Day 10 - Friday - 1st Week of Lent - Santi Apostoli

Church of the Twelve Holy Apostles

This stately and magnificent Church was originally built in the 6th century, although a titular church stood here previously, mentioned in the acts of the synod of 499 as Titulus SS Apostolorum. The subsequent grand church was built by Pope Pelagius I to celebrate a Narses victory over the Ostrogoths, at a time when the pagan Gothic peoples had overrun Rome and most of Italy. Lent is a time for conversion, and so it is appropriate that we follow a little rabbit trail here to discover a lesser known man from history who was whole-heartedly converted to Christ.

Narses was one of the great generals of Byzantine Emperor Justinian I during the Roman reconquest of Italy that took place during the 6th century. A native of Armenia, Narses was an important eunuch in the palace of the emperors in Constantinople. He rose through the ranks and became commander of the bodyguard for the Emperor and eventually the Grand Chamberlain. Eventually, due to military success in the East, he was assigned to go to the West with another famous general, Belisarius, to lead a great army to reclaim Italy from the barbarians after the fall of the western Roman Empire.

Left: Santi Apostoli - façade

Photo by Yvonne Cummins, used by permission

Above: Narses

Basilica of San Vitale - Ravenna

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3ANarses.jpg By Vahan.hovh [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Narses had a special devotion to the Virgin Mary. He always appealed to her about the battles he fought — it was she who would tell him the proper time of attack, and Narses never engaged in battle without her consent. He was also reported to be very generous to the poor and zealous in restoring churches.

Below: Statues of the twelve Apostles parade across the loggia.

Di Sailko - Opera propria, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=44372002

Paul the Deacon, in his History of the Langobards from the 8th century, reported him to be so devoted to prayers and vigils that “he obtained victory more by the supplications he poured forth to God, than by arms of war.”

The magnificent church was built in the basilica style, and had a remarkable altar raised almost 9 feet from the floor, with a special cabinet for relics. That altar still exists, under the present altar, and contains the remains of the apostle James the Less and Philip the apostle, as well a number of other relics including a rib of St Lawrence, a knee of St Andrew, a shoulder and arm of St Biagio, some wood from the Cross, a vestment of St Thomas the apostle, the scapular of St Francis and various relics from the catacombs. In 795, Pope Hadrian wrote a letter to Charlemagne praising the stately church and its fine mosaics. It stood for the better part of 800 years, when it was ruined in 1348 by an earthquake, and left abandoned.

In 1415, after the years of the Great Western Schism, a member of the prominent Colonna family in Rome was elected as Pope, and became Martin V. After years of upheaval, and exile in Avignon, the Papacy had returned permanently to Rome. The Colonna family estate was adjacent to the Church of the Twelve Holy Apostles, and Martin V made it one of his earliest projects to restore the church.

The present basilica is seen below with its attached convent. It has 3 cloisters, an entrance loggia and a campanile (bell tower). To the northeast of the church is the Pontifical Gregorian University, Rome's most famous Catholic university.

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3ASS_Apostoli_001.jpg By Pippo-b (Own work) [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/)], via Wikimedia Commons

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3ASanti_Apostoli_1000054.JPG

In 1463 the basilica was given to the Conventual Franciscans, and when the general of the order was elected Sixtus IV, he began a complete renovation, giving to Melozzo da Forli the commission for the apse fresco. This was one of his greatest works, but in the 18th century with Pope Clement XI's extensive renovation, the frescoes were moved to the Vatican museums, to the Quirinal Palace, and some were destroyed in the process of renovation. Fragments of the frescoes reveal daForli's genius. He would have considerable influence on Michelangelo.

Fragments of the fresco by Melozzo da Forlì

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3ADa_Forli_-_Music-Making_Angel.jpg Melozzo da Forlì [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Below: Melozzo da Forlì's frescoes are now housed in the Vatican Museum Pinacoteca

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/ File%3ADa_Forli_-_Angel_with_Lute_head.jpg Melozzo da Forlì [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

http://commons.wikimedia. org/wiki/ File%3ADa_Forli_-_Music-Making_Angel_2.jpg Melozzo da Forlì [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

By xiquinhosilva from Cacau - 11625 - Vatican - Pinacoteca, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=30178511

If you would like to see more of da Forli's work, here is a link to the Vatican Museum

Pope Clement XI's renovations were complete in 1714, and the new Baroque interior was impressive.

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3ASanti_Apostoli._Roma._Interior._05.jpg

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3ASSApostoli-Interno02-SteO153.JPG

Interior - Church of the Twelve Holy Apostles

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3ASSApostoli-Interno03-SteO153.jpg By SteO153 (Own work) [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html), CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/) or CC BY-SA 2.5-2.0-1.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5-2.0-1.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

The fine ceiling frescoes depict the Triumph of the Order of St Francis by Baciccio.

