⛪ Saint of the Day : May 19
(Rev. Alban Butler (1711–73). Volume V)
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| Saint Pudentiana Crowns Saint Paul |
SHE was sister of St. Praxedes, and daughter of Pudens a Roman senator, who was converted to the faith by the apostles SS. Peter and Paul. Her festival is mentioned in the Sacramentary of St. Gregory. Her church in Rome is esteemed the most ancient that is known in the world. It was in the first ages called the church of the Pastor, and is said to have been the palace of Pudens, in which St. Peter lodged and celebrated the divine mysteries.
(Rev. Alban Butler (1711–73). Volume V)
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| Basilica of Santa Pudenziana, Rome, Italy |
According to an ancient tradition, St. Peter was the guest of the senator Pudens during his stay in Rome. Pudens had two daughters, Pudentiana and Praxedes, virgins who dedicated themselves wholly to acts of charity. After the death of their parents, Pudentiana and her sister Praxedes distributed their patrimony to the poor. The fact that Puden's entire household of some 96 persons were baptized by Pope Pius I (d. 154) is ascribed to their zealous activities. When Christian services were forbidden by the Emperor Antoninus Pius, Pius I celebrated Mass in their home. The saints were buried next to their father in the catacomb of St. Priscilla. One of Rome's most ancient stational churches is dedicated to St. Pudentiana.
— Excerpted from The Church's Year of Grace, Pius Parsch. |
| The confessio under the main altar of the basilica house the Crypt which contains four sarcophagi. One is claimed to contain the remains of St. Pudentiana and St. Praxedes, and the other three contain remains of various other martyrs retrieved from the Catacombs of Priscilla. Click Here |
77. St. Pudentiana
The 140 Saints of the Colonnade
St. Pudentiana
Died - second century
Statue Installed - c.1702-1703
For this work Morelli received payments from 1702 until July 1703
Sculptor - Paolo Morelli
In Morelli's career, this statue was made around the time he created statues for the church and convent of La Maddalena.
Height - 3.1 m. (10ft 4in) travertine
She is often depicted with an iconography associated with the cult of the martyrs. Here she raises a sponge used to collect the blood of the martyrs.
Legend states that she was a Roman maiden, daughter of St Pudens and sister of St Praxedes (76). They cared for Christians and buried their bodies during the persecutions of Marcus Antoninus.
Despite being in the Tridentine Missal and having a church dedicated to her in Rome, she was removed from the Roman Martyrology, 2001. Her uncertain status is the result of not being listed in the earliest martyrologies.
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