Church of the Holy Spirit in the Saxon District (

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

: ''La chiesa di Santo Spirito in Sassia'') is a 12th-century

titular church In the Catholic Church, a titular church () is a Churches in Rome, church in Rome that is assigned to a member of the Holy orders in the Catholic Church, clergy who is created a Cardinal (Catholic Church), cardinal. These are Catholic churches in ...

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. It is in '' Borgo Santo Spirito'', a street which got its name from the church, placed in the southern part of

Rione A (; : , ) is an administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions () and provinces (). The can also have the title of (). Formed a ...

Borgo and has been connected since its foundation to the adjacent

Ospedale di Santo Spirito in Sassia The Hospital of the Holy Spirit () is the oldest hospital in Europe, located in Rome, Italy. It now serves as a convention center. The complex lies in rione Borgo, east of Vatican City and next to the modern Ospedale di Santo Spirito (which cont ...

. The current holder of the ''titulus'' is

Cardinal-Deacon A cardinal is a senior member of the clergy of the Catholic Church. As titular members of the clergy of the Diocese of Rome, they serve as advisors to the pope, who is the bishop of Rome and the visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. Ca ...

Dominique Mamberti Dominique François Joseph Mamberti (; born 7 March 1952) is a French Catholic prelate who has served as Prefect of the Apostolic Signatura since 2014. He was made a cardinal by Pope Francis in 2015. In 2025, serving as the cardinal protodeac ...

. It has been the official sanctuary of

Divine Mercy Divine mercy or God's mercy refers to the compassionate love, forgiveness, and forbearance of God toward creation, especially humankind. It is an essential attribute of God in Christianity, in Judaism, and in Islam. It has also inspired particu ...

since 1994.

History

The church stands on the site of King

Ine of Wessex Ine or Ini (died in or after 726) was King of Wessex from 689 to 726. At Ine's accession, his kingdom dominated much of what is now southern England. However, he was unable to retain the territorial gains of his predecessor, Cædwalla of Wessex ...

's '' Schola Saxonum'', or "Saxon School", a charitable institution for West Saxon pilgrims. According to

Roger of Wendover Roger of Wendover (died 6 May 1236), probably a native of Wendover in Buckinghamshire, was an English chronicler of the 13th century. At an uncertain date he became a monk at St Albans Abbey; afterwards he was appointed prior of the cell ...

, Ine founded the Schola Saxonum in AD 727. It included a hostel and a chapel dedicated to Santa Maria. In

mediaeval times In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

a substantial number of pilgrims from Wessex, including fighting men, traveled the

Via Francigena The Via Francigena (), also known as Francisca or Romea, is an ancient road and Christian pilgrimage, pilgrimage route running from the City status in the United Kingdom#Cathedral towns, cathedral city of Canterbury in England, through France and ...

from Canterbury to Rome.Merkle, Benjamin R. (2009-11-02). ''The White Horse King: The Life of Alfred the Great'' (Kindle Locations 266-275 and 366-370). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Nashville Tennessee: Thomas Nelson Co. 2009) The hospice and church were gutted by fire in 817, were sacked by Muslim raiders in 846, and were again burned in 852. It was rebuilt in the 12th century and subsequently restored several times. In 1475

Pope Sixtus IV Pope Sixtus IV (or Xystus IV, ; born Francesco della Rovere; (21 July 1414 – 12 August 1484) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 August 1471 until his death in 1484. His accomplishments as pope included ...

commissioned joining the church to the nearby Hospital of the Holy Spirit for foundlings (which

Pope Innocent III Pope Innocent III (; born Lotario dei Conti di Segni; 22 February 1161 – 16 July 1216) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 8 January 1198 until his death on 16 July 1216. Pope Innocent was one of the most power ...

had built and whose history is given in wall-paintings in the church's sacristy) and given a

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 to ...

. In 1538–1545, Antonio da Sangallo the Younger, or

Baldassare Peruzzi Baldassare Tommaso Peruzzi (7 March 1481 – 6 January 1536) was an Italian architect and painter, born in a small town near Siena (in Ancaiano, ''frazione'' of Sovicille) and died in Rome. He worked for many years with Bramante, Raphael, and l ...

, rebuilt the church after it had been damaged during the Sack of Rome. An organ, which survives, was added in 1547. In 1585–1590,

Pope Sixtus V Pope Sixtus V (; 13 December 1521 – 27 August 1590), born Felice Piergentile, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 24 April 1585 to his death, in August 1590. As a youth, he joined the Franciscan order, where h ...

had the exterior restored, giving the church its present façade by Ottavio Mascherino, inspired by a design of Sangallo. This facade has two stories, with Corinthian

pilasters In architecture, a pilaster is both a load-bearing section of thickened wall or column integrated into a wall, and a purely decorative element in classical architecture which gives the appearance of a supporting column and articulates an ext ...

dividing the lower one into five sections, and the upper divided into three sections. In the upper middle section is a circular window, and above that is the coat-of-arms of Pope Sixtus V. The façade is crowned by a

pediment Pediments are a form of gable in classical architecture, usually of a triangular shape. Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the cornice (an elaborated lintel), or entablature if supported by columns.Summerson, 130 In an ...

. It is a typical example of

Renaissance architecture Renaissance architecture is the European architecture of the period between the early 15th and early 16th centuries in different regions, demonstrating a conscious revival and development of certain elements of Ancient Greece, ancient Greek and ...

