The Basilica of San Sisto Vecchio (in Via Appia) is one of the over sixty

minor basilica In the Catholic Church, a basilica is a designation given by the Pope to a church building. Basilicas are distinguished for ceremonial purposes from other churches. The building need not be a basilica in the architectural sense (a rectangular ...

s among the churches of Rome, and 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 des ...

since 600 AD. As such, it is connected to the title of a

Cardinal priest A cardinal ( la, Sanctae Romanae Ecclesiae cardinalis, literally 'cardinal of the Holy Roman Church') is a senior member of the clergy of the Catholic Church. Cardinals are created by the ruling pope and typically hold the title for life. Col ...

, currently

Antoine Kambanda Antoine Kambanda (born 10 November 1958) is a Rwandan prelate of the Catholic Church who has been Archbishop of Kigali since January 2019. He had been Bishop of Kibungo from 2013 to 2018. Pope Francis raised him to the rank of cardinal on 28 ...

Basilica

The Basilica was constructed in the fourth century and is recorded as the ''Titulus Crescentianae'', thus relating the church to a certain Crescentia (possibly a Roman woman who founded the church.) According to tradition, the church was established by

Pope Anastasius I The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

(399–401). The church is dedicated to Pope St. Sixtus II and houses his relics (transferred there from the

Catacomb of Callixtus The Catacomb(s) of Callixtus (also known as the Cemetery of Callixtus) is one of the Catacombs of Rome on the Appian Way, most notable for containing the Crypt of the Popes ( Italian: ''Cappella dei Papi''), which once contained the tombs of sev ...

in the sixth century.) San Sisto was rebuilt in the early 13th century by

Pope Innocent III Pope Innocent III ( la, Innocentius III; 1160 or 1161 – 16 July 1216), born Lotario dei Conti di Segni (anglicized as Lothar of Segni), was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 8 January 1198 to his death in 16 ...

. The current church is the result of the restorations of

Pope Benedict XIII Pope Benedict XIII ( la, Benedictus XIII; it, Benedetto XIII; 2 February 1649 – 21 February 1730), born Pietro Francesco Orsini and later called Vincenzo Maria Orsini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 29 May ...

in the 18th century, which left only the

bell tower A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell tow ...

and the

apse In architecture, an apse (plural apses; from Latin 'arch, vault' from Ancient Greek 'arch'; sometimes written apsis, plural apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome, also known as an '' exedra''. ...

from the medieval church. A 13th-century fresco cycle depicting scenes from the New Testament and the Apocrypha has been preserved. San Sisto Vecchio

Pope Honorius III Pope Honorius III (c. 1150 – 18 March 1227), born Cencio Savelli, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 18 July 1216 to his death. A canon at the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore, he came to hold a number of import ...

entrusted the reform of the monastery at San Sisto Vecchio to

Saint Dominic Saint Dominic ( es, Santo Domingo; 8 August 1170 – 6 August 1221), also known as Dominic de Guzmán (), was a Castilian Catholic priest, mystic, the founder of the Dominican Order and is the patron saint of astronomers and natural scienti ...

in the 1220s, intending it as part of the reformation of women's religious life in Rome. In 1219 Honorius then invited Dominic and his companions to take up permanent residence at the ancient Roman basilica of

Santa Sabina The Basilica of Saint Sabina ( la, Basilica Sanctae Sabinae, it, Basilica di Santa Sabina all'Aventino) is a historic church on the Aventine Hill in Rome, Italy. It is a titular minor basilica and mother church of the Roman Catholic Order of Pre ...

, which they did in the early 1220. After that they founded a convent and ''studium'' on June 5, 1222, thus forming the original ''studium'' of the

Dominican Order The Order of Preachers ( la, Ordo Praedicatorum) abbreviated OP, also known as the Dominicans, is a Catholic mendicant order of Pontifical Right for men founded in Toulouse, France, by the Spanish priest, saint and mystic Dominic of ...

in Rome, out of which the 16th-century College of Saint Thomas at Santa Maria sopra Minerva and the

Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas A pontifical ( la, pontificale) is a Christian liturgical book containing the liturgies that only a bishop may perform. Among the liturgies are those of the ordinal for the ordination and consecration of deacons, priests, and bishops to Holy ...

