"Lord, increase my pain, but increase also my patience." ~ The death of Pope Saint Pius V

Pope Saint Pius V is saved from assassination by a miraculous crucifix.
Detail from an early 18th century anonymous painter of the Roman School.

May 1 marks the anniversary of the death of Pope Saint Pius V (1504-1572), one of my favorite Popes, as well as one of the most consequential Pontiffs of history. During his relatively short six year reign, from AD 1566 through AD 1572, Pope Pius V: 

• assembled the Holy League which successfully defended Christendom against the Turks at the Battle of Lepanto; 
• excommunicated Queen Elizabeth I, calling her "the pretended queen of England and servant of crime"; 
• issued Quo Primum which regularized the Tridentine form of the liturgy and made it valid in perpetuity; 
• issued Horrendum illud scelus which decreed that clergy caught in "that horrible crime, for which corrupt and obscene cities were destroyed by fire through divine condemnation" be stripped of their clerical protections and punished severely by the civil authority.
• declared Saint Thomas Aquinas a Doctor of the Church and commissioned a new edition of his works.
• put into effect the decrees and teachings of the recently concluded Council of Trent.

Pope Saint Pius V's feast day is celebrated on May 5 on the traditional calendar, and April 30 on the new calendar.

A solid, short biography of St. Pius V was published in 1895 by the Catholic Truth Society at Oxford, UK. I found several of the anecdotes in this bio to be of uncommon interest and revelatory about the type of man St. Pius V was. The first is a description of St. Pius's character written in part by St. John Henry Newman:

"I do not deny that St Pius was stern and severe as far as a heart burning within and melted with the fulness of divine love could be so, and this was the reason why the Conclave was so slow in electing him. Yet such energy and vigour as his was necessary for his times. He was emphatically a soldier of Christ in a time of insurrection and rebellion when in a spiritual sense martial law was proclaimed. St. Philip, a private priest, might follow his bent as he expressed it in casting his net for souls and enticing them to the truth, but the Vicar of Christ had to right and to steer the vessel when it was in rough waters and among breakers.

A Protestant historian on this point does justice to him: 'When Pope,' writes Ranke, 'he lived in all the austerity of his monastic life, fasted with the utmost rigour and punctuality, would wear no finer garments than before...arose at an extremely early hour in the morning, and took no siesta....The people were excited to enthusiasm when they saw him walking in procession barefooted and bare headed with the expression of unaffected piety in his countenance, and with his long snow white beard falling on his breast. They thought there never had been so pious a Pope they told each other how his very look had converted heretics. Pius was kind too, and affable; his intercourse with his old servants was of the most confidential kind. At a former time, before he was Pope, the Conte della Trinità had threatened to have him thrown into a well and he had replied that it must be as God pleased. How beautiful was his greeting to this same Conte who was now sent as ambassador to his court: "See," said he, "how God preserves the innocent!" This was the only way in which he made the Count feel that he recollected his enmity. He had ever been most charitable and bounteous; he kept a list of the poor of Rome whom he regularly assisted according to their station and their wants." [Wilberforce, St. Pius V, p. 9-10]

While excommunicating Elizabeth I as an implacable enemy of the Catholic Church, Pius V sympathized with Mary Stuart (aka, Mary, Queen of Scots) who was forced to abdicate her throne and was jailed in 1567. He wrote to her, and granted her a special privilege:

The heart of the Father of Christendom was full of deep compassion for the suffering Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots. He wrote to her letters full of sympathy comfort and encouragement, and when she was imprisoned by her cousin, Queen Elizabeth, the Pope, unable to rescue her, bestowed upon her an inestimable privilege which reminds us of the times of the early persecutions. As no priest was allowed to visit her, Pius permitted her to administer Holy Communion to herself with consecrated Hosts brought to her by a faithful attendant. 'Most dear daughter in Christ,' he wrote in one letter to the suffering Queen, 'ever since information has reached us of the troubles in your kingdom caused by your enemies and those of the true faith, we have never ceased to offer prayers for you to God and to secure those of others. Willingly would we assist you if we could even at the cost of life itself.'" [Wilberforce, St. Pius V, p. 14]

The banner Pius V presented to Don John
of Austria prior to Lepanto, badly
damaged during World War II.

As mentioned in a previous post, Pope St. Pius V believed that, when absolutely necessary, it was the proper role of the Roman Pontiff to call the nations to war in defense of Christendom as he did when assembling the Holy League to oppose militant Islam. Of course, the Holy Father understood that for a such a war to come to a happy and beneficial outcome, it must be just and ordained by God. To bolster this hope for the expedition of the Holy League, he declared a jubilee year, encouraged processions begging for divine favor, and invoked Our Lady's intercession on the campaign. He bestowed upon the admiral of the fleet, Don John of Austria, a beautiful red banner emblazoned with the figure of Christ Crucified, Saints Peter and Paul, and the words "In Hoc Signo Vinces." Again borrowing from the account of St. John Henry Newman: 

[The Holy Father] assured the general in chief and the armament that if relying on divine rather than on human help they attacked the enemy, God would not be wanting to His own cause. He augured a prosperous and happy issue not on any light or random hope but on a divine guidance and by the anticipations of many holy men. Moreover he enjoined the officers to look to the good conduct of their troops to repress swearing, gaming, riot, and plunder, and thereby to render them more worthy of victory. Accordingly a fast of three days was proclaimed for the fleet beginning with the Nativity of Our Lady; all the men went to Confession and Communion and appropriated to themselves the plentiful indulgences which the Pope attached to the expedition." [Wilberforce, St. Pius V, p. 15]

Of course, as with all great men, St. Pius V had no shortage of enemies. On one famous occasion, his life was threatened by a secret assassin who attempted to use his pious habits against him:  

Turning from the stirring events of his public life to the personal character of St. Pius, we find him all the time cultivating with unremitting energy the interior spirit of contemplation and union with God. Conspicuous among his other virtues was the heroic patience he displayed, especially in the grievous illness that afflicted him for many years and of which he ultimately died. He suffered agonies from stone. His refuge in pain was the foot of his crucifix and his constant prayer was this aspiration revealing the heroic patience of his soul: "Lord, increase my pain, but increase also my patience."

In spite of all he suffered he persevered in the austerity of his life. The strength to endure his pains amidst his incessant labour was drawn from continual meditation on the passion of our Lord. Before him on his table a large crucifix always stood at the foot of which were written the words of St. Paul: "God forbid that I should glory save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ," and before this cross he spent silent hours in prayer. His custom was to kiss the feet of the image of Christ crucified whenever he left or entered the room. On one occasion a dastardly attempt was made to take his life by poison placed on the feet of this crucifix. When the Pope bowed his head to kiss the feet he was astounded to see them move away on one side. At first he imagined that he must have offended his Lord, but on examination the poison was discovered and he saw that his life had been miraculously preserved. In thanksgiving he determined to spend himself more generously than ever in the service of his loving Master. [Wilberforce, St. Pius V, p. 18]

During the public Paschal celebrations of 1572, it was clear to all that Pius V's health was failing. He insisted on visiting the Seven Churches on foot on Holy Thursday, but his steps faltered and he had to be supported by his attendants. From the crowd, the commander of the Papal forces at Lepanto—Marcantonio Colonna—stepped forward and begged the Holy Father to enter a litter and allow himself to be carried. In response, Pius dismissed the plea and instead suggested that Admiral Colonna should renew the campaign against the Turks while they were still reeling from defeat.