. In the stational procession for the first Sunday after the Octave of the Epiphany, instituted by Pope Innocent III (1198–1216), a procession carried the veil of

Saint Veronica Saint Veronica, also known as ''Berenike'', was a widow from Jerusalem who lived in the 1st century AD, according to extra-biblical Christian traditions. Apocryphal texts relate how Veronica was moved with sympathy seeing Jesus carrying the cr ...

from

Saint Peter's Basilica The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican (), or simply St. Peter's Basilica (; ), is a church of the Italian Renaissance architecture, Italian High Renaissance located in Vatican City, an independent microstate enclaved within the cit ...

, and the Pope celebrated Mass in this church. Indulgences were granted to those who took part, and money was distributed to the poor. The inscriptions found in Santo Spirito in Sassia, a valuable source illustrating the history of the church, have been collected and published by Vincenzo Forcella.V. Forcella, ''Iscrizioni delle chiese e d'altri edifici di Roma, dal secolo XI fino al secolo XVI'' Volume VI (Roma: Fratelli Bencini, 1875), pp. 377-505. n Italian and Latin/ref>

Art and architecture

The church has a single nave, and ten apsidal chapels along the sides. The counter-facade has a ''Visitation'' (1545) by

Marco Pino Marco Pino or Marco da Siena (1521–1583) was an Italian painter of the Renaissance and Mannerist period. Born in Costalpino and first trained in Siena, he later worked in Rome and in Naples, where he died. He was putatively a pupil of the pain ...

, and a ''Conversion of St. Paul'' begun by Francesco Salviati and completed by Francesco Rubiale. The first chapel to the right in the apse, has a fresco of the ''Pentecost'' by the Florentine Jacopo Zucchi and his brother. The second chapel has an ''Assumption'' by

Livio Agresti Livio Agresti (1508–1580), also called Ritius or Ricciutello, was an Italy, Italian painter of the late Renaissance or Mannerism, Mannerist period, active both in his native city of Forlì and in Rome, where he died. He was one of the members of ...

, who also painted the ''Trinity'' in the fourth chapel as well as frescoes in the third chapel. The fifth chapel has an ''Annunciation'' and an ''Ascent'' (1570) by

Giuseppe Valeriano Giuseppe Valeriano (L'Aquila, August, 1542 – Naples, July 15, 1596) was an Italian painter and architect, priest of the Jesuit order, and active in Rome, Spain, and Naples. Biography He began training in his native town under a minor paint ...

. The sacristy is decorated by stories of the ''Schola Saxonum'' by

Guidobaldo Abbatini Guido Ubaldo Abbatini (1600 – 1656) was an Italian painter of the Baroque period, active mainly in Rome and Usigni. Biography Guido Ubaldo Abbatini was a pupil of the painter Giuseppe Cesari and of Gian Lorenzo Bernini, and later worked unde ...

. The apse is frescoed (1583) by both Jacopo and Francesco Zucchi. The fifth chapel on the left has a ''Martyrdom of St. John the Evangelist'' by

Marcello Venusti Marcello Venusti (1512 – 15 October 1579) was an Italian Mannerist painter active in Rome in the mid-16th century. Native to Mazzo di Valtellina near Como, he was reputed to have been a pupil of Perino del Vaga. He is known for a scaled cop ...

. The second and first chapels contain paintings by

Cesare Nebbia Cesare Nebbia (c.1536–c.1614) was an Italian Mannerism, Mannerist painter from Orvieto. Biography Nebbia was born in Orvieto. He trained with Girolamo Muziano, with whom he helped complete a flurry of decoration that was added to the Cathe ...

, including a ''Coronation of the Virgin''.

Burials

Burgred of Mercia Burgred (also Burhred or Burghred; Old English: ''Burhræd'') was an Anglo-Saxon king of Mercia from 852 to 874. Family Burgred became king of Mercia in 852, and may have been related to his predecessor Beorhtwulf. After Easter in 853, Burgred m ...

Cardinal-Deacons

Since the 1991 consistory of

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

, the church has been used as a Deaconry with a Cardinal assigned as its Cardinal Protector (a term created by Pope Paul VI in 1966). *

Fiorenzo Angelini Fiorenzo Angelini (1 August 1916 – 22 November 2014) was an Italian cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as the President of the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Health Care Workers in the Roman Curia, and was elevated ...

(28 June 1991 – 22 November 2014) *

(14 Feb 2015 – ''present'')

References

Sources

* Emilio Lavagnino, ''La chiesa di Santo Spirito in Sassia: e il mutare del gusto a Roma al tempo del Concilio di Trento'' (Rome: Banco di Santo Spirito, 1962). * Louise Smith Bross, ''The Church of Santo Spirito in Sassia: A Study in the Development of Art, Architecture and Patronage in Counter Reformation Rome'' hD thesis, University of Chicago, 1994 * Sivigliano Alloisi and Luisa Cardilli Alloisi, ''Santo Spirito in Saxia'' (Rome: Istituto nazionale di studi romani, Palombi Editori 2002). * Gianfranco Grieco and Jòzef Bart, ''Santo Spirito in Sassia'' (Gorle: Elledici: Editrice Velar, 2007). vailable in English {{Authority control 16th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy Roman Catholic churches completed in 1580 Spirito 12th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy Renaissance architecture in Rome Divine Mercy (Catholic devotion) Churches of Rome (rione Borgo)

History

Art and architecture

Burials

Cardinal-Deacons

See also

References

Sources