The basilica of San Pancrazio ( en, St Pancras; la, S. Pancratii) 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 let ...

ancient basilica and

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 ...

founded by

Pope Symmachus Pope Symmachus (died 19 July 514) was the bishop of Rome from 22 November 498 to his death. His tenure was marked by a serious schism over who was elected pope by a majority of the Roman clergy. Early life He was born on the Mediterranean isla ...

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 The Janiculum (; it, Gianicolo ), occasionally the Janiculan Hill, is a hill in western Rome, Italy. Although it is the second-tallest hill (the tallest being Monte Mario) in the contemporary city of Rome, the Janiculum does not figure among t ...

. It covers the Catacomb of San Pancrazio. The

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 ...

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 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 ...

(15 January – 24 September 1537) and

Pope Clement VIII Pope Clement VIII ( la, Clemens VIII; it, Clemente VIII; 24 February 1536 – 3 March 1605), born Ippolito Aldobrandini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 2 February 1592 to his death in March 1605. Born ...

(18 December 1585 – 30 January 1592).

History

The basilica was built by

(498–514), on the place where the body of the young martyr Saint

Pancras of Rome Pancras (Latin: ''Sanctus Pancratius'') was a Roman citizen who converted to Christianity and was beheaded for his faith at the age of fourteen, around the year 304. His name is Greek (Παγκράτιος) and means "the one that holds everythi ...

, 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 The Lombards () or Langobards ( la, Langobardi) were a Germanic people who ruled most of the Italian Peninsula from 568 to 774. The medieval Lombard historian Paul the Deacon wrote in the ''History of the Lombards'' (written between 787 an ...

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 ho ...

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 The Discalced Carmelites, known officially as the Order of the Discalced Carmelites of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel ( la, Ordo Fratrum Carmelitarum Discalceatorum Beatae Mariae Virginis de Monte Carmelo) or the Order of Discalced Carme ...

, 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 Ferdinando Ponzetti (1444–1527) was an Italian Roman Catholic bishop and cardinal. Biography Ferdinando Ponzetti was born in Florence in 1444, the son of a noble Neapolitan family. He studied Christian theology, philosophy, Greek, Latin and ...

(1517–1527) * Francesco Corner (1528–1534) * Gian Pietro Carafa (1537) *

Federico Cesi Federico Angelo Cesi (; 26 February 1585 – 1 August 1630) was an Italian scientist, naturalist, and founder of the Accademia dei Lincei. On his father's death in 1630, he became briefly lord of Acquasparta. Biography Federico Cesi was ...

(1545–1550) *

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 ...

(1551–1553) *

Miguel da Silva Miguel da Silva (c. 1480 – 5 June 1556) was a Portuguese nobleman, the second son of Diogo da Silva, 1st Count of Portalegre and of his wife Maria de Ayala, a Castilian noblewomen. He was ambassador of the king of Portugal to several popes, ...

(1553) * Giovanni Antonio Capizucchi (1556–1562) *

Bernardo Navagero Bernardo Navagero ( Venice 1507 – 13 April 1565 Verona) was a Venetian ambassador and a cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. Life Venetian patrician, son of Gianluigi Navagero and Lucrezia Agostini, he studied at the University of Padua. He ...

(1562) *

Stanislaus Hosius Stanislaus Hosius ( pl, Stanisław Hozjusz; 5 May 1504 – 5 August 1579) was a Polish Roman Catholic cardinal. From 1551 he was the Prince-Bishop of the Bishopric of Warmia in Royal Prussia and from 1558 he served as the papal legate to the H ...

(1562–1565) * Simone Pasqua (1565) *

Tolomeo Gallio Tolomeo Gallio (also spelled Gallo and Galli; 25 September 1527 – 3 or 4 February 1607) was an Italian Cardinal. Biography In the time of Pope Gregory XIII, he acted as papal secretary of state (in office 1572 to 1585), having a key role ...