A month later found Pius V on his deathbed:

Four days before his death he received Holy Communion and Extreme Unction on the day before his departure. He answered the prayers himself and then making a supreme effort knelt down and prayed for the needs of Holy Church. He then spoke to a number of Cardinals who surrounded his bed with something of the old fire exhorting them to do all in their power to carry on the crusade against the Turks and thus to secure to the full the advantage gained at Lepanto. "Give me a successor full of zeal for God's glory, and desirous of nothing but the good of the Church and the honour of the Apostolic See." Shortly after he again kissed the crucifix and then devoutly crossing his hands breathed forth his soul to God. [Wilberforce, St. Pius V, p. 24]

Pius V would be canonized in AD 1711 by Pope Clement XI.

Let's face it: A Pope like Pius V is very unlikely to be elected in the modern Church, and if elected, would be viciously attacked on all sides, both within and outside the Church. Even a soft-spoken moderate like Benedict XVI was not acceptable to those with worldly political power.

Let us offer a prayer that the current Holy Father, Leo XIV, will find an intercessor in Heaven in the person of Pope St. Pius V. May Pope Leo be protected by God from the machinations of those who desire the his downfall and the downfall of the Church. 

And may he be kept safe from the spiritual deceits and temptations of the Prince of Lies who prowls the world seeking the ruin of souls. May he be inspired with the divine courage necessary to do what must be done to restore the Church and bring the whole of suffering humanity out of error and to the foot of the Cross of Jesus Christ.

Pope Saint Pius V, pray for us. 

"The Easter Hare is Inexplicable to Me" ~ Is the Easter Bunny a Christian or a heathen?

The Easter Bunny as imagined by Johann Conrad Gilbert in the late 18th century.  

OK, I admit it. I have never liked the Easter Bunny. 

Of course, as a kid I did enjoy getting a basket full of malted milk chocolate eggs on Easter Sunday. But the idea that those delicious chocolate eggs with the rich creamery filling made by Cadbury were actually laid by a fat, white, clucking lagomorph—that was a bridge too far.

Then, there was also the iconic lazy Easter Rabbit of Looney Tunes fame (Easter Yeggs, 1946), who tricked Bugs Bunny into delivering the eggs for him. Part of me rooted for Elmer Fudd when he said, "I'm waiting for the Easter Wabbit. When he comes in looking so fwuffy and cute with his wittle basket of Easter eggs... BANG! Easter Wabbit stew." 

My own kids were absolutely terrified of the grown men dressed up in giant bunny outfits hopping around in malls and other places during Easter-time. Honestly, who could blame them?

Lastly, before I knew better, I just took it for granted that those folks were correct who claimed that the Easter Bunny was yet another echo of pre-Christian paganism that had been absorbed into the Paschal feast by Catholics, thereby introducing an inappropriate element of the absurd into the celebration of Christ's resurrection.

But then I dug up some interesting facts that have made me have a slightly different view of the Easter Bunny and his "technicolor hen-fruit" as Bugs called it.

At the top of this post is a drawing of the Easter Bunny made by Johann Conrad Gilbert (1734-1812), a first-generation American whose parents emigrated from Baden-Württemberg, Germany in the 1730s. The Gilbert family were authentic Pennsylvania Dutch, and the town of Gilbertsville, Pennsylvania was named for them. Johann was a Lutheran schoolmaster who would be posted to various schools around Berks and Schuylkill Counties in PA throughout the late 18th century. According to Find-a-Grave, he was married to Anna Elizabeth nee Stoltz and was the father of eight children (though his will lists ten). During the Revolutionary War, he served on a pair of armed vessels of war, Eagle and Vulture.

So the earliest reference to the Easter Bunny in America comes from good old southeastern PA. And if the Bunny has pagan roots, it's not the fault of Catholics. Mr. Gilbert was very much a Protestant. 

But of course, the Bunny doesn't really have pagan roots. That theory follows a very tenuous thread that begins with Venerable Bede, runs through the Brothers Grimm, is frayed by the German philologist Adolph Holtzmann, and then subsequently metastasized into a myriad of fanciful legends depicting the Bunny as the magical familiar of a Teutonic goddess. 

The story begins with a single short passage in St. Bede's work entitled De Ratione Temporum, which runs as follows:

Eosturmonath has a name which is now translated "Paschal month", and which was once called after a goddess of theirs named Eostre, in whose honour feasts were celebrated in that month.  Now they designate that Paschal season by her name, calling the joys of the new rite by the time-honoured name of the old observance. [Taken from "Bede on 'Eostre'" on Tertullian.org]

Readers of this blog will realize that this is not a shocking revelation given that Pope Saint Gregory the Great encouraged his missionaries in England to retain those festal or cultural practices of the people which are neutral or universal. That the Anglo-Saxon Christians in England retained the name of a pagan goddess in their common word for the month of April, and thereby transferred it to the Paschal Feast is no more shocking than a modern Christian celebrating Holy Thursday or Good Friday. I suspect not many modern Christians attend the Liturgy of the Lord's supper with the Norse god of thunder (Thor) secretly in mind. Nor do they imagine the Norse goddess, Frigg, among the women of Jerusalem during Christ's passion.

St. Bede's fleeting mention of Eostre was forgotten for over a millennium. Eostre is not mentioned anywhere else at any time.

By contrast, rabbits and hares had been mentioned occasionally in early Christian literature, and normally not in a laudatory way. They were most commonly presented as a symbol of either sexual profligacy due to the rabbit's awesome procreative powers, or as an metaphor for prey, cowardice and timidity. Writing in the late 2nd century AD, Tertullian compares his contemporary Christian community to hares due to persecution, saying, "We ourselves, having been appointed for pursuit, are like hares being hemmed in from a distance." [Tertullian, Scorpiace, Chapter 1]

Writing some two centuries later, Saint Augustine admits his timidity, but acknowledges his one hope of safety: 

For I will confess mine infirmity, to the end that I may be timid like a hare, because I am full of thorns like a hedgehog. And as in another Psalm [104:18] is said, "The rock is a refuge for the hedgehogs and the hares:" but the Rock was Christ. [Augustine of Hippo, Exposition on Psalm 71]

During the Middle Ages, literary rabbits developed into more fearsome creatures, occasionally inhabiting the margins of illuminated manuscripts bearing weapons or inflicting damage on someone deserving it. These images were meant to convey a certain sense of good-natured irony, and given how popular they are in our own times (see this article from the British Library), I would have to say that the monks who drew them have successfully conveyed their whimsical sense of humor across the centuries. 

