Santa Croce in Via Flaminia
Encyclopedia
Basilica
The Latin word basilica , was originally used to describe a Roman public building, usually located in the forum of a Roman town. Public basilicas began to appear in Hellenistic cities in the 2nd century BC.The term was also applied to buildings used for religious purposes...
church dedicated to the Holy Cross
Christian cross
The Christian cross, seen as a representation of the instrument of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, is the best-known religious symbol of Christianity...
on the Via Flaminia
Via Flaminia
The Via Flaminia was an ancient Roman road leading from Rome over the Apennine Mountains to Ariminum on the coast of the Adriatic Sea, and due to the ruggedness of the mountains was the major option the Romans had for travel between Etruria, Latium and Campania and the Po Valley...
in Rome. It was first built in 1913 by the architect Aristide Leonori for Pope Pius X
Pope Pius X
Pope Saint Pius X , born Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto, was the 257th Pope of the Catholic Church, serving from 1903 to 1914. He was the first pope since Pope Pius V to be canonized. Pius X rejected modernist interpretations of Catholic doctrine, promoting traditional devotional practices and orthodox...
, in celebration of the 1600th anniversary of the Edict of Milan
Edict of Milan
The Edict of Milan was a letter signed by emperors Constantine I and Licinius that proclaimed religious toleration in the Roman Empire...
. In the style of a Roman basilica, it has a mosaic-decorated facade, a portico with six Doric columns and a mosaic by Biagio Biagetti, a five-storey bell tower
Bell tower
A bell tower is a tower which contains one or more bells, or which is designed to hold bells, even if it has none. In the European tradition, such a tower most commonly serves as part of a church and contains church bells. When attached to a city hall or other civic building, especially in...
and a three-aisled nave divided by six columns of Bavarian granite on each side.
It was opened for worship on 12 July 1914, and granted to the Congregation of the Sacred Stigmata (Stigmatines
Stigmatines
The Congregation of the Sacred Stigmata was founded by St. Gaspar Bertoni in Verona, Italy, in 1816.The first written Constitutions for the Congregation was based on the Constitutions of St...
), but was not consecrated until 1918 (by Giuseppe Pallica, Titular Archbishop of