Rome's Hidden Churches: A Lenten Pilgrimage
Dr. Timothy O'Donnell explores the hidden history of Rome's Station Churches, where special morning and evening liturgical celebrations are part of a Lenten tradition dating back to the fourth century.
SAINT JOHN LATERAN
12/15/1999
Dr. Timothy O’ Donnell explores the church of St. John Lateran, which is associated with both John the Baptist and John the Evangelist and holds many sacred relics, including fragments of the skulls of St. Peter and St. Paul.
SANTA SABINA
Dr. Timothy O'Donnell guides us through the Church of St. Sabina, now the mother church of the Dominican Order.
ST.'S JOHN AND PAUL
Dr. O'Donnell's series continues with a look at the Church of Sts. John and Paul, who were martyred for refusing to worship pagan gods.
ST. PETER IN CHAINS
Dr. Timothy O’ Donnell visits St. Peter in Chains, the ancient church which was believed to have been the site where St. Peter was arraigned before his death.
ST. MARY MAJOR
Dr. Timothy O'Donnell visits the Basilica of St. Mary Major, the largest of all the Marian churches in Rome.
TWELVE APOSTLES
Dr. Timothy O'Donnell explores the great stational churches of Rome on a Lenten Pilgrimage. He visits the church popularly known as I Dodici-the 12 Apostles.
SANTA PRASSEDE
3/9/1999
Dr. Timothy O'Donnell visits the church of St. Praxedis. She was a daughter of a Roman Senator who greeted St. Peter upon his arrival to Rome and received the faith at his hands. She was martyred by Nero.
ST. LAWRENCE IN LUCINA
Come explore the great stational churches of Rome on a Lenten Pilgrimage with Dr. Timothy O'Donnell. Today he visits St. Lawrence in Lucina. Preserved in this church is the actual grill upon which St. Lawrence was roasted.
SAINT MARY MAJOR
The Wednesday after Palm Sunday, Dr. O'Donnell revisits St. Mary Major. There, he describes some of the architecture and art in this beautiful basilica dedicated to Our Lady.
On Holy Thursday, Dr. O'Donnell goes back to St. John Lateran. There he recalls how at the Last Supper, St. John, the Beloved Disciple, rested his head on Our Lord's bosom.
HOLY CROSS IN JERUSALEM
Dr. Timothy O'Donnell visits the Church of Santa Croce in Gerusalemme, where a relic of the actual cross is held.
The last stop on Dr. O'Donnell's Lenten pilgrimage, on Holy Saturday, is St. John Lateran. This is a day in which we think of Our Lord lying lifeless in the tomb and await the great glory of the Resurrection.
In the Eastern Church, there's a tradition that the first person Christ appeared to after His resurrection was His Mother. On Easter Sunday, Dr. O'Donnell visits St. Mary Major, the great basilica built in Her honor
ST. MARY IN DOMINICA
Dr. Timothy O'Donnell journeys up the Caelian Hill to the Church of Santa Maria in Dominica, which is designated as the station for the Second Sunday in Lent.
SAINT CLEMENT
Dr. Timothy O'Donnell visits the church of St. Clement, who was the third papal successor to St. Peter.
SAINT CECILIA
Dr. Timothy O'Donnell visits St. Cecilia, a church dedicated to the patroness of music, virgin and martyr, which was built right over her home.
SAINT VITALIS
Dr. Timothy O'Donnell explores the church of San Vitalis. San Vitalis was a father who suffered martyrdom along with his sons.
ST. LAWRENCE
Dr. Timothy O'Donnell visits the Basilica of St. Lawrence Outside the Walls, where St. Lawrence himself, along with St. Stephen, the First Martyr are buried.
SAINT MARK
Explore the church of Saint Mark with Dr. Timothy O'Donnell which according to tradition, St. Mark's request to the early Roman Christians composed his Gospel upon St. Peter's preaching.
Dr. Timothy O'Donnell visits Santa Croce en Jerusaleme-the church of the Holy Cross in Jerusalem, where lies the relic of the true cross and dirt from Calvary and Jerusalem brought to Rome by the Empress Helena, the mother of Constantine.
FOUR CROWNED MARTYRS
Dr. Timothy O'Donnell visits the Church of the Four Crowned Saints, which was named after four unnamed soldiers who were martyred for their faith.
ST. PAUL OUTSIDE THE WALLS
Dr. O’Donnell gives a rather graphic description of the death of St. Paul at the hands of the Romans. He also describes the area what the significance of "Outside the Wall" was to Rome and is today.
ST. EUSEBIUS
A visit to the Church of Sant’Eusebio with Dr. Timothy O'Donnell. Saint Eusebius was a devout Roman Catholic priest who refused to embrace the Arian heresy, which denied Christ's divinity.
SAINT PETER'S IN THE VATICAN
Dr. Timothy O'Donnell visits the actual burial place of St. Peter, the Mother Church of all Christendom. The actual Papal altar with its baldachino was designed by Bernini and lies directly over the tomb of the Prince of the Apostles.
SAINT CHRYSOGONOUS
Dr. Timothy O’ Donnell explores the church of St. Chrysogonus. The church is named after a martyr who refused to deny the faith and was beheaded at the command of Emperor Diocletian
SAINT MARCELLUS
Dr. O'Donnell explores the Church of San Marcello, or St. Marcellus, a pope, who for his witness to Jesus Christ, was condemned to martyrdom working in the stables of the imperial household. He was put at hard labor, difficult, menial tasks.
STS. MARTIN AND SYLVESTER
Come explore the great stational churches of Rome on a Lenten Pilgrimage with Dr. Timothy O'Donnell. Today he explores the church of St. Martin and St. Sylvester on the Mountain.
Dr. Timothy O'Donnell continues his Lenten tour of the great stational churches of Rome with a visit to St. John Lateran's.