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| San Pancrazio | |
|---|---|
| Basilica of Saint Pancras | |
Basilica di San Pancrazio | |
 Facade | |
 Click on the map for a fullscreen view | |
| 41°53′06″N12°27′14″E / 41.88500°N 12.45389°E /41.88500; 12.45389 | |
| Location | Piazza di S. Pancrazio 5D,Rome |
| Country | Italy |
| Language | Italian |
| Denomination | Catholic |
| Tradition | Roman Rite |
| Religious order | Discalced Carmelites |
| Website | sanpancrazio |
| History | |
| Status | titular church,minor basilica |
| Founded | 5th century AD |
| Founder | Pope Symmachus |
| Dedication | Pancras of Rome |
| Architecture | |
| Architectural type | Paleochristian,Renaissance |
| Completed | 1849 |
| Administration | |
| Diocese | Rome |
The basilica ofSan Pancrazio (English:St Pancras;Latin:S. Pancratii) is aCatholicminor basilica andtitular,conventual, andparish church founded byPope Symmachus in the 6th century in Rome, Italy. It stands in via S. Pancrazio, westward beyond thePorta San Pancrazio that opens in a stretch of theAurelian Wall on theJaniculum and covers theCatacomb of San Pancrazio. The adjacent convent was established perhaps as early as the church and has been occupied by theDiscalced Carmelite since 1662.
TheCardinal Priest of theTitulus S. Pancratii isAntonio Cañizares Llovera. Other previous titulars includePope Paul IV (15 January – 24 September 1537) andPope Clement VIII (18 December 1585 – 30 January 1592).
The basilica was built byPope Symmachus (498–514), on the place where the body of the young martyr SaintPancras of Rome, or Pancratius, had been buried,Via Aurelia miliario secundo ('on the Via Aurelia at the second milestone'). The church was originally placed by him under the care of the clergy of the Church of S. Crisogono. Due to their neglect of the site, Pope Gregory I (590–604) handed it over to the members of the newly foundedBenedictine Order after theLombards sacked their monastery ofMontecassino in 580.[1] In the seventh century Pope Honorius I (625–638) built a larger church for the increasing numbers of pilgrims; he placed the relics of the saint beneath the high altar, with a window of access from a semi-circular corridor that led behind and below the altar.[2] In the 17th century, it was given to theDiscalced Carmelites, who completely remodeled it. The church underwent further rebuilding in the 19th century, having been heavily damaged during the French attack on the incipientRoman Republic in 1849; but it retains its plain brick facade of the late 15th century, with the arms ofPope Innocent VIII.[3]
Below the church there are hugecatacombs, theCatacomb of San Pancrazio ordi Ottavilla. Entrance is next to the smallMuseo di S. Pancrazio with fragments of sculpture and pagan and early Christian inscriptions.[3]
The Church of S. Pancrazio was established as the titulus of a Cardinal-Priest by Pope Leo X on 6 July 1517.[4]
Media related toSan Pancrazio (Rome) at Wikimedia Commons
| Preceded by San Nicola in Carcere | Landmarks of Rome San Pancrazio | Succeeded by San Pietro in Vincoli |
| International | |
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