14th century manuscript showing two rough coneys abusing a hunter. (source)

It wasn't until sometime in the late 17th century, however, that the legend of the Easter Bunny emerged onto the world scene. In a work entitled, Satyrae medicae, continuatio XVIII. Disputatione ordinaria disquirens de ovis paschalibus von Oster-Eyern (or Medical Satires, Continuation XVIII. Investigating in a formal disputation concerning Easter eggs), German physician and botanist, Georg Franck von Franckenau, wrote the following:

In Upper Germany, our own Palatinate, Alsace and neighboring locations, as well as in Westphalia, these are called "Easter-Hare-Eggs" (die Haseneier) because of a story with which they deceive the simpler folk and children: that a Hare (The Easter Hare) hatches eggs of this sort and hides them in gardens in the grass, bushes, etc., so that they may be sought out more eagerly by the children, to the laughter and delight of their elders. [Satyrae Medica de von Franckenau, p. 6 - When searching the Latin, look for the phrase: "In Germania Superiore, Palatinatu nostrate, Alsatia & vicinis locis..."]

Based on this, it seems that the Easter Bunny was an established tradition in certain areas of Germany by this time. It should be remembered, however, that Germany was not a single country in the late 17th century, but a patchwork of petty kingdoms and dutchies held together very loosely by a common tongue. What was traditional in Westphalia may not have even been known in Prussia or Bavaria.

It is safe to assume that the artist who created or Easter Bunny image at the top of this post, Johann Gilbert, was born into this tradition and his family carried it with them to Britain's American colonies when they arrived in the early 18th century.

About a century after Gilbert's birth, Jacob Grimm, one half of the Brothers Grimm of fairy tale fame, rediscovered the passage from Venerable Bede and mentioned "Eostre" (whom he called "Ostara") in his work, Deutsche Mythologie (Teutonic Mythology in English). Grimm added his own speculative embellishments saying: 

Ostara, Edstre seems therefore to have been the divinity of the radiant dawn, of upspringing light, a spectacle that brings joy and blessing, whose meaning could be easily adapted to the resurrection-day of the Christian's God. [Grimm: Teutonic Mythology, p. 291]

It should be stressed, however, that Grimm discovered no new mentions of Eostre in the historical literature. His assumptions are completely theoretical.

But theoretical though they may be, Grimm's elaborations of Eostre/Ostara were latched onto by another German, Adolph Holtzmann, in the later 19th century. It is Holtzmann who, in his 1874 work which was also entitled Deutsche Mythologie, proposed a speculative relationship between the Easter Hare and Eostre/Ostara. Holtzmann wrote:

The Easter Hare (Osterhase) is inexplicable to me; probably the hare is the animal of Ostara....However, in German mythology thus far, a hare appears nowhere...Moreover, the hare must have been a bird, since it lays eggs; perhaps Easter eggs do not even date back to paganism at all; for with Easter, the fasts end, and it is an old custom to consecrate eggs and meat in the church on Easter Eve, and children then receive such consecrated eggs. But the fact that one makes a nest for the children the evening before so that the hare can lay the eggs in it—that does seem to be a pagan idea. [Holtzmann: Deutsche Mythologie, p. 141]

All other connections between the Easter Bunny and neo-paganism emerge from this point onwards with no solid tie to antiquity.  

So to sum up, the Easter Bunny is a fun, humorous tradition that emerged in Germany and spread to other places around the world. There is no concrete evidence that he originated as a pagan spirit animal, only very tentative modern speculation and subsequent embellishment. And even if the mythical egg-laying hare had been part of a pagan German myth at some point in murky antiquity, the legend was religiously neutral enough to be adopted into Christian German cultural traditions with nary a trace of its origins remaining at all. 

Furthermore, it's worth emphasizing that however the legend developed, the Easter Bunny was not a Catholic tradition, but one that originated from German Protestants. 

But let there be no mistake -- the purpose of this article was not to give our lop-eared egg courier a bad name, so if like Bugs you've already got some bad names for the Easter Rabbit, maybe just reconsider calling him a sinister crypto-pagan or a demonic witch-pet. Given the connection cited by Holtzmann above, he was probably a good Christian fur-bearing critter, delivering eggs to those celebrating the end of their Lenten fasts and the making of all things new by our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Also, if the Bunny tradition in the US originated from southeastern PA, that makes him a home-boy, and we always root for the home team around here. 

"Having obtained a share in the birth of Christ let us renounce the works of the flesh." ~ The Ancient Church Fathers on the Nativity of Christ

Fresco portrait of Pope Saint Leo the Great (enhanced) from the Church of Santa Maria
Antiqua in Rome, dated to the early 8th century—about 350 years after his death.

As explained in a previous post, the Nativity of Jesus has been celebrated by Christians on December 25 since antiquity. The feast of the Nativity has always been an opportunity for homiletic fireworks on a grand scale, and the Fathers of the Church took full advantage of the sacred day to wax eloquent.

In keeping with this theme, here are a few excerpts from some of the earliest extant homilies delivered by various Church Fathers to commemorate the birth of Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God.

The first comes from Pope Liberius who reigned in the mid-4th century AD. You may remember from a previous post, that Liberius was ejected from the papal see by the Roman Emperor Constantius II, son of Constantine the Great, for the crime of being insufficiently tolerant of Arianism. 

The excerpt below from Liberius was recorded by Saint Ambrose in a letter to his sister Marcellina. Pope Liberius had delivered this sermon on the occasion of Marcellina taking the veil as a consecrated virgin—an event which apparently took place on Christmas day, likely in AD 353 or there abouts. In the sermon, Liberius leans heavily into the nature of the incarnation of Christ, and one can clearly discern the familiar echoes of the Nicene Creed and its refutation of Arianism: 

"Today, indeed, He was born after the manner of men, of a Virgin, but was begotten of the Father before all things, resembling His mother in body, His Father in power. Only-begotten on earth, and Only-begotten in heaven. God of God, born of a Virgin, Righteousness from the Father, Power from the Mighty One, Light of Light, not unequal to His Father; nor separated in power, not confused by extension of the Word or enlargement as though mingled with the Father, but distinguished from the Father by virtue of His generation." [Pope Liberius (AD 352-366), as quoted by St. Ambrose in a letter to his sister Marcellina]

This next excerpt is from Saint Ephraim the Syrian who flourished the mid-4th century. Ephraim is known particularly for his hymns, and the excerpt below is taken from one of the score or so that he wrote for the celebration of the Nativity of Christ. Interestingly, this hymn seems to indicate that the birth of Christ happened at about the same time as the winter solstice (December 21) when "He came forth from the womb in this month in which the sun gives longer light."  

"At the birth of the Son the king was enrolling all men for the tribute-money, that they might be debtors to Him: the King came forth to us Who blotted out our bills, and wrote another bill in His own Name that He might be our debtor. The sun gave longer light, and foreshadowed the mystery by the degrees which it had gone up. It was twelve days since it had gone up, and today is the thirteenth day: a type exact of the Son's birth and of His Twelve.

Moses shut up a lamb in the month Nisan on the tenth day; a type this of the Son that came into the womb and shut Himself up therein on the tenth day. He came forth from the womb in this month in which the sun gives longer light.

