Lenten Station Church
3rd Thursday Of Lent
Sts. Cosmas and Damian
(Santi Cosma e Damiano)

The Basilica of Sts Cosma and Damian is a titular church in Rome, Italy. The lower portion of the building is accessible through the Roman Forum and incorporates original Roman buildings, but the entrance to the upper level is outside the Forum. The circular building located at the entrance of the Forum, which now houses a small archeological exhibit, was built in the early 4th century as a Roman temple. It is thought to have been dedicated to Valerius Romulus, deified son of the emperor Maxentius. The main building was perhaps the library of an imperial forum. It became a church in 527 and contains important but much restored early Christian art, especially in its mosaics. In 1512 Cardinal Alessandro Farnese entrusted the basilica to the Franciscans of the Third Regular Order of St Francis still inhabiting the place today. Its actual appearance was ordered by Urban VIII in 1632 and designed by Luigi Arrigucci on a project by Orazio Torriani. Today it is one of the ancient churches called tituli, of which cardinals are patrons as cardinal-deacons. The basilica, devoted to the two Arabian Christian brothers, doctors, martyrs and Sts Cosmas and Damian, is located in the Forum of Vespasian, also known as the Forum of Peace. Sts Cosmas and Damian Basilica Exterior Views Sts Cosmas and Damian Basilica Interior Views Cosmas and Damian were third century Arabian-born twin brothers who embraced Christianity and practiced medicine and surgery without a fee. This led them to attract many to the Christian faith. They reputedly cured blindness, fever, paralysis and reportedly expelled a breast serpent. They were arrested by Lysias, governor of Cilicia (modern day Cukurova, Turkey) during the Diocletian persecution because of their faith and fame as healers. Emperor Diocletian was a religious fanatic and favored the pantheism of the Olympian Gods. He issued a series of edicts that condemned the Christians in his attempt to wipe out Christianity from his empire. Cosmas and Damian were arrested, and according to legend, they stayed true to their faith, enduring being hung on a cross, stoned and shot by arrows and finally suffered execution by beheading. A reliquary, containing the skulls of Sts Cosmas and Damian, is located at St Michael’s Church in Munich, Germany. The lower portion of the reliquary, which is decorated with standing figures, contains two doors that open to display the Saints’ skulls. On your next (or first) visit to Rome, be sure to include a tour of St Cosmas and Damian on your agenda. You are sure to discover fantastic aspects of this historic basilica. Reference: 'Santi Cosma e Damiano' on WikiPedia.com 'Saints Cosmas and Damian' on Wikipedia.com All Photographs are from Commons.WikiMedia.org Vatican Library Reopening - St Cosmas & St Damian 1450 (2010) Popes & Basilicas - Pope Urban VIII 166 (1953) Jubilee Popes 1550-1725 - Pope Urban VIII 1098 (1999) Reliquary Containing the Skulls of Sts Cosmas and Damian Located at St Michael’s Church in Munich, Germany