(''Angelicum'') would grow. Dominican nuns still occupy the monastery at San Sisto Vecchio.

Cardinal protectors

The following persons are known to have been

s of S. Sisto (italics are used to denote special cases):David M. Cheyney, ''Catholic-Hierarchy:'
''San Sisto''.
Retrieved: 2016-03-16. (1368 - present) * Joannes (attested only at the beginning of 1069). * Petrus (attested from 1100 to 1112). * Sigizo (attested from 1118 to 1130), Roman. He followed Pope Anacletus II in the Schism of 1130–1139. * Giovanni, OSB Cas. (1168 – 1177), Italian *

Arnaud de Villemur Arnaud de Villemur O.Can.S.A. (died 28 October 1355) was a cardinal of the Catholic Church. He was bishop of Pamiers, France. He was made cardinal on 17 December 1350 by Pope Clement VI Pope Clement VI ( la, Clemens VI; 1291 – 6 Decemb ...

, CRSA (1350.12.17 – 1355.10.28), French * Nicolás Rossell, OP (1356.12.23 – 1362.03.28), Italian *

Simon Langham Simon de Langham (1310 – 22 July 1376) was an English clergyman who was Archbishop of Canterbury and a cardinal. Life Langham was born at Langham in Rutland. The manor of Langham was a property of Westminster Abbey, and he had become a ...

, OSB (1368.09.22 – 1373.08), Langham, Rutland, England (UK) * Luca Rodolfucci de Gentili (1378.09.18 – 1389.01.18), Italian * ''

Pseudocardinal Pseudocardinals, quasi-cardinals or anticardinals were the uncanonical Cardinals created by six of the Antipopes, in or rival to Rome, including two of Avignon Papacy and one of Pisa, as princes of their schismatic government of the Catholic Churc ...

-priest Leonardo Rossi da Giffoni, O.Min.'' (* 1378.12.18 – 1398.10), Italian *

Giovanni Dominici Giovanni Dominici ( 1355 – 10 June 1419) was an Italian Catholic prelate and Dominican who became a cardinal. His ideas had a profound influence on the art of Fra Angelico who entered the order through him. But he once encountered difficulties ...

, O.P. (1408.05.09 – 1419.06.10), Italian * Juan Casanova, O.P. (1431.07.04 – 1436.03.01), Spanish * Juan de Torquemada, O.P. (1440.01.08 – 1446), Valladolid, Castile (Spain) * ''

-priest Giovanni di Ragusa, O.P.'' (* 1440.10.02 – 1443.10), Croatian (Obedience of Antipope

Felix V Amadeus VIII (4 September 1383 – 7 January 1451), nicknamed the Peaceful, was Count of Savoy from 1391 to 1416 and Duke of Savoy from 1416 to 1440. He was the son of Amadeus VII, Count of Savoy and Bonne of Berry. He was a claimant to the papac ...

) *

Pietro Riario Pietro Riario (1445 – 3 January 1474) was an Italian cardinal and Papal diplomat. Biography Born in Savona, he was the son of Paolo Riario and Pope Sixtus IVs' sister, Bianca Della Rovere. Sixtus nominated him in 1471 bishop of Treviso and card ...

, O.Min. (1471.12.22 – 1474.01.03), Savona * Pedro Ferris (1476.12.30 – 1478.09.25), Cocentaina, Alicante, Spain *

Cosma Orsini Cosma Orsini (died 1481) (called Cardinal Orsini) was an Italians, Italian Catholic Church, Roman Catholic Bishop (Catholic Church), bishop and Cardinal (Catholicism), cardinal. Biography Cosma Orsini was born in Rome in the 1420s, the son of Gen ...

, O.S.B. Cas. (1480.05.15 – 1480.06.03), Roman, father from Fermo (He held the title for three weeks) * Pierre de Foix, ''le jeune'', O.Min. (1485.08 – 1490.08.10), Pau, County of Foix * Paolo Fregoso (1490 – 1498.03.22), Italian * Georges d’Amboise (1498.09.17 – 1510.05.25), French *

Achille Grassi Achille Grassi (16 February 1456 – 22 November 1523) was an Italian Roman Catholic bishop and cardinal. Biography Achille Grassi was born in Bologna on 16 February 1456, the son of Baldassarre Grassi, a Bolognese patrician, and Orsina Bocchi ...

