Prassede le biography

Santa Prassede is a a 9th century minor basilica located near the major basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in the rione Esquilino. The dedication is to St Praxedes.

For reference, a plan of the church is available here.

History

Pope St Paschal I (817-24) built the present church on a terrace levelled on a slope of the Esquiline Hill in the year that he was elected. The mosaics commissioned for this church by Pope Paschal are deservedly famous.

It is Pascale who orchestrated the last great translation of the relics of martyrs from the cemeteries outside of the walls of Rome. He also moved the body of Pope Celestino I from the Catacombs of Priscilla to Santa Prassede.

Prassede le biography

Part of the function of the new church was to serve as a repository for relics of martyrs from the catacombs. The church was given another function by the pope; he attached the unique funerary chapel of St Zeno to the right hand side wall, to serve as a memorial for his mother.

In 1564 St Charles Borromeo, the