San Saba, Rome

San Saba is an ancient basilica church in Rome, Italy. It lies on the so-called Lesser Aventine (Latin Aventinus Minor), which is an area close to the ancient Aurelian Walls next to the Aventine Hill and Caelian Hill.

The current Cardinal Deacon of the Titulus S. Sabae is Arthur Roche, succeeding Jorge Medina. Both served as prefects of the Dicastery of Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments at the time of their elevation. The church was made parochial in 1931 and entrusted to the care of the Society of Jesus. It was established as a titulus in 1959. The church gives its name to the modern Roman rione ("district").

History

According to legend, St. Silvia, mother of Pope Gregory I, had an estate at the site.

The historic origin of the religious site goes back to around 645. In this year, fugitive monks from the monastery of St. Sabas (Mar Saba, Palestine), who had fled their home country after the Islamic invasion, came to Rome to attend the Lateran Council. After the council, these Sabaite monks settled down in an old domus (=noble estate) on the "Piccolo Aventino" (the smaller crest of the Aventine hill, which at this time was deserted due to the big decrease in Rome's population. Here, they founded an eremitic cell. The Sabaites introduced veneration of St. Sabas to Rome. In ancient sources, their monastery however goes by the name cellas novas or cellaenovae, which refers to the cellae (=cells) of their mother abbey, Mar Saba.

In 1463, Pope Pius II granted his nephew, Cardinal Francesco Todeschini the monastery of San Saba in commendam. The cardinal, who adopted his uncle's family name "Piccolomini", immediately began extensive restoration, construction, and decoration works on the ancient buildings. He added the loggia to the facade, and a fresco depicting the Annunciation.

In 1503 the Cistercians were entrusted with the church, which in 1573 was conveyed to the Jesuits

The crypt, built on the house of St. Silvia, holds the relics of St. Sabas. The sacristy houses a fragment of fresco from the first church (8th century).

Cardinal-deacons

In 1959, San Saba was made a titular church, to be held by a cardinal-deacon.

Augustin Bea (1959–1968)
Jean Daniélou (1969–1974)
Joseph Schröffer (1976–1983)
Jean Jérôme Hamer (1985–1996)
Jorge Medina (1998–2021)
Arthur Roche (2022–present)

References

Bibliography

G. Bordi, Gli affreschi di San Saba sul piccolo Aventino: Dove e come erano (Milan, 2008).
M. E. Cannizzaro, "L'antica chiesa di S. Saba sull'Aventino", in Atti del II Congresso Internazionale di Archeologia Cristiana, tenuto in Roma nell'aprile 1900 (Rome, 1902), pp. 241–248.
M. E. Cannizzaro, "L'oratorio primitivo di S. Saba", in Atti del Congresso Internazionale di Scienze Storiche (Roma, 1–9 aprile 1903), vol. VII: Atti della sezione IV: Storia dell'Arte (Rome, 1905), pp. 177–192.
Daniela Gallavotti Cavallero, S. Saba (Rome; Ist. Nazionale di Studi Romani, 1988).
Richard Krautheimer, Corpus Basilicarum Christianarum Romae: The Early Christian Basilicas of Rome (IV-IX Cent.) Part IV (Rome: Pontificio istituto di archeologia cristiana, 1937), pp. 51 ff.

External links

"Beggar's Rome" - A self-directed virtual tour of S. Saba and other Roman churches
"San Saba", Nyborg.