Santa Pudenziana

English name:	St Pudentiana
Dedication:	Pudentiana
Denomination:	Roman Catholic
Type:	Titular and national church
Clergy:	Diocesan clergy
Titular church	Joachim Meisner
National church:	The Philippines
Address:	160 Via Urbana 00184 Roma
Phone:	06 48 14 622

Santa Pudenziana is a church dedicated to the Catholic Saint Pudentiana, a Roman martyr. It is the national church of The Philippines.

History

The church is one of the tituli, the first parish churches in Rome. It was known as the Titulus Pudentiana, named after the daughter of the Roman Senator St Pudens. It's mentioned in the Liber Pontificalis, and a tombstone from 384 refers to a man named Leopardus as lector de Pudentiana, this name refers to St Pudentiana. This latter form is first attested in the 4th century apse mosaic; earlier documents and inscriptions use Pudentiana, who was a daughter of St Pudens and sister of St Praxedes (see Santa Prassede). The first church or chapel on the site may have been established as early as in the pontificate of Pius I (140–155).

The first time this interpretation is mentioned in written sources is in a document from 745. The church is built over the house of St Pudens, which after the deaths of Peter and Paul was used as a 'house church'. Archaeologists have dated the first chapel, built in the bath, to c. 140. This fits with the tradition that claims that the first chapel was built by Pope Pius I. It was converted or rebuilt to a regular church after tolerance was granted to Christians in the early 4th century. Dedicatory inscriptions have been preserved, naming «Illiceus, Leopardus and the Presbyter Maximus» as the persons who financed work in the time of Pope Siricius (384-399).

It was altered in 1588 by Francesco da Volterra, on orders from Cardinal Enrico Caetani. The dome was added at this time. Some of the changes were very unfortunate, such as the partial mutilation of the mosaics from c. 390.

In 1870, when the façade was rebuilt, remains of Roman houses were found beneath the church and neighbouring buildings. It is possible that one of these houses was the original house-church.

Among former titulars of the church is Cardinal Luciano Bonaparte, great-nephew of the emperor. The current titular is H.E. Joachim Meisner, Archbishop of Cologne.

The church was granted to the Filipino community by the Italian bishops, making it the national church of the Philippines. The Philippines has the largest Catholic population in Asia.

It is served by diocesan clergy.

Exterior

The façade was restored by Antonio Manno in 1870, on orders from Luciano Bonaparte, titular of the church. On the upper of the two stories are frescoes by Pietro Gagliardi depicting the Lamb of God and Sts Praxedes, Pudentiana and Pudens. The latter is dressed as a Roman senator.

The sculptured frieze on the façade is from the 11th century. It depicts Pudens' daughters carrying vessels containing the blood of martyrs, together with their father and St Pastor. The mural, by Antonio Manno, is from the 1870 restoration.

The doorway was constructed in the 16th century using medieval materials.

The Romanesque bell-tower is from the early 13th century. (some sources say 1160).

There is a small chapel dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary behind the church. You can enter from the street, or you can ask the sacristan to take you in through the church.

Interior

The church has a basilical plan, with two aisles.

The apse mosaic, from about 390, is the oldest in Rome. It is dimly lit, as it must have been when it was made. If you wish to see more of the details, insert a coin in the machine to the right of the sanctuary to turn on more light for a few minutes. The lower part of the mosaic was destroyed in the 1588 or 1598 restoration. In the preserved part, Christ presides over his apostles in a courtyard. Only Christ wears a halo, as is expected in mosaics of such an early date. Christ holds a book inscribed Conservator Ecclesiae Pudentianae, "Preserver of the Church of Pudentiana". There is some disagreement about the two female figures behind the apostles - they may be Sts Pudentiana and Praxedes, but they may also represent 'Church' and 'Synagogue', the Gentile and Jewish elements of early Christianity. The buildings in the background may be the churches built by emperor Constantine in Jerusalem rather than a depiction of Heavenly Jerusalem - an indication of this is the gemmed cross, as Constantine is said to have marked Calvary with such a monument. Next to the cross are symbols of the Evangelists; this is the oldest preserved example of these symbols.

The Neo-Classical high altar is decorated with three paintings by Bernardino Nocchi, made in 1803, depicting The Glory of St Pudenziana in the centre and Sts Timotheus and Novatus on the sides.

When the church was restored recently, much of the original decoration was brought to light. Ancient columns are again visible, as are marks in the floor that indicate the plan of the older buildings beneath the church.

The dome was designed by Francesco da Volterra. It is decorated with a fresco by Pomerancio depicting Angels and Saints before the Saviour.

Behind the apse is a passage. On the left side it leads to an altar with a statue of Christ delivering they keys to Heaven to St Peter, in the Chapel of St Peter. The sculpture is by Giacomo della Porta, and was made in 1594. The chapel contains part of a wooden altar, allegedly used by St Peter. Tradition claims that the chapel replaces an oratory in the same site, built in memory of St Peter in the 5th century.

The Chapel of the Crucifix, on the right side, has a bronze crucifix by Achille Tamburini.

On the right side you will also find the Chapel of the Madonna of Mercy, with The Nativity of the Madonna by Lazarro Baldi, and the Chapel of St Bernard with a painting of St Benedict and St Catherine of Siena.

On the left side is an opening to the chapel of the Caetani family, formerly an oratory dedicated to St Pastor. It was designed by Francesco Volterra; after his death in 1601 Carlo Maderno completed it. The work was commissioned by Enrico Caetani in 1588. The sculptured altarpiece is by Pier Paolo Olivieri. Paolo Rossetti painted Sts Praxedes and Pudenziana Collecting the Blood of the Martyrs in 1621. The same artist painted the fresco of the Evangelist in the ceiling, to a design by Federico Zuccari. The statue of St Pudenziana in a niche is by Claude Adam, made c. 1650. A miracle is said to have occured in the chapel in 1610, when a doubting priest had his faith reaffirmed when blood spilled from a consecrated vessel.

Just outside the entrance to the Capella Caetani is a well were, according to tradition, the relics of 3,000 early martyrs were hidden. This is marked by a square porphyry slab in the floor.

The innermost chapel on the left is dedicated to St Peter. It has a celebrated 16th century statue of Christ handing the Keys to St Peter by Giovan Battista della Porta.

Liturgy

The feast of St Pudenziana is celebrated with great solemnity on 19 May, as is that of St Praxedis on 21 July.

Mass is celebrated in Filipino languages (Tagalog, Cebuano and English) as well as in Italian.