The darkness was overcome, that it might proclaim that Satan was overcome; and the sun gave longer light, that it might triumph, because the First-born was victorious. Along with the darkness the dark one was overcome, and with the greater light our Light conquered!" [Saint Ephraim the Syrian, Fourth Hymn on the Nativity of Christ, written prior to AD 373]

Scenes from the Nativity and infancy of Christ from the Ivory throne
of Maximianus, Archbishop of Ravenna, early 6th century AD.

This next excerpt is from the aforementioned Saint Ambrose of Milan and may be traced back to AD 377, a mere three years after he had been made bishop by acclamation even prior to his baptism, having been baptized and ordained bishop on the same day. This tract demonstrates that he had successfully made the  transition from able Roman provincial administrator, to spiritual father of a major metropolitan see, while retaining his well-known and appreciated humility: 

"Therefore Christ became a little one, He became a child, so that you might become a perfect man. H was wrapped in swaddling bands, so that you might be freed from the bonds of death. He lay in a manger so that you might be raised to the altar. He dwelt on earth so that you might live among the stars. There was no room for him at the inn, this was so that you might have many rooms in the heavenly mansions. 'He who was rich made himself poor for your sake, so that you might be rich.' (1 Cor 8:9). The Lord's poverty is my inheritance and His weakness is my strength. For Himself He preferred poverty and want, so that for others He might have abundant wealth. It is I who am washed by those tears that He shed as a crying infant, it is my sins that are wiped away by those tears. [St. Ambrose of Milan, from Commentary of Saint Ambrose on the Gospel of Luke, Book II, Chapter 41]

Finally, given the regnal title of the reigning pontiff, we present a passage taken from a sermon given by the original, Pope Saint Leo the Great about 75 years after Saint Ambrose. In this excerpt, Leo wraps up his Christmas sermon with an admonition to his flock to adhere to the moral commands of Christ and resist the urge to live according to the desires of the flesh—a fair warning to all Christians, ancient and modern alike:

"Let us then, dearly beloved, give thanks to God the Father, through His Son, in the Holy Spirit, 'Who for His great mercy, wherewith He has loved us, has had pity on us: and when we were dead in sins, has quickened us together in Christ' (Ephesians 2:4-5), that we might be in Him a new creation and a new production. Let us put off then the old man with his deeds: and having obtained a share in the birth of Christ let us renounce the works of the flesh. Christian, acknowledge your dignity, and becoming a partner in the Divine nature, refuse to return to the old baseness by degenerate conduct. Remember the Head and the Body of which you are a member. Recollect that you were rescued from the power of darkness and brought out into God's light and kingdom. By the mystery of Baptism you were made the temple of the Holy Ghost: do not put such a denizen to flight from you by base acts, and subject yourself once more to the devil's thralldom: because your purchase money is the blood of Christ, because He shall judge you in truth Who ransomed you in mercy, who with the Father and the Holy Spirit reigns for ever and ever. Amen." [Pope Saint Leo the Great, Sermon 21, mid-5th century AD]

The Origins of All Saints Day and the Consecration of the Pantheon in Rome as a Church in AD 608

The Basilica of Santa Maria ad Martyres (aka, the Pantheon) in Rome as it looks today.

The Feast of All Saints as we know it today has its origins in that period of chaos and transition between Late Antiquity and the early Middle Ages. One of the milestones in the development of the Feast took place in the year AD 608 when Pope Boniface IV consecrated the formerly pagan temple known as the Pantheon in Rome to Our Lady and All the Saints.

The Pantheon, of course, is that marvelous architectural monument to Roman ingenuity which has somehow managed to survive the scourge of time and come down to us practically intact. Originally built as a temple to all the gods by Augustus Caesar's greatest general, Marcus Agrippa, the Pantheon would burn down and be completely reconstructed by the emperor Hadrian in the early 2nd century AD. In that form, it would remain a silent witness to the climactic moments of Roman history, including the Crisis of the Third Century, the persecution of Christians under Decius, Valerian and Maximian, the rise and defeat of Maxentius, and the victorious advent of Constantine the Great.

Yet even after the conversion of Rome to Christianity, the Pantheon would remain a pagan temple for another 80 years. The temples were finally shuttered by Theodosius the Great in the late 4th century, so the Pantheon likely existed as a fortress-like hulk for 200 years as the city around it became universally Christian. Devout residents of Rome likely viewed the darkened, abandoned temple as a demon-infested haunt, and an anonymous Latin sermon about the consecration says that "the Romans were so thoroughly terrified that they customarily did not dare to go near the temple even at noon."

It wasn't until the early years of the 7th century AD that a change would occur at a time when the usurping tyrant, Phocas, unleashed his brutally inept reign upon a Roman Empire on the brink of dissolution. Rome during this time was still nominally part of the Empire. With the climax of the Gothic Wars in AD 555, the Roman Empire was briefly re-established in all of Italy. But by the time of Pope Gregory the Great, in the 580s, everything was once again falling apart. The Italian peninsula was overrun by an insuperable horde of Lombards who conquered and settled practically all the land outside of the major cities. The Empire hung on to the city of Rome—but barely.  

In Constantinople, Phocas had taken the throne as beneficiary of a rebellion which toppled the reigning emperor, Maurice. The unfortunate Maurice would be executed by Phocas, along with his wife and eight children. With more than enough crises to deal with in the East, Phocas was anxious to maintain whatever political alliances he could in the West. 

19th century engraving of Pope Boniface IV cleansing "the ancient filth of idolatry" from
the Pantheon and consecrating the building to the Ever Virgin Mary and All the Saints. 

Boniface IV became Pope during the seemingly endless troubles of the early 7th century. With the political authority of the Empire once again waning in Italy, the Popes had been forced to take a more active role in defending and caring for the city. When Boniface requested that Phocas grant the Pantheon to the Church, Phocas likely felt that this was an easy way to demonstrate his authority and keep Boniface and Rome solidly on his side. In his celebrated Ecclesiastical Annals written in the late 16th century, Caesar Cardinal Baronius gives a summary of what happened, based originally on the biography of Boniface from the Liber Pontificalis of the 9th century AD: 

Boniface IV, Pope, who dedicated the Pantheon to God.

In the six hundred and seventeenth year of the Indiction, Boniface, from the city of Valeria in the region of the Marsi, the son of John the physician, was created Pope on the eighteenth day of September, being the fourth of that name. Immediately he turned his own house into a monastery and enriched it with revenues.

When he saw that the Emperor Phocas was more favorably disposed toward the Roman Pontiffs than previous rulers had been, he ventured—what none of the Roman Pontiffs before him had attempted—to ask the emperor to grant him the Pantheon, that noble temple of Rome. He wished, after it had been cleansed of the ancient filth of idolatry, to consecrate it in honor of the Mother of God, the Blessed Mary, and of all the holy martyrs.

The emperor freely granted this request, and Boniface, having obtained what he desired, happily accomplished it without delay. These things are taken from Anastasius [author of that section of the Liber Pontificalis].

Thus that marvelous building, celebrated by the praises of so many ancient writers—constructed by Marcus Agrippa, consul, in the time of the Emperor Augustus, and dedicated to Jupiter the Avenger—at length passed into the service of the Christian religion after six hundred and thirty-two years.

