Lenten Churches of Rome

San Sisto - Wednesday, Third Week of Lent

Mar 62 min read

San Sisto - Wednesday, Third Week of Lent

San Sisto Vecchio honors Pope Sixtus II, who was martyred in 258 in the same persecution and orders of St. Laurence; Sixtus was the...

5 views0 comments

Santa Pudenziana - Tuesday, Third Week of Lent

Rick Bessey

Mar 52 min read

Santa Pudenziana - Tuesday, Third Week of Lent

On Tuesday, the Thid Week of Lent we turn to one of the oldest churches in Rome, constructed between 140 and 155 AD. Santa Pudenziana is...

3 views0 comments

Rick Bessey

Mar 43 min read

San Marco - Monday, Third Week of Lent

San Marco is among he oldest churches in Rome, and you may be surprised to hear that you have passed by it. If you have stood at the...

8 views0 comments

San Lorenzo Fuori Le Mura - Sunday, Third Week of Lent

Rick Bessey

Mar 32 min read

San Lorenzo Fuori Le Mura - Sunday, Third Week of Lent

On this day we return to San Lorenzo (Saint Lawrence), one of seven pilgrimage churches of Rome, which were churches established for...

4 views0 comments

Santi Marcellino e Pietro - Saturday, Second Week of Lent

Rick Bessey

Mar 21 min read

Santi Marcellino e Pietro - Saturday, Second Week of Lent

The original church devoted to the saints Marcellinus and Pietrus was likely consecrated in the late 4th century. The pope often...

8 views0 comments

San Vitale - Friday, Second Week of Lent

Rick Bessey

Mar 13 min read

San Vitale - Friday, Second Week of Lent

The most striking thing to a modern visitor to San Vitale is not the architecture, or the art, or the history. What stands out the most...

7 views0 comments

Santa Maria in Trastevere - Thursday, Second Week of Lent

Rick Bessey

Feb 293 min read

Santa Maria in Trastevere - Thursday, Second Week of Lent

One of the oldest and most beautiful churches in Rome, Santa Maria in Trastevere is also located in one of the most delightful areas of...

29 views0 comments

Santa Cecilia - Wednesday, Second Week of Lent

Rick Bessey

Feb 283 min read

Santa Cecilia - Wednesday, Second Week of Lent

The story of Saint Cecilia, from her conversion to where she is today, is one of the most touching in terms of her as an individual and...

16 views0 comments

Santa Balbina - Tuesday, Second Week of Lent

Rick Bessey

Feb 272 min read

Santa Balbina - Tuesday, Second Week of Lent

The church of Santa Balbina is a quiet, but relatively central section of Rome. Located within view of the Baths of Caracalla this...

6 views0 comments

San Clemente - Monday, Second Week of Lent

Rick Bessey

Feb 262 min read

San Clemente - Monday, Second Week of Lent

Within an easy walk of the Colosseum you will find the Basilica of San Clemente, a basilica which embodies all the layers of history in...

3 views0 comments

Santa Maria in Domnica - Sunday, Second Week of Lent

Rick Bessey

Feb 253 min read

Santa Maria in Domnica - Sunday, Second Week of Lent

Today's church is a lovely church just south of the Colosseum. There are two items of note that are directly related to the evolution of...

5 views0 comments

Saint Peter's Basilica - Saturday, First Week of Lent

Rick Bessey

Feb 243 min read

Saint Peter's Basilica - Saturday, First Week of Lent

St. Peter's Basilica is the main church of all Catholicism. In this first post about this magnificent church, I want to focus on how and...

4 views0 comments

Santi Apostoli - Friday, First Week of Lent

Rick Bessey

Feb 232 min read

Santi Apostoli - Friday, First Week of Lent

The Basilica dedicated to the Apostles is, frankly, a peculiar basilica. It is very much in the center of the city of Rome, just a few...

7 views0 comments

San Lorenzo in Panisperna - Thursday, First Week of Lent

Rick Bessey

Feb 222 min read

San Lorenzo in Panisperna - Thursday, First Week of Lent

If you are going through the Monti area in Rome, headed to Santa Maria Maggiore, you will likely walk down Via Panisperna. In doing so...

17 views0 comments

Santa Maria Maggiore - Wednesday, First Week of Lent

Rick Bessey

Feb 213 min read

Santa Maria Maggiore - Wednesday, First Week of Lent

Today we are introduced to what is known in technical terms, as a whopper of a church. There is so much to see and to unpack when it...

12 views0 comments

Sant'Anastasia al Palatino - Tuesday, First Week of Lent

Rick Bessey

Feb 201 min read

Sant'Anastasia al Palatino - Tuesday, First Week of Lent

Sant'Anastasia is a church in the heart of ancient Rome. It sits at the western end of the Circus Maximus within an easy walk of the...

6 views0 comments

San Pietro in Vincoli - Monday, First Week of Lent

Rick Bessey

Feb 192 min read

San Pietro in Vincoli - Monday, First Week of Lent

St. Peters in Chains is a fascinating place. From the piazza outside it is difficult to recognize as a church; it appears to be piazza...

19 views0 comments

Saint John Lateran - Sunday, First Week of Lent

Rick Bessey

Feb 182 min read

Saint John Lateran - Sunday, First Week of Lent

With the Church of Saint John Lateran we come to the seat of the Bishop of Rome. One might think of Saint Peter's as the main church of...

15 views0 comments

Sant'Agostino - Saturday, Week of Ash Wednesday

Rick Bessey

Feb 173 min read

Sant'Agostino - Saturday, Week of Ash Wednesday

If you are visiting the Piazza Navona - and many visitors to Rome are! - take the time to go north one block and visit Sant'Agostino. ...

13 views0 comments

Santi Giovanni e Paolo - Friday, Week of Ash Wednesday

Rick Bessey

Feb 162 min read

Santi Giovanni e Paolo - Friday, Week of Ash Wednesday

The church of Santi Giovanni e Paolo is one of the more fascinating churches of the Lenten churches. The approach to the church is...

18 views0 comments

Blog: Blog2