- St. Paul’s Outside the Walls
Via Francigena: Rome, Italy. The Seven Pilgrim Churches
San Pietro, Santa Maria Maggiore, San Giovanni in Laterano, Santa Croce in Gerusalemme, San Sebastiano fuora la Mura, San Paolo fuora la Mura, Santa Maria Trastevere.
Pilgrims throughout the ages have walked to or visited the Seven Pilgrim Churches of Rome as have popes, several saints and many members of the nobility.
As Rome was founded on her seven hills, so her Christian foundations rested on these seven churches. The traditional route which included all seven churches stretched for 22 kilometers.
We had arrived in Rome after travelling on the Via Francigena. We took the metro to San Paulo Station. From there it was a short walk to the surprising Church of St. Paul’s Outside the Walls (San Paolo fuori le mura).
A little history about the church. Paul was executed in 67 AD as a Roman citizen at Aquae Salviae, about 3 km from the present church. According to legend, his head bounced three times, creating three springs, now the Abbazia delle Tre Fontane (Abbey of the Three Fountains).
The most likely site of his burial was near the road to Ostia, about two kilometers from the city walls. Constantine built the first church here over his grave in 324. The original basilica proved to be too small for the number of pilgrims drawn to the tomb and in 385 plans were drawn up to build what was to become the largest church in the world until the rebuilding of St. Peter’s in the 16th century.
In 1700 the Tiber flooded making St. Paul’s inaccessible to pilgrims so its Jubilee functions were temporarily transferred to St. Mary’s in Trastevere. In 1823 an overnight fire destroyed the treasure filled church of St. Paul’s. Although much restored over the centuries, the rebuilt basilica retained much of the sense of the original.
The basilica was a marvel. Architects and historians say that it remains the closest in design and construction to Constantine’s original building. You can easily spend an hour here, and make sure you get your pilgrim’s passport stamped in the church office.
Six more Pilgrim Churches to visit!
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I am intending to walk a route to the seven churches when I finish the pilgrimage.
Where do I find a map to connect the dots?
Hi Mike,
We located each church on a map of Rome and worked out the best way of getting to each church during the course of a week.
Pilgrims throughout the ages have walked to or visited the Seven Pilgrim Churches of Rome as have popes, several saints and many members of the nobility. As Rome was founded on her seven hills, so her Christian foundations rested on these seven churches. The traditional route which included all seven churches stretched for 22 kilometers.
In 1552, St. Philip Neri, known as “the Second Apostle of Rome,” inaugurated a Spiritual Carnival complete with picnics and processions to replace the excesses of the existing pre-Lenten carnival. St. Philip was a pious eccentric who convinced his followers to engage in manual work as acts of humility. He led the people of Rome along the Road to Paradise, the Via Paradisi. The itinerary included visits to the places of Rome’s Christian origins such as the tombs beneath St. Sebastian’s Church. He showed them the tombs of St. Peter and St. Paul and impressed upon them the great honour and responsibility Rome had as the capital of the Christian Church.
We have an ebook which has an overview map of the churches’ locations as well as much information about the Via francigena:
http://www.goodwalkingbooks.com/travel_vf.html
It’s a great journey.
regards…Almis