The basilica of San Pancrazio ( en, St Pancras; la, S. Pancratii) is a Roman Catholic ancient basilica and titular church founded by Pope Symmachus in the 6th century in Rome, Italy. It stands in via S. Pancrazio, westward beyond the

Porta San Pancrazio Porta San Pancrazio is one of the southern gates of the Aurelian walls in Rome, Italy. The gate houses the National Association of Garibaldi Veterans and Survivors along with the Garibaldi Museum (also dedicated to the Italian Partisan Division ...

that opens in a stretch of the Aurelian Wall on the Janiculum. It covers the Catacomb of San Pancrazio. The Cardinal Priest of the ''Titulus S. Pancratii'' is

Antonio Cañizares Llovera Antonio Cañizares Llovera (; born 15 October 1945) is a Spanish cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church who was the Archbishop of Valencia from 2014 to 2022. He was prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacramen ...

. Other previous titulars include Pope Paul IV (15 January – 24 September 1537) and Pope Clement VIII (18 December 1585 – 30 January 1592).

History

The basilica was built by Pope Symmachus (498–514), on the place where the body of the young martyr Saint Pancras of Rome, or Pancratius, had been buried, ''Via Aurelia miliario secundo'' ('on the Via Aurelia at the second milestone'). The church was originally placed by him under the care of the clergy of the Church of S. Crisogono. Due to their neglect of the site, Pope Gregory I (590–604) handed it over to the members of the newly founded

Benedictine Order , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

after the Lombards sacked their monastery of

Montecassino Monte Cassino (today usually spelled Montecassino) is a rocky hill about southeast of Rome, in the Latin Valley, Italy, west of Cassino and at an elevation of . Site of the Roman town of Casinum, it is widely known for its abbey, the first h ...

in 580. In the seventh century Pope Honorius I (625–638) built a larger church for the increasing numbers of pilgrims; he placed the relics of the saint beneath the high altar, with a window of access from a semi-circular corridor that led behind and below the altar. In the 17th century, it was given to the Discalced Carmelites, who completely remodeled it. The church underwent further rebuilding in the 19th century, having been heavily damaged during Garibaldi's attack on Rome in 1849; but it retains its plain brick facade of the late 15th century, with the arms of

Pope Innocent VIII Pope Innocent VIII ( la, Innocentius VIII; it, Innocenzo VIII; 1432 – 25 July 1492), born Giovanni Battista Cybo (or Cibo), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 29 August 1484 to his death in July 1492. Son of th ...

.Touring Club Italiano, ''Roma e dintorni'' (Milan, 1965) p. 455. Below the church there are huge

catacomb Catacombs are man-made subterranean passageways for religious practice. Any chamber used as a burial place is a catacomb, although the word is most commonly associated with the Roman Empire. Etymology and history The first place to be referred ...

s, the '' Catacomb of San Pancrazio'' or ''di Ottavilla''. Entrance is next to the small ''Museo di S. Pancrazio'' with fragments of sculpture and pagan and early Christian inscriptions.

Cardinal-Priests of San Pancrazio

The Church of S. Pancrazio was established as the titulus of a Cardinal-Priest by Pope Leo X on 6 July 1517.David M. Cheney, ''Catholic-Hierarchy:'
''The Cardinal-Priests of S. Pancrazio''
Retrieved: 2016-03-12. * Ferdinando Ponzetti (1517–1527) * Francesco Corner (1528–1534) *

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(2006–)

References

Bibliography

* Richart Krautheimer, ''Corpus Basilicarum Christianarum Romae: The Early Christian Basilicas of Rome (IV–IX Cent.)'' Part II (Roma: 1937), pp. 153–177. * John Crook, ''The Architectural Setting of the Cult of Saints in the Early Christian West c. 300 – c. 1200'' (Oxford: Clarendon 2000), pp. 82–83. * Giuseppe Burragato and Antonio Palumbo, ''Sulle orme di San Pancrazio, martire romano. Culto, basilica, catacombe'' (Morena (Roma) : Edizioni OCD, 2004).

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pancrazio Basilica churches in Rome Titular churches 6th-century churches 17th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy Rome Q. XII Gianicolense