File:Santi Apostoli - soffitto - antmoose.jpg

Above: A closer view of the glorious ceiling by Baciccio

Apotheosis of the Franciscan Order http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3ABaciccio_-_Apotheosis_of_the_Franciscan_Order_-_WGA01109.jpg Giovanni Battista Gaulli [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Interior of the Basilica of Santi Apostoli - Marian Feast Day

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3ATrevi_-_santi_apostoli_interno_1000273.JPG I, Lalupa [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html), CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/) or CC BY-SA 2.5 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5)], via Wikimedia Commons

View of the Apse

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3ASanti_XII_Apostoli_(Rome)_apsis.JPG

High Altar - There are four porphyry columns, and the altarpiece by Domenico Maria Muratori depicts the Martyrdoms of the Apostles Philip and James the Less.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/71/SSApostoli-Altare01-SteO153.JPG

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3ASanti_Apostoli._Roma._Interior._03.jpg

The Crypt of Santi Apostoli, with the high altar seen above

Entrance to the Crypt and the Tomb of the Apostles, St James the Less and Philip

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AFranc_XII_Apostoli_fc03.jpg By Fczarnowski (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Looking back out of the crypt

By LPLT - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=6932018

In the crypt

Di Robo71 - Opera propria, CC0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=157253936

Below, right: Elegant marble carving on a tomb in the crypt

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3ASs._apostoli%2C_cripta%2C_andrea_bregno%2 C_monum._di_raffaele_della_rovere_(m._1477)_02.JPG

Left: Tomb of the Apostles James the Less and Philip

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AFranc_XII_Apostoli_fc04.jpg

Little is known of the life of St James the Less. By some he is thought to be the James described as the brother of Jesus (though the word in the New Testament for brother can mean a spiritual brother, an actual sibling, or even a more distant relation). He is sometimes called the son of Alpheus, and may have been the brother of Jude, or possibly of Matthew, also apostles. Because there are as many as 5 James' mentioned in the New Testament it is difficult at times to be sure which James is which. There is overlap in the descriptions, and it is thought that there are probably no more than 3 actual men.

James the Less is usually credited with writing the Letter of James in the New Testament. Known for his righteousness and piety, he is thought to have been the James chosen by the apostles to be the first bishop of Jerusalem, and if so, in Acts we see him take a very active role in the Council of Jerusalem. In I Corinthians 15:7 Paul tells us that after the Resurrection, Jesus personally appeared to him - alone: "After that He appeared to more than 500 brethren at one time . . . then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles." What an awesome experience that must have been! The Epistle of St. James seems to have been written of a man with a serious, humble, and calm mind, that had been nurtured in the Old Testament Scriptures, a man of prayer, just, devoted to the poor, and accepting of persecution.

St. Philip was one of the 12 apostles. We are told in the Gospel of John that he was a disciple of John the Baptist prior to being called by Christ (John 1:43-51), and we are also told that he was active in sharing the Gospel with the Greek speaking Jews of the Diaspora. At the Last Supper, it was Philip who asked Our Lord to reveal the Father to the disciples, prompting Jesus to explain the relationship of the Father to the Son. "Philip said to him: Lord, show us the Father and it is enough for us. Jesus replied: Have I been so long with you; and you have not known me? Philip, he that sees me, sees the Father also. Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father in me? The words I speak to you, I speak not of myself. But the Father who abides in me, He does the works. Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me, or else believe me for the very work's sake. Truly I say to you, he that believes in me, the works that I do, he shall also do, and greater than these he shall do because I go to the Father, and whatever you ask the Father in my name, I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, that I will do (John 14:8-13)."

Sometimes it is frustrating to know so little about great saints. Yet there is something glorious in this anonymity. To think that all this grandeur began with the calling of twelve rather insignificant fellows - fishermen, tax collectors . . . . . Is this not reassuring, that God is truly in control of the destiny of His Bride, the Church? Twelve nobodys and a few friends, only a few hundred total in New Testament times, and maybe a few thousand by the end of the first century. Hunted, persecuted, without influence or prestige — like their Master, hardly a place to rest their heads and call their own. And yet from this unlikely beginning, the Catholic Church has arisen, carrying with it through the centuries, the history, the traditions, the doctrine, the music, the liturgy, the stories, the saints, the love of God — preparing us all for the day of Our Lord's return.

Below: The Cloister of Santi Apostli

By Sailko - Own work, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=30535936

Above: Bell tower - seen from the cloister of Santi Apostoli

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3A Chiostri_del_palazzo_dei_ss._apostoli%2C_05.JPG

St James and St Philip, and General Narses, and all you holy Apostles, pray for us that we may endure as you endured, through trials and temptations and martyrdom. Walk with us and shepherd us in the ways of the Lord.

Right: The collect church for tomorrow, is the Basilica di San Marco Evangelista al Campidoglio - St Mark the Evangelist at the Campidolio

Tomorrow we will visit with St Peter in his great basilica in the Vatican.

Optional activities, music, videos, etc.

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