Answer: The Basilica of Saint Clement (Basilica di San Clemente al Laterano) is a Latin Catholic minor basilica dedicated to Pope Clement I located in Rome, Italy. Archaeologically speaking, the structure is a three-tiered complex of buildings: (1) the present basilica built just before the year 1100 during the height of the Middle Ages; (2) beneath the present basilica is a 4th-century basilica that had been converted out of the home of a Roman nobleman, part of which had in the 1st century briefly served as an early church, and the basement of which had in the 2nd century briefly served as a Mithraic temple; (3) the home of the Roman nobleman had been built on the foundations of republican era villa and warehouse that had been destroyed in the Great Fire of AD 64.

Appointed Superior of San Clemente, Father Joseph Mullooly initiated excavations at the Basilica in 1857. He brought to light a Paleochristian Basilica, dating back to the times of Saint Clement I. The vault of Saint Cyril was also located in 1863. In 1873, out of appreciation for his outstanding works, the Master General conferred upon Father Mullooly the title of Master of Sacred Theology.

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BASILICA OF ST CLEMENT 150TH ANNIVERSARY OF EXCAVATIONS POSTCARDS
(Watercolors by W Ewing based on frescos from the IX - XI centuries found inside the Basilica)

Visit by Pope Pius IX to the Excavations in 1865


P166-P170 (2007)