Indeed, it had remained untouched by demolishers—(as has been said) though it had been the dwelling-place of demons—because of the solid strength of its construction, which made it stand firm. Yet it had not yet been dedicated to Christian use, since such a conversion seemed execrable to some.

For we see from Saint Gregory that at first he had ordered that the temples of idols among the newly converted English nation be destroyed; but later he permitted that, for the sake of the new planting of faith, those same buildings should remain intact—provided that, after solemn purification, they be consecrated and adapted to sacred worship.

So likewise the Pantheon, being transformed into a church and consecrated, and ennobled by the title of the Mother of God, and enriched with the relics of martyrs brought from cemeteries outside the city, obtained the name that it should be called the Temple of the Mother of God and of All Martyrs—a venerable title which it retains to this day. [Ecclesiastical Annals of Baronius, Volume 11, page 77]

A similar account may be found in the History of the Langobards (Lombards), an early 8th century work by Paul the Deacon. Other accounts refer to Boniface translating 28 cartloads of relics of various martyrs from the catacombs to a porphyry niche beneath the high altar of the newly-consecrated church. The date of this consecration (May 13) would become a day to commemorate all the saints in Rome, which would be moved to November 1 and become a universal feast throughout the Holy Roman Empire by Louis the Pious in AD 835.

Note that Baronius's account above refers to the letter of Gregory the Great written in AD 601 that permitted the British converts to Catholicism to consecrate their pagan buildings to Christian usage. The full letter may be found here: "That the nation, seeing that their temples are not destroyed, may remove error from their hearts." ~ St. Gregory the Great's letter to St. Mellitus on reconsecrating pagan temples as Christian churches, AD 601

The Pantheon would continue to exist as the Basilica of Santa Maria ad Martyres for the next 1,400 years. The building's remarkably solid construction and continuing service as a Catholic Church help to explain its wonderful state of preservation. 

Aside from the martyrs whose remains were entombed at the consecration of the building as a church, numerous other more modern Italians are interred within these sacred precincts. Most notable among these are the artist Raphael along with several other Renaissance-era painters and sculptors, Italian Kings Vittorio Emanuele II, his son, Umberto I, and Umberto's wife, Queen Margherita. 

We should let the Basilica's history and conversion stand as a metaphor for all of us Catholics, who were rescued by Christ from the filth of idolatry and who should remain standing steadfast to the end with the help of our Blessed Lady and the holy saints in Heaven.

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As Saint Alphonsus Liguori said, "Let us read the lives of the saints, and pride shall depart from us. There we shall find the great things that they have done, at the sight of which we shall feel ashamed of the little we have done." 

A good place to start is the book, I Am a Christian: Authentic Accounts of Christian Martyrdom and Persecution from the Ancient Sources. Reading about the saints and their works is a beautiful way to commemorate the feast of All Saints, and directly contrary to the worldly culture's insistence on tying the celebration of the vigil of the holy day with the works of darkness.

"Ecce ancilla Domini" ~ Feast of the Annunciation from the Latin Vulgate

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Happy Solemnity of the Annunciation. This feast commemorating the visit of the angel Gabriel to the Blessed Virgin is celebrated on March 25—exactly nine months before the traditional date of Christmas on December 25. According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, the early history of this feast is as follows:

In the Latin Church this feast is first mentioned in the Sacramentarium of Pope Gelasius (d. 496), which we possess in a manuscript of the seventh century; it is also contained in the Sacramentarium of St. Gregory (d. 604), one manuscript of which dates back to the eighth century. Since these sacramentaries contain additions posterior to the time of Gelasius and Gregory, Duchesne (Origines du culte chrétien, 118, 261) ascribes the origin of this feast in Rome to the seventh century; Probst, however, (Sacramentarien, 264) thinks that it really belongs to the time of Pope Gelasius. The tenth Synod of Toledo (656), and Trullan Synod (692) speak of this feast as one universally celebrated in the Catholic Church.

Here is the account of the event from the Latin Vulgate Gospel of Saint Jerome, according to Saint Luke:

In mense autem sexto, missus est angelus Gabriel a Deo in civitatem Galilaeae, cui nomen Nazareth, ad virginem desponsatam viro, cui nomen erat Joseph, de domo David: et nomen virginis Maria. Et ingressus angelus ad eam dixit:

"Ave gratia plena: Dominus tecum: benedicta tu in mulieribus."

Quae cum audisset, turbata est in sermone ejus, et cogitabat qualis esset ista salutatio. Et ait angelus ei:

"Ne timeas, Maria: invenisti enim gratiam apud Deum. Ecce concipies in utero, et paries filium, et vocabis nomen ejus Jesum: hic erit magnus, et Filius Altissimi vocabitur, et dabit illi Dominus Deus sedem David patris ejus: et regnabit in domo Jacob in aeternum, et regni ejus non erit finis."

Dixit autem Maria ad angelum:

"Quomodo fiet istud, quoniam virum non cognosco?"

Et respondens angelus dixit ei:

"Spiritus Sanctus superveniet in te, et virtus Altissimi obumbrabit tibi. Ideoque et quod nascetur ex te sanctum, vocabitur Filius Dei. Et ecce Elisabeth cognata tua, et ipsa concepit filium in senectute sua: et hic mensis sextus est illi, quae vocatur sterilis: quia non erit impossibile apud Deum omne verbum."

Dixit autem Maria:

"Ecce ancilla Domini: fiat mihi secundum verbum tuum."

Et discessit ab illa angelus.

The English translation may be found here.

The image of the Annunciation shown above was painted by Simone Martini in AD 1333 in Siena.

"You can not covet popular approbation without betraying your ministry." ~ Feast day of Saint Francis Xavier

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"Show no degree of irresolution as though you wavered betwixt the world and Christ. Remember that you can not covet popular approbation without betraying your ministry."
~Saint Francis Xavier

December 3 is the feast of the great missionary, Saint Francis Xavier, one of the earliest members of the Society of Jesus and a companion of Saint Ignatius of Loyola. He is best remembered for his mission to India in the 1540s and later visits to southeast Asia, China and Japan where he scattered fruitful missions in his wake. He died in AD 1552 and his partially incorrupt relics may be seen to this day in Goa, India.

Click here to read a short biography of Saint Francis Xavier from the Catholic Encyclopedia.

The above quote from St. Francis Xavier may be found in a letter of advice to one of his fellow missionaries. Here is the quote with additional context:

Always treat those with whom you are concerned with mildness and respect. Let not the least roughness, or haughty carriage appear in you, unless your moderation and humility should be turned to contempt: for on such occasions, have nothing in your intentions but the good of your inferiors, and not making the contempt of your authority the object of your vengeance, you are to make the guilty somewhat sensible of your power. Nothing more encourages the untractable and haughty to rebellion, than the softness and fearful spirit of a governor. And it is not credible how assuming, proud and peremptory a certain sort of people will grow, when once they find the reins slackened, and that their pusillanimous superior is afraid of punishing their want of due respect. Impunity hardens the in their insolence; or rather makes them more and more audacious; which disturbs the peace of religious bodies. Let therefore no consideration, or regard of persons, or any other thing, hinder you from the performance of your duty.

