Day 15 - Wednesday - 2nd Week of Lent - St Cecilia in Trastevere

Saint Cecilia with an Angel by Orazio Gentileschi

According to tradition, Cecilia was born to pagan parents in the late 2nd or early 3rd century, and was converted to Christ, probably though her Christian nurse.  Born into nobility, her profound love of the Lord was a dangerous virtue in that time of persecution, prior to the legalization of Christianity.  According to custom, her parents arranged a marriage for her to a young patrician named Valerian, however, Cecilia had already made a vow of virginity to the Lord.

On the night of her wedding, she explained her vow to Valerian, who was understandably angry and confused.  She told Valerian that  an angel of the Lord protected her vow, and would punish him if he dared to violate her virginity, but would love him and favor him if he could respect her vow.  Somewhat dubious, Valerian asked to see the angel, and Cecilia replied that he could do so if he would go to the third milestone on the Appian Way and be baptized by Pope Urban.  Soon afterward, Valerian was converted and baptized through the instruction of Pope Urban and the witness of his wife's profound faith.

Saints Cecilia, Valerian, and Tiburtius, by Botticini

Subsequently, Cecilia and Valerian were instrumental in the conversion of Tiburtius, Valerian's brother, and together, the three became icons of Christian virtue, renowned for their works of charity, especially burying the dead who had died as witnesses of the faith.  Eventually, Valerian and Tiburtius were arrested and threatened with execution because of their practice of Christianity.  Because they refused to deny their faith, they were beheaded, though not before the conversion of their executioner, who had been brought to faith by the example of these steadfast young men.  

It was not long until Cecilia’s arrest followed, though the Roman prefect attempted to persuade her to embrace a more “politically correct” position.  Cecilia refused to submit.  Initially, an attempt was made to suffocate her in the baths of her home, since the execution of a noblewoman was best kept private, even secret.  For three days they locked her in the baths and filled the rooms with heated steam, but she survived.  After this failed attempt to suffocate her, an executioner was sent to behead her.

Martyrdom of St Cecilia by Stephano Maderno

The executioner struck three blows to her neck, yet failed to behead her.  Because it was illegal to attempt execution more than 3 times, he left her mortally wounded, but alive, with a terrible gaping wound in her neck.  For 3 days she survived, continuing the witness of her vibrant faith.  During this time, Cecilia made provision for dispersal of her possessions to the poor, and arrangements for her home to be remodeled as a church.  

 LENTCAzT 2017 15 Wednesday 2nd Week of Lent

Facade of Santa Cecilia 

Below:Facade at night

The first church was built in the 3rd century over the site of her home.  (It was here that on November 22, 545, Pope Vigilius was celebrating Mass, when the emissary of Byzantine Empress Theodora, wife of Justinian I, captured him, and carried him off to Constantinople. But that is a story for another day.  There was a lot of intrigue in the Roman Empire of that time!)

Nave

Detail of the ceiling fresco - St Cecilia receives the crown of martyrdom

High Altar

Martyrdom of St Cecilia - with high altar above - by Stephano Maderno

In 821 A.D. Pope Paschal I had Cecilia’s body removed from its burial place in the Catacomb of St. Callistus and reinterred under the altar in the Basilica of St. Cecilia.  The body was found to be incorrupt.  Almost seven centuries later, in 1599, during renovation, Cecilia's tomb was again opened, as well as her husband’s. Those present at the opening were deeply moved — Cecilia’s body, lying on her right side as if she were asleep, was still perfectly incorrupt.  This is the position of the body used by the sculptor Stefano Maderno to carve the sculpture below. 

Martyrdom of St Cecilia by Maderno

When Pope Paschal had her body moved, this is the position in which they found her.

The hands of the dying Cecilia

There was a controversy in the ancient Church about the Person of Our Lord Jesus Christ.  Was He 2 persons?  One Divine, and one Human?  Or was He one and the same Person before and after his human birth?  The controversy was addressed at the Council of Ephesus in  AD431, and then definitively resolved 2 decades later at the Ecumenical Council of Chalcedon in 451, at which time Pope Leo I (the Great) sent 2 legates to present to the Council what has become  known as Leo's Tome.  

In it, Leo states that Jesus was “born of the Virgin Mary, the Mother of God, according to His Manhood; one and the same Christ, Son, Lord, Only-begotten, to be acknowledged in two natures, inconfusedly, unchangeably, indivisibly, inseparably; the distinction of natures being by no means taken away by the union, but rather the property of each nature being preserved, and concurring in one Person and one Subsistence, not parted or divided into two persons, but one and the same Son, and only begotten, God the Word, the Lord Jesus Christ.”  

Whew!  Maybe good Pope Leo was a little verbose!  But the dogma basically was distillled down to:  Jesus Christ, the Eternal Son, has 2 Natures, one Divine, and the other Human, but he is one and the same Person, after He was born of the Virgin that He was when co-eternal with the Father from all ages.  Maybe still a little verbose?  Let's see . . . . .  How's this: Jesus Christ - 2 Natures, 1 Person.  Now scroll back up and take a look at Cecilia's hands.  With her last dying action, no longer able to proclaim her orthodoxy vocally, she leaves us with her witness to Jesus her Lord - 2 Natures, but only 1 Person.

Apse mosaic from St Cecilia - photo by Yvonne Cummins, used by permission

Apsidal Mosaic

In the photos above we see the apse mosaic of Santa Cecilia.  At the top we see in the center, Our Lord in golden robes.  To his left are St Peter, Valerianus, and St Agatha, while to his right, St Cecila and St Paul present Pope Paschal to the Lord.  It is hard to see, but Pope Paschal's halo is blue and rectanguar, indicating that he was still alive at the time this mosaic was executed.  Below these figures, we see a line of lambs.  In the center, facing us, under the feet of the standing Christ is a lamb with a nimbus.  Here stands symbolically, the Lamb of God, while in attendance to his right are 6 lambs, and to his left are 6 lambs.  These have a double representation as the 12 tribes of Israel and the 12 apostles, pointing out, with their noses toward him, their now-and-ever-reigning Lord.  We have seen something similar 2 days ago in the apse mosaic of San Clemente.  Look for other representations of this theme as we continue our pilgrimage.

With her last dying breath, St Cecilia forgave her persecutors.  During the Mass, one cannot help but focus, periodically, on the lovely statue by Maderno under the high altar. While we cannot see, with our bodily eyes, her face, which is hidden, yet with the eyes of our souls, we see that her face, like that of Moses coming down from the Mount, shines in holiness, resplendent with the reflected glory of the Lord. Her witness is an invitation to contemplate martyrdom as a complete gift of self, a sacrifice of Self for the sake of Truth, not as the world sees truth today in relative terms, but Truth Himself, Eternal Son of the Ever-Living God, King of the Universe, Lord of All.  The call to self-sacrifice comes to every person.  To know Him as He is, is worth the loss of all, that we may gain everything at His hand.  St. Cecilia, pray for us pilgrims, that we may answer the call to martyrdom, if it comes to us, with gladness of heart, eyes focused steadfastly on our Lord, even as you did.

The Crypt below the Church

In the Crypt below Santa Cecilia in Trastevere

The baths of St Cecilia - where her persecutors attempted to suffocate her

Beneath the present day church

The work below is an example from the cycle of frescoes telling the story of St Cecilia's life, from the Church of St Louis of the French in Rome (the national church of France in Rome).  This particular painting shows Cecilia's servants dispersing her possessions to the poor as she lay dying in the chapel in her home.  During this time she also discussed with Pope Urban, provisions for turning her home into a church.