(1511.03.17 – 1517.07.06), Bolognese * Tommaso Cajetan de Vio, O.P. (1517.07.06 – 1534.03.14), Gaeta, Kingdom of Naples *

Nikolaus von Schönberg Nikolaus von Schönberg (11 August 1472 – 7 September 1537) was a German Catholic cardinal and Archbishop of Capua. Biography Born in Rothschönberg near Meissen to a noble family which already had several Bishops of Meissen, Nikolaus beca ...

, O.P. (1537.05.31 – 1537.09.07), Rothschönberg, near Meissen * Gian Pietro Carafa (later

Pope Paul IV Pope Paul IV, born Gian Pietro Carafa, C.R. ( la, Paulus IV; it, Paolo IV; 28 June 1476 – 18 August 1559) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 23 May 1555 to his death in August 1559. While serving as pap ...

) (1537.09.24 – 1541.07.06), Capriglia Irpina, Kingdom of Naples *

Juan Álvarez de Toledo Juan Álvarez de Toledo (15 July 1488 – 15 September 1557) was a Spanish Dominican and Cardinal, from 1538. Considered ''papabile'' in the papal conclave (1549–1550), he was initially running second in votes to Reginald Pole. He was again a ...

, O.P. (1541.07.06 – 1547.01.24), Spanish * ''Cardinal-deacon Charles de Bourbon-Vendome'' (1549.02.25 – 1561.01.15 ''pro illa vice Deaconry''), French. Translated to S. Crisogono * Philibert Babou de la Bourdaisière (1561.03.10 – 1564.11.17), French * ''Cardinal-priest Ugo Boncompagni (later Pope

Gregory XIII Pope Gregory XIII ( la, Gregorius XIII; it, Gregorio XIII; 7 January 1502 – 10 April 1585), born Ugo Boncompagni, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 13 May 1572 to his death in April 1585. He is best known for ...

)'' (1565.05.15 – 1572.05.13), Italian * Filippo Boncompagni (1572.06.16 – 1586.06.09), Italian *

Jerzy Radziwiłł Jerzy Radziwiłł ( lt, Jurgis Radvila; 1480 – April 1541), nicknamed "Herkules", was a Polish–Lithuanian nobleman. He was Deputy Cup-Bearer of Lithuania from 1510, voivode of Kiev Voivodeship from 1510, Field Hetman of Lithuania in ...

(1586.07.14 – 1600.01.21), Lithuanian-Polish *

Alfonso Visconti Alfonso Visconti (1552–1608) was an Italian Roman Catholic cardinal and diplomat. Life Alfonso Visconti was born in Milan in 1552. He was the son of the Count Annibale, member of the ''Saliceto'' branch of the noble family of Visconti, and ...

(1600.01.24 – 1608.09.19), Italian *

Giambattista Leni Giambattista Leni (1573–1627) was a Roman Catholic cardinal.on consistory of November 24, 1608 was created cardinal by Pope Paul V Biography On 20 Jul 1608, he was consecrated bishop by Ottavio Paravicini, Cardinal-Priest of Sant'Alessio, w ...

(1608.12.10 – 1618.03.05), Italian * Francisco Gómez Rojas de Sandoval (1621.03 – 1625.05.17), Spanish *

Laudivio Zacchia Laudivio Zacchia (1565 – 30 August 1637) was an Italian Catholic cardinal.S. Miranda:
Laudivio Za ...

(1626.02.09 – 1629.09.17), Vezzano Ligure, Republic of Genoa * Agostino Oreggi (1634.01.09 – 1635.07.12), Italian * Carlo de’ Medici (1644.12.12 – 1645.03.06), Florence, Grand Duchy of Tuscany * Domenico Cecchini (1645.04.24 – 1656.05.01), Italian *

Giulio Rospigliosi Pope Clement IX ( la, Clemens IX; it, Clemente IX; 28 January 1600 – 9 December 1669), born Giulio Rospigliosi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 20 June 1667 to his death in December 1669. Biography Ear ...