The faithful in Goa, India, venerating the relics of St. Francis Xavier in 2014.

In the visits which are made you, endeavor to find out the bottom and end of their design who come to see you. For some there are the least part of whose business is to be instructed in spirituals—it is only temporal interest which brings them to you. There will even be some, who will come to make known the state of their soul, for no other motive than to acquaint you with the necessities of their families. The best counsel I can give you, is to stand upon your guard with such and to be rid of them. Let them know from the very first, that you can neither furnish them with money, nor procure them any favor from other men. Be warned to have as little discourse with this sort of people as you possibly can: for most commonly they are great talkers, and if you trouble yourself with giving them the hearing, you are almost certain to lose your time.

For what remains, disquiet not yourself with what they think or say of you. Let them murmur on: You are to show no degree of irresolution, as though you wavered betwixt the world and Christ. Remember that you cannot covet the popular approbation without betraying your ministry or becoming a deserter of your sacred colors, in going back from that evangelical perfection which you are obliged to follow with an unrelenting ardor.

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Taken from: The Life and Missionary Labors of that Holy Man, Francis Xavier, Commonly Called The Apostle of the Indies, 1814.

In the 1950s, Louis de Wohl wrote a fine novelization of the life of Saint Francis Xavier in his book, Set All Afire, published in a modern edition by Ignatius Press. I read this book some years ago and enjoyed it thoroughly. It reads like one of the great epics biblical movies of the same era, but with greater depth and more intimate, historically accurate portrayals of the principal characters.

If you're looking for a gift for a serious Catholic, I heartily recommend it. As with other of de Wohl's works, Set All Afire is particularly appropriate for young Catholics ages 14 and up.

Saint Monica, Patroness of Abuse Victims, Pray for Us!

“Go your way and God bless you, for it is not possible 
that the son of these tears should perish.” 
—An unknown African bishop to Saint Monica

Today is the feast day of Saint Monica, the mother of Saint Augustine. This noble lady and archetypal Christian mother is the patroness of (among others) abuse victims, alcoholics, difficult marriages, mothers with wayward children, disappointing children, victims of adultery and victims of unfaithfulness.

Thus, she is quite a popular saint in our time and a particularly appropriate saint to commemorate today as the Church continues to be riddled with abusers and enablers of abuse even at the highest levels.

According to Augustine's Confessions (Book III, Chapter XII), Monica shed many tears while she prayed for her son's conversion from the careless and dissolute lifestyle he lived. Here is the above quote in its original context:

"And meanwhile You granted her [Monica] another answer, which I recall; by a priest of Yours, a certain bishop, reared in Your Church and well versed in Your books. He, when this woman had entreated that he would vouchsafe to have some talk with me, refute my errors, unteach me evil things, and teach me good (for this he was in the habit of doing when he found people fitted to receive it), refused, very prudently, as I afterwards came to see. For he answered that I was still unteachable, being inflated with the novelty of that heresy, and that I had already perplexed various inexperienced persons with vexatious questions, as she had informed him. "But leave him alone for a time," says he, "only pray God for him; he will of himself, by reading, discover what that error is, and how great its impiety."

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He disclosed to her at the same time how he himself, when a little one, had, by his misguided mother, been given over to the Manichæans, and had not only read, but even written out almost all their books, and had come to see (without argument or proof from any one) how much that sect was to be shunned, and had shunned it. Which when he had said, and she would not be satisfied, but repeated more earnestly her entreaties, shedding copious tears, that he would see and discourse with me, he, a little vexed at her importunity, exclaimed, "Go your way, and God bless you, for it is not possible that the son of these tears should perish." Which answer (as she often mentioned in her conversations with me) she accepted as though it were a voice from heaven."

To read more, click here.

May the faithful shed just as many tears as we pray for the conversion of our dissolute leaders, for peace and healing for their victims, and for renewal of the Church.

"We live in a period of chastisement" ~ August 20. Feast day of Saint Bernard of Clairvaux

Saint Bernard of Clairvaux preaches the Second Crusade at Vezelai in Burgundy.

August 20 is the feast day of Saint Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153), abbot and doctor of the Church, and one of the greatest minds of Medieval Europe. Late in his life in AD 1146, Bernard was called to preach the Second Crusade throughout Europe. In the course of doing so, he gave a speech every bit as stirring as Pope Urban II's call for the original Crusade in AD 1095. Here is an excerpt from that speech, as recorded in The History of the Crusades by Joseph Francis Michaud:

You can not but know that we live in a period of chastisement and ruin; the enemy of mankind has caused the breath of corruption to fly over all regions; we behold nothing but unpunished wickedness. The laws of men or the laws of religion have no longer sufficient power to check depravity of manners and the triumph of the wicked. The demon of heresy has taken possession of the chair of truth, and God has sent forth His malediction upon His sanctuary.

Oh, ye who listen to me, hasten then to appease the anger of Heaven, but no longer implore His goodness by vain complaints; clothe not yourselves in sackcloth, but cover yourselves with your impenetrable bucklers; the din of arms, the dangers, the labors, the fatigues of war are the penances that God now imposes upon you. Hasten then to expiate your sins by victories over the infidels, and let the deliverance of holy places be the reward of your repentance....

Fly then to arms; let a holy rage animate you in the fight, and let the Christian world resound with these words of the prophet, “Cursed be he who does not stain his sword with blood!” If the Lord calls you to the defense of His heritage think not that His hand has lost its power. Could He not send twelve legions of angels or breathe one word and all His enemies would crumble away into dust? But God has considered the sons of men, to open for them the road to His mercy. His goodness has caused to dawn for you a day of safety by calling on you to avenge His glory and His name.

Read the rest of Bernard's speech along with additional context here.

Sadly, the Second Crusade ended in disaster as the Christian princes could not cooperate effectively with each other and their discord gave the advantage to the enemy. Bernard bitterly regretted this failure and wrote an apology to Pope Eugenius III in the form of book called On Consideration. In this book, Bernard offers some useful advice for how an ideal pope should behave. Included among his admonitions is the following:

You ought not to be the last to know the faults of your household, which, as we are aware, is the experience of very many. Wherefore, as I have said, let another manage the rest, but do yourself see to the discipline. Trust that to nobody. If in your presence there is any tendency to arrogant conversation, or showy dress, stretch out your hand against such offences; be yourself an avenger of the wrong done to you. Impunity is the mother of audacity, audacity brings forth excess. 

Holiness becomes the house of a bishop, modesty becomes it, good repute becomes it; the guardian of all discipline. The priests of the household are either more highly esteemed than others, or they are the common talk. In the look, dress, gait of the priests about your person you should allow no trace of immodesty or indecency. Let your fellow bishops learn from you not to have about them boys with their hair curled, or effeminate youths. It is surely unbecoming for a bishop to go hither and thither surrounded by fops who wear the turban and use the curling iron.

Given the sad state of Church today, our bishops would do well to heed this good advice.

