Lenten Station Church
Second Sunday Of Easter
Divine Mercy Sunday
St. Pancras
(San Pancrazio)

The Basilica of St. Pancras is the final church to be visited during the Lenten Calendar. The St Pancras Basilica was built by Pope Symmachus (498–514) on the place where the body of the young martyr St Pancras of Rome had been buried. 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 after the Lombards sacked their monastery of Montecassino 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. Below the church there are huge catacombs, the Catacomb of San Pancrazio. Since 1997, the temple is guarded by Polish barefoot Carmelites. The sanctuary occupies the central part of the transept and the apse. It is raised high above the nave and is accessed by five steps. The church has a splendid wooden ceiling. In the center of the ceiling, we see an image of St Pancras with a sword and palm branch. Above and below the part featuring the saint we see carved little towers. The ceiling also features the coat of arms of Pope Paul V (1605-1621). St Pancras Exterior Views St Pancras Interior Views (Last 2 Photos - Reliquary containing the head of St Pancras) Because St Pancras was said to have been martyred at the age of fourteen during the persecution under Diocletian, Pancras would have been born around 289 AD to parents of Roman citizenship. His mother Cyriada died during his childbirth, while his father Cleonius died when Pancras was eight years old. Pancras was entrusted to his uncle Dionysius' care. They both moved to Rome to live in a villa on the Caelian Hill. They converted to Christianity, and Pancras became a zealous adherent of the religion. During the persecution of Christians by Emperor Diocletian around 303 AD, Pancras was brought before the authorities and asked to perform a sacrifice to the Roman gods. Diocletian, impressed with the boy's determination to resist, promised him wealth and power, but Pancras refused. Finally, the emperor ordered him to be beheaded on the Via Aurelia, in 303 AD. A Roman matron named Ottavilla recovered Pancras' body, covered it with balsam, wrapped it in precious linens, and buried it in a newly built sepulchre dug in the Catacombs of Rome. Pancras' head was placed in the reliquary that still exists today in the Basilica of St Pancras. Reference: 'San Pancrazio' on WikiPedia.org 'Pancras of Rome' on WikiPedia.org All Photographs are from Commons.WikiMedia.org Popes & Basilicas - Pope Paul V 165 (1953) Statue of St Pancras in a Church at Vranov, Moravia This marks the last church to be visited during the tour of the Lenten Station Churches. The calendar took us on a visit to 42 Lenten Station Churches in Rome over 54 days, beginning on Ash Wednesday and ending today on the Second Sunday of Easter (Divine Mercy Sunday). Seven of the churches were visited multiple times. VPS Webmaster Marvin Lanahan envisioned the idea for the tour of the Lenten Station Churches, and executed the project with VPS Member Dennis Oniszczak. We hope this was an enjoyable addition to the VPS Website and to the Daily Emails sent to our members.