gambetti Mauro Gambetti O.F.M. Conv. (born 27 October 1965) is an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church who was appointed archpriest of Saint Peter's Basilica, Vicar General for the Vatican State, and president of the Fabric of Saint Peter on 20 Febru ...

(28 November 2020 – present)

References

External links

* * Nome Di Maria Baroque architecture in Rome Roman Catholic churches completed in 1741 Nome di Maria 18th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy {{Italy-RC-church-stub

History

Description

Titular holders

See also

References

External links