"The feast ennobled by the blood of Peter and of Paul" ~ One of the oldest accounts of the martyrdom of Peter and Paul in Rome

Christ enthroned between St. Paul (left) and St. Peter (right).
4th or 5th century AD, from the Catacomb of Marcellinus in Rome.

June 29 is commemorated as the feast of Saints Peter and Paul, co-founders of the Roman Church. To celebrate this feast, here is a poem written in the late 4th century AD by the Latin poet Prudentius as part of his work, the Peristephanon or Martyr's Garland. The poem follows the way of a pilgrim visiting the shrines in Rome on the very feast of Saints Peter and Paul, and dwells a little on the details of the martyrdoms of the two Apostles.

The poem is significant as one of the earliest accounts of Saint Peter's inverted crucifixion. It also gives an indication of the types of shrines that existed in Rome (or immediately outside) to commemorate Peter and Paul's grave sites during late antiquity.

The Martyrdom of St. Peter and St. Paul
By Aurelius Prudentius Clemens

May, friend, what means this stir today? What summons gathers all
   These happy troops along the streets of Rome?
The feast ennobled by the blood of Peter and of Paul
   Calls forth the worshippers to leave their home. 

The self-same day with interval of one revolving year
   Beheld the pair by death triumphant crowned.
Full well doth Father Tiber know, gliding those marshes near,
   Hallowed with trophies twain that turfy ground. 

Both Cross and Sword he witnessed, twice the ghastly shower saw fall,
   The self-same herb bedewed with martyr’s blood.
A victim first fell Peter, in Nero’s judgment-hall
   Condemned to hang upon the towering wood.  

But he, in fear to emulate his Master, cannot brook
   To court the doom that our salvation earned:
And he claimeth from his murderer one boon, that he may look
   On the Tree’s nether limb with head down-turned. 

So then his hands transfixed below, the top his feet upbore:
   Greater in spirit as more vile in guise,
Remembering “Who abaseth self exalted shall he soar,”
   To give his soul to heaven, he bowed his eyes. 

Soon as the circling seasons brought the swift recurring date,
   And Orient Sun reushered in the day,
The tyrant spat on holy Paul the venom of his hate,
   Christ’s world-worn Teacher resolute to slay.  

He had seen the goal—had written “I am ready to depart
   And be with Christ,” with heaven-inspired pen.
The headsman does his office. Beats no more that noble heart;
   Nor day nor hour has failed his prescient ken.  

On either bank, nigh each to each, their ashes now repose,
   Where winds the stream between the two hallowed graves;
The gilded shrine that on the right doth Peter’s bones enclose
   ’Neath sough of olives sacred Tiber laves. 

Trickling adown the slope from brow of overhanging hill,
   There oozes a perennial source of oil.
That fountain flows through fabric now of costly marble, till
   In gleaming bath its circling eddies boil. 

Below with hollow undertone the rushing streams descend
   From sparkling basin, white as drifted snow;
Art’s many-colored hues above with amber wavelets blend
   Resplendent moss and gold’s green-tinted glow. 

Lo! where with mantling purple overshadowed lies the pool,
   The fretted roof reflected seems to swim.
Christ the true Shepherd there portrayed, to waters clean and cool,
   Is leading on His flock that thirst for Him. 

By Tiber’s current, where the turf on the left bank is grazed,
    And Ostia’s road guardeth the hallowed ground,
Our prince’s favor there to Paul a stately fane upraised,
   And pranked with golden plates the circuit round. 

With branching foil of metal blaze on high the burnished beams,
   The aisles are ruddy as the morning ray;
Of pillars white ’neath gilded vault a fourfold order gleams,
   And arches dyed as green as leas in May.  

The Father gave these pledges to the nation of the gown:
   To be revered for aye twin temples spring;
Two roads lead forth Rome’s worshippers, to feasts one light doth crown,
   To each we hasten, and at each we sing.  

Where Tiber’s spanned by Hadrian’s bridge, we reach the stream’s left side:
   From vigil and from ritual the priest
Thither hies back to offerings fresh. Thus Rome keeps holy tide:
   Now homeward wend and celebrate each feast.

This version in English is taken from Translations from Prudentius by Francis St. John Thackeray, a text that is, sadly, out of print. It is included along with other selections from Prudentius in this book: I Am A Christian: Authentic Accounts of Christian Martyrdom and Persecution from the Ancient Sources pictured at right.

"At the age of 20, I committed a crime of passion." ~ The confession of Alessandro Serenelli

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July 6 is the feast day of Saint Maria Goretti, a girl of 11 who was brutally murdered because she refused to submit to the sexual advances of Alessandro Serenelli, age 20. Having been stabbed 14 times, Maria survived another day while surgeons tried in vain to save her. During this time, she forgave her attacker and expressed hope that he would be with her someday in heaven. Maria died of her wounds on July 6, 1902.

Nearly 60 years later, Alessandro Serenelli wrote an amazing letter. It was found in a sealed envelope after his death, and reads as follows:

I am now almost 80 years old. I am close to the end of my days.

Looking back at my past, I recognize that in my early youth I followed a false road—an evil path that led to my ruin.  

Through the content of printed magazines, immoral shows, and bad examples in the media, I saw the majority of the young people of my day following evil without even thinking twice. Unworried, I did the same thing.

There were faithful and practicing Christian believers around me, but I paid no attention to them. I was blinded by a brute impulse that pushed me down the wrong way of living.  At the age of 20, I committed a crime of passion, the memory of which still horrifies me today. Maria Goretti, now a saint, was my good angel whom God placed in my path to save me. Her words both of rebuke and forgiveness are still imprinted in my heart. She prayed for me, interceding for her killer. Thirty years in prison followed.

The only known photo of
Maria Goretti.

If I had not been a minor in Italian law I would have been sentenced to life in prison. Nevertheless, I accepted the sentence I received as something I deserved. 

Resigned, I atoned for my sin. Little Maria was truly my light, my protectress. With her help, I served those 27 years in prison well. When society accepted me back among its members, I tried to live honestly. With angelic charity, the sons of St. Francis, the minor Capuchins of the Marches, welcomed me among them not as a servant, but as a brother. I have lived with them for 24 years. Now I look serenely to the time in which I will be admitted to the vision of God, to embrace my dear ones once again, and to be close to my guardian angel, Maria Goretti, and her dear mother, Assunta.

May all who read this letter of mine desire to follow the blessed teaching of avoiding evil and following the good. May all believe with the faith of little children that religion with its precepts is not something one can do without. Rather, it is true comfort, and the only sure way in all of life’s circumstances—even in the most painful. 

Peace and all good. 

Alessandro Serenelli
Macerata, Italy 5 May 1961 

We were fortunate enough to have the relics of St. Maria Goretti at our parish a few years ago, thanks to the Pilgrimage of Mercy Tour of the Major Relics. Their website is an excellent source of information about Saint Maria, as well as Alessandro Serenelli.

The major relics of St. Maria Goretti.

The Chair of Saint Peter

Photo of the Chair of Saint Peter, taken in 1867 and
included in the Catholic Encyclopedia (1911).

