San Sebastiano al Palatino Sancti Sebastiani in Monte Palatino (in Latin) | |
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Basic information | |
Location | Rome, Italy |
Affiliation | Roman Catholic |
District | Lazio |
Province | Rome |
Country | Italy |
Ecclesiastical or organizational status | Titular church |
Leadership | Cardinal Edwin Frederick O'Brien |
Website | Official webside |
Architectural type | Church |
San Sebastiano al Palatino is a church in Rome. It is dedicated to Saint Sebastian, and is located on the Palatine Hill.
According to legend, it is built on the site of its dedicatee's martyrdom, with the first church constructed in the 10th century, and the second (and present) church being the result of Pope Urban VIII's 1624 rebuild. That rebuild preserved the apse frescoes (of Christ between Saint Lawrence and Saint Stephen, Saint Sebastian and Saint Zoticus as deacons, and below them Our Lady flanked by angels) from the original church.
Originally the church was known as Santa Maria in Pallara, after the Palladium, the ancient image of Athena from Troy which - along with some of the most sacred objects in pagan Rome - was allegedly kept in a pagan temple on the same site.
On 5 March 1973, San Sebastiano al Palatino was established as a Cardinal titular church. American Cardinal Edwin Frederick O'Brien is the church's current Cardinal-Deacon, created on February 18, 2012, by Pope Benedict XVI at St. Peter's Basilica.
John Patrick Foley (24 November 2007 - 11 December 2011)
Dino Monduzzi (21 February 1998 - 13 October 2006)
Yves Marie-Joseph Congar (26 November 1994 - 22 June 1995)
Ferdinando Giuseppe Antonelli (5 March 1973 - 12 July 1993)
Coordinates: 41°53′22.84″N 12°29′19.14″E / 41.8896778°N 12.4886500°E