Sancta Sanctorum

The Chiesa di San Lorenzo in Palatio ad Sancta Sanctorum (English: Church of St. Lawrence in the Palace of the Holy of Holies), known simply as the Sancta Sanctorum, is a Catholic chapel in Rome featuring the Scala Sancta (Holy Stairs) of the Lateran Palace. It was the original private chapel of the papacy before it moved to Avignon, and later to the Apostolic Palace. The chapel is the only building from the old Lateran Palace that was not destroyed during its reconstruction. NameThe chapel acquired the Sancta Sanctorum sometime in the ninth century. The spelling is Sancta, the neuter plural form of the Latin adjective "holy": this is a reference to the multiple relics preserved there (i.e. "the holy things") and to the Holy of Holies in Jerusalem, traditionally called in Latin both sanctum sanctorum (the singular form) or sancta sanctorum. HistoryThe founder of the chapel is unknown. It was originally dedicated in honor of Saint Lawrence, and served as the Pope's private oratory until the Renaissance. It is located at the summit of the Scala Sancta, (Holy Stairs). The first mention of the chapel is found in the Liber Pontificalis, during the reign of Pope Stephen III (reigned from