(later Pope

Clement IX Pope Clement IX ( la, Clemens IX; it, Clemente IX; 28 January 1600 – 9 December 1669), born Giulio Rospigliosi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 20 June 1667 to his death in December 1669. Biography Ear ...

) (1657.04.23 – 1667.06.20), Italian * Giacomo Rospigliosi (1668.01.30 – 1672.05.16), Italian * Vincenzo Maria Orsini de Gravina, O.P. (later

) (1672.05.16 – 1701.01.03), Italian * Nicolò Spinola (1716.06.08 – 1725.01.29), Spanish * Agostino Pipia, O.P. (1725.01.29 – 1729.03.03), Italian * Louis-Antoine de Noailles (1729.03.03 – 1729.05.04), French * Francesco Antonio Finy (1729.07.06 – 1738.09.03), Italian *

Vincenzo Ludovico Gotti Vincenzo Ludovico Gotti (5 September 1664 – 18 September 1742) was a Cardinal and theologian of the Roman Catholic Church. Gotti was born in Bologna. Educated by Jesuits, he entered the Dominican Order at the age of sixteen. After studie ...

, O.P. (1738.09.26 – 1742.09.18), Bologna, Italy * Luigi Maria Lucini, O.P. (1743.09.23 – 1745.01.17), Italian * Carlo Vittorio Amedeo Delle Lanze (1747.10.02 – 1758.11.22), Italian * Giuseppe Agostino Orsi, O.P. (1759.11.19 – 1761.06.13), Italian * Giovanni Molino (1769.06.26 – 1773.03.14), Italian * Juan Tomás de Boxadors y Sureda de San Martín, O.P. (1775.12.18 – 1780.12.16), Spanish * Jean-Baptist-Marie-Anne-Antoine de Latil (1829.05.21 – 1839.12.01), French * Gaspare Bernardo Pianetti (1840.12.17 – 1862.01.30), Italian * ''Cardinal-priest Filippo Maria Guidi, O.P.'' (1863.03.19 – 1872.07.29, 1872.07.29 – 1877.06.20 ''in commendam''), Italian *

Lucido Maria Parocchi Lucido Maria Parocchi (13 August 1833 – 15 January 1903) was an Italian cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church who served as Secretary of the Supreme Sacred Congregation of the Holy Office from 5 August 1896 until his death. Biography Luci ...

(1877.06.25 – 1884.03.24), Italian * Camillo Siciliano di Rende (1887.05.26 – 1897.05.16), Italian * Giuseppe Antonio Ermenegildo Prisco (1898.03.24 – 1923.02.04), Italian *

Achille Liénart Achille Liénart (; 7 February 1884—15 February 1973) was a French cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Bishop of Lille from 1928 to 1968, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1930. Biography Born in Lille to a bourgeois ...

(1930.07.03 – 1973.02.15), French *

Octavio Antonio Beras Rojas Octavio Antonio Beras Rojas (16 November 1906 – 1 December 1990) was a Dominican cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Santo Domingo from 1961 to 1981, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1976. Biography Octav ...

(1976.05.24 – 1990.12.01), Dominican Republic *

Ignatius Kung Pin-mei Ignatius Kung Pin-Mei (; 2 August 1901 – 12 March 2000) was the Catholic Bishop of Shanghai, China, from 1950 until his death in 2000. He spent 30 years in Chinese prisons for defying attempts by China's Communist government to control ...

(龔品梅) (1991.06.30 – 2000.03.12), PR China *

Marian Jaworski Marian Franciszek Jaworski ( uk, Мар'ян Францішек Яворський, 21 August 1926 – 5 September 2020) was a Cardinal Priest and Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Lviv of the Latins, Archbishop of Lviv of the Latins in the Roman ...

(2001.02.21 – 2020.09.05), Ukrainian *

(2020.11.28 - present)

References

External links

The cardinalatial title
(GCatholic)

(GCatholic)
The basilica
(Diocese of Rome; in Italian) {{DEFAULTSORT:Sisto Vecchio in Via Appia, Basilica of Basilica churches in Rome Titular churches 4th-century churches Burial places of popes Dominican monasteries of nuns Dominican monasteries in Italy