February 22 is commemorated as the Feast of the Chair of Saint Peter at Antioch on the Catholic liturgical calendar, commemorating his foundation of that church. The feast of the Chair of Saint Peter at Rome is celebrated on January 18. A good summary of the history of the two feasts may be found at the New Liturgical Movement site.

The phrase "chair of Saint Peter" has both literal and figurative meanings. In the more abstract sense, The "seat" of Saint Peter is the Holy See -- the Sancta Sedes, or the episcopal jurisdiction of the Pope in Rome, symbolizing the leadership and unity of the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. More literally, we think of the actual chair, or cathedra, upon which the Apostle Peter actually sat. While a Chair of Saint Peter in Antioch (of dubious history) exists in Venice, it is believed that the authentic Chair in Saint Peter in Rome may be found to this day at the Vatican.

As early as about AD 200, we have the testimony of Tertullian in De Praescriptione Haereticorum that pilgrims could visit the chair upon which Peter sat in Rome:

Come now, thou who willest to exercise thy curiosity to better purpose in the business of thy salvation: go through the Apostolic Churches where the very thrones of the Apostles at this very day preside over their own districts, where their own genuine letters are read which speak their words and bring the presence of each before our minds. If Achaia is nearest to thee, thou hast Corinth. If thou art not far from Macedonia, thou hast Philippi. If thou canst travel into Asia, thou hast Ephesus. Or if thou art near to Italy, thou hast Rome, where we too have an authority close at hand. What a happy Church is that whereon the Apostles poured out their whole doctrine together with their blood; where Peter suffers a passion like his Lord's, where Paul is crowned...

As for the reputed chair itself, I have included an image of it along with this post (see above). The Catholic Encyclopedia (1911) gives a very detailed provenance for the cathedra which is not necessary to replicate here. A modern description is offered in Roma Sotterranea: Or, Some Account of the Roman Catacombs, Especially of the Cemetery of San Callisto (1869) by Rev. J. Spencer Northcote and Rev. W. R. Brownlow as follows:

A more recent color image of the chair taken
from the St. Peter's Basilica website.

The Chair has four solid legs composed of yellow oak, united by horizontal bars of the same material. In these legs are fixed the iron rings which make the whole a sella gestatoria such as that in which the Sovereign Pontiff is now carried on state occasions, and such as those which the Roman senators began to use in the time of Claudius. The four oak legs were evidently once square, but they are much eaten away by age and have also had pieces cut from them as relics. These time worn portions have been strengthened and rendered more ornamental by pieces of dark acacia wood which form the whole interior part of the chair, and which appear to have hardly suffered at all from the same causes which have so altered the appearance of the oak legs. The panels of the front and sides and the row of arches with the tympanum above them which forms the back are also composed of this wood. But the most remarkable circumstance about these two different kinds of material is that all the ivory ornaments which cover the front and back of the chair are attached to the acacia portions alone and never to the parts composed of oak. Thus the oak framework, with its rings, appears to be of quite a distinct antiquity from that of the acacia portions with their ivory decorations.

For more, check out Roma Sotterranea on Google books. That work also contains an even more detailed history of the Chair, along with a discussion of a second cathedra of Peter existing in the Cemetery of Ostrianus.

"Where Christ is with us, a spider’s web our wall shall be...

...where Christ is not, our wall a spider’s web shall be."

Thus wrote Saint Paulinus of Nola in the early-5th century AD in his biography of Saint Felix of Nola, a confessor who passed to eternal life on January 14 during the persecutions of the 250s AD. In some traditions, St. Felix is a martyr, but in the poetic biography of Paulinus, he is acclaimed a confessor--one who fearlessly preaches the Gospel during dangerous times and who suffered for it but who is not granted the grace of martyrdom. Here is an excerpt from Saint Paulinus's life of Saint Felix, as put into prose by Venerable Bede in the 8th century AD, telling the story of how Felix was rescued from capture by the quick thinking of an industrious arachnid:

But the persecution was not yet over. Felix was again sought for, the enemy came to his house, and again essayed to seize him and deliver him over to death. He was by chance away from home, standing in the market-place with his friends, and teaching to the surrounding people, as was his wont, the word of God. His adversaries, hearing that he was there, rushed thither with drawn swords, but when they came to the place, either his countenance or their hearts were changed by a sudden act of Divine Providence, and they no longer knew him, though up to that day they had known him well. They therefore asked the priest himself where Felix was: the prudent man perceived that it was the work of God, and replied, smiling, "I do not know the man you are looking for." And in this he spoke the truth, for nobody does know himself.

Upon this the persecutors turned their attention elsewhere, and asked those whom they met, where Felix was. One of them, by chance, ignorant of their motives, and thinking they were out of their wits, began to reprove them for their folly in not knowing the man they had been talking to, and at the same time pointed out to them where he was gone. Fired to madness they rushed after Felix, who, warned of their coming by the multitude of citizens that preceded, and by the clamors of the people who were confounded at the enemy’s approach, withdrew to a secret place, which had no other defense than a fragment of a half ruined wall.

No sooner, however, had the man of God entered that place, than he was protected by a work of the Divine hand: for a mound of rubbish suddenly arose and closed in the place, and a spider, by Divine warning, immediately hung its floating web on the abandoned spot. The adversaries approached and halted in awe, saying among themselves, "Is it not foolish for us to look for anyone in this place? It is quite clear that no one has been here before ourselves, for if any one had entered, these spider’s webs could not have remained whole, for even the smallest flies will sometimes break through them. The man who told us he was here must have done so deceitfully, to delay us longer from finding him. Let us return, and refrain from searching this place, the very appearance of which shows that no one has been here before us."

Interior of the paleochristian basilica of St. Felix at Cimitile,
Nola, Italy (near Naples).

Thus foiled, they retraced their steps in anger, and fired with rage against him who had by his deceit led them to the place, to witness the wisdom of our pious Creator and Protector. Surely, the highest walls sometimes betray a beleaguered city, as well as defend it: for Christ protected his humble servant from detection and imprisonment at the hands of his armed enemies by a frail spider’s web: as the venerable father Paulinus says truly on this subject,—"Where Christ is with us, a spider’s web our wall shall be; where Christ is not, our wall a spider’s web shall be."

The evening was approaching when his enemies departed; and Felix, when they were gone, withdrew to a safer place of refuge, rejoicing in the Divine protection, and singing within himself,―“Though I should walk in the midst of the shadow of death, I will not fear evil, for Thou art with me.” When day dawned, he withdrew to a more retired place among the buildings of the city, where for six whole months he lived apart from men, relying on the protection of the Divine presence, according to the words of the Psalmist―“His countenance was hidden from the fear Miraculous food and water.of men;” and Providence fed him during this long space of time in a manner wonderful and unknown to men.

Read the complete life of St. Felix by Paulinus/Venerable Bede here or here.

For a delightful modern retelling of the above story, perfect for young children ages 4-9, see Saint Felix and the Spider by Dessi Jackson and Lydia Grace Kadar-Kallen. Nicely illustrated, the book features a brief biography of Saint Felix after the story. My own children loved it. Highly recommended!