150 YEARS OF THE NAZARETH SISTERS

In the footsteps of Blessed Frances Siedliska in Rome (64)

Sr. M. Beata Rudzińska, CSFN

Via Giulio Romano (1883) – Basilica of Aracoeli

When describing the stay of Frances Siedliska and her Sisters on Via Giulio Romano, it is impossible not to mention two churches that were important for Nazareth during that period.

The first is the Basilica of Aracoeli, in whose shadow the Sisters lived in 1882-83 and where they sometimes attended services. The mysterious word Aracoeli (also written separately as Ara Coeli) literally means heavenly altar, and the full name of this church is the Basilica of Our Lady of the Heavenly Altar. The name is associated with a legend according to which Emperor Octavian Augustus, even before the birth of Christ, had a vision of the heavens opening and a woman with a child who said to him: “This is the altar of the Son of God.” The Sibyl was summoned and told the emperor that the woman was Mary, the mother of Jesus.

The first Christian temple was built on this site in the 6th century. From the 9th century, Benedictine monks lived at the church, and from the 13th century to the present day, Franciscans have lived there, giving the temple its current Romanesque-Gothic appearance. The famous staircase leading to the Basilica (124 steps) was funded in the 14th century as a votive offering of gratitude for the removal of the plague. Another votive offering is the vault of the temple, considered one of the most magnificent wooden coffered ceilings in Rome, enriched with unusual decorations with marine motifs. It was built in the 16th century after the victory over the Turks in the naval battle of Lepanto.

In the Basilica, we can also admire the 13th-century cosmatesco floor and 22 columns from ancient temples, each one different, dividing the basilica into three naves.

A special treasure of the Basilica is Santo Bambino (Holy Child). His small chapel on the left side of the presbytery is full of letters asking for favors and votive offerings of thanksgiving for miraculous recoveries. The original, dating from the 15th century, was made from olive wood from Gethsemane. Its creation is surrounded by various legends. The figurine was crowned in 1895. Unfortunately, it was stolen in 1994 and has never been found. However, the copy of the figurine is no less revered, and people’s faith continues to be a path to grace. For decades, the Child was carried to the sick in carriages and then in the cardinals’ cars. Now it travels on a pilgrimage through Italian parishes. On the feast of the Epiphany, the Santo Bambino is carried out of the Basilica in a procession. The celebrant, standing at the top of the stairs, raises the Child towards the sky and blesses the city of Rome with Him.

Art connoisseurs are attracted by other treasures, above all the Renaissance frescoes by Pinturicchio depicting the life of St. Bernardine of Siena, who once lived in the monastery next to the Basilica. Inside the Basilica there is also a tiny temple (tempietto) dedicated to St. Helena, the mother of Emperor Constantine.

Photos: Sr. Amata Nowaszewska, CSFN
The presbytery and view of Rome from the top of the Aracoeli stairs – Sr. Anita Jach, CSFN