Basilica of Saints John and Paul on the Caelian Hill

About

The Basilica of Saints John and Paul on the Caelian Hill (Italian: Basilica dei Santi Giovanni e Paolo al Celio) is an ancient basilica church in Rome, located on the Caelian Hill. It was originally built in 398. It is home to the Passionists and is the burial place of St. Paul of the Cross. Additionally, it is the station church of the first Friday in Lent.

The church was built in 398, by senator Pammachius, over the home of two Roman soldiers, John and Paul, martyred under Emperor Julian in 362. The church was thus called the Titulus Pammachii and is recorded as such in the acts of the synod held by Pope Symmachus in 499.

The church was damaged during the sack by Alaric I (410) and because of an earthquake (442), restored by Pope Paschal I (824), sacked again by the Normans (1084), and again restored, with the addition of a monastery and a bell tower around 1099.

The inside has three naves, with pillars joined to the original columns. The altar is built over a bath, which holds the remains of the two martyrs. The apse is frescoed with Christ in Glory (1588) by Cristoforo Roncalli (one of the painters called il Pomarancio ); while below this fresco are three paintings: a Martyrdom of St John, a Martyrdom of St Paul, and the Conversion of Terenziano (1726) by Giovanni Domenico Piastrini, Giacomo Triga, and Pietro Andrea Barbieri respectively.

The sacristy features a canvas by Antoniazzo Romano of the Madonna and Child with Saints John the Evangelist and John the Baptist, and Saints Jerome and Paul.

The basilica is connected with the cardinalatial Titulus Ss. Ioannis et Pauli. Among previous Cardinal Priests of this title are three who became Pope: Pope Honorius III (Cencio Savelli, elevated to cardinal in 1198), Pope Adrian VI (Adriaan Boeyens, elevated to cardinal in 1517) and Pope Pius XII (Eugenio Pacelli, elevated to cardinal in 1929).

Since Francis Spellman became the new Cardinal Priest of the titulus in 1946 (after it had been vacated by Pacelli's election to the papacy in 1939), it was held until 2015 by cardinals who were Archbishops of New York. In 2012, Archbishop Timothy Dolan of New York was elevated to cardinal and assigned a different title, because Cardinal Edward Egan, the first prelate to enjoy the title of Archbishop Emeritus of New York, continued in the title of Ss. Ioannis et Pauli until his death on 5 March 2015.

The title is now held by Cardinal Josef De Kesel, the Archbishop of Mechelen-Brussels, who was appointed to it on 19 November 2016.

- Etienne Aubert (1342–1352), later Pope Innocent VI

- Gautier Gómez de Luna (1382–1391), Pseudocardinal

- Jean Flandrin (1391–1405), Pseudocardinal

- Tommaso Brancaccio (1411–1427), Pseudocardinal

- Ardicino della Porta, iuniore (1489–1493)

- Francesco de Remolins (1503–1511); in commendam (1511–1517)

- Adriaan Florenszoon Dedel van Utrecht (1517–1522), later Pope Adrian VI

- Pierre de la Baume Montrevel (1541–1544)

- Gabriele Paleotti (1565–1572) (Cardinal dean)

- Alessandro Ottaviano de Medici (1591–1592), later Pope Leo XI

- Giovanni Battista Castrucci (1592–1595)

- Camillo Borghese (1599–1602), later Pope Paul V