(1565–1568) *

Gianpaolo Della Chiesa Gianpaolo Della Chiesa (1521–1575) was an Italian Roman Catholic bishop and cardinal. Biography Gianpaolo Della Chiesa was born in Tortona in 1521. He was a relative of Pope Pius V. He was educated at the University of Padua and the Univers ...

(1568–1575) * Ippolito Aldobrandini (1586–1592) *

Girolamo Mattei Girolamo Mattei (8 February 1547 – 8 December 1603) was an Italian Cardinal from the House of Mattei. Biography Mattei was born 8 February 1547, the son of Alessandro Mattei and Emilia Mazzatosta. He was the younger brother of Ciriaco Matte ...

(1592–1603) *

Pietro Aldobrandini Pietro Aldobrandini (31 March 1571 – 10 February 1621) was an Italian cardinal and patron of the arts. Biography He was made a cardinal in 1593 by his uncle, Pope Clement VIII. He took over the duchy of Ferrara in 1598 when it fell to the P ...

(1604–1605) * Domenico Ginnasi (1605–1606) * Ludovico de Torres (1606–1609) *

Gabriel Trejo y Paniagua Gabriel Trejo y Paniagua (1562 in Casas de Millán, Crown of Castile – 11 February 1630 in Málaga, Crown of Castile) was a Spanish cardinal, bishop and Rector of the University of Salamanca. Biography Born in Casas de Millán (Municipali ...

(1617–1621) *

Cosimo de Torres Cosimo de Torres also Cosmo de Torres and Cosma de Torres (1584–1642) was a Roman Catholic cardinal who served as Cardinal-Priest of Santa Maria in Trastevere (1641–1642), Cardinal-Priest of San Pancrazio (1623–1641), Archbishop of Monreale ...

(1623–1641) *

Gaspare Mattei Cardinal Gaspare Mattei Gaspare Mattei (1598 - around 1am, 9 April 1650) was an Italian cardinal of the house of Mattei. Life Mattei was born in Rome, the eldest son of Mario Mattei, duke of Paganica and Prudenzia Cenci; he was a relative of Pop ...

(1643–1648) *

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(1653–1654) *

Carlo Gualterio Carlo Gualterio (1613 – 1 January 1673) was an Italian Roman Catholic cardinal. Biography Gualterio was born at Orvieto. In his family, Silvio Antoniani was cardinal and Sebastiano Gualterio had been Bishop of Viterbo, Papal Nuncio to France ...

(1654–1667) *

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(1670–1673) *

Pietro Vidoni Pietro Vidoni (8 November 1610 – 5 January 1681) was an Italian cardinal who served from 1652 to 1660 as the papal legate and nuncio to Poland. Personal life Vidoni was born 8 November 1610 in Cremona into Italian noble family. He studied at se ...

(1673–1681) *

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(1681–1691) * Bandino Panciatichi (1691–1710) * Damian Hugo Philipp von Schönborn (1721–1726) *

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. (1728–1738) * Gioacchino Bessozzi, O.Cist. (1743–1744) *

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(1745–1753) * Giuseppe Maria Feroni (1753–1764) * Giovanni Battista Bussi (1824–1844) * Carlo Vizzardelli (1848–1851) * Clément Villecourt (1855–1867) * Josip Mihalovic (1877–1891) * Francesco Ricci Paracciani (1891–1894) *

Achille Manara Achille Manara (20 November 1827 – 15 February 1906) was an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church who became a bishop in 1879, a cardinal in 1895, and an archbishop in 1904. Biography Manara was born in Bologna on 20 November 1827. He was ord ...

(1895–1906) *

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(1907–1920) *

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(1922–1924) *

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(1927–1941) *

Carlos Carmelo de Vasconcelos Motta Carlos Carmelo Vasconcellos Motta (16 July 1890 – 18 September 1982) was a long-serving cardinal. Until Eugênio de Araújo Sales surpassed him in 2005, he was the longest-serving Brazilian cardinal, and during his cardinalate the Church in Br ...

(1946–1982) * José Lebrún Moratinos (1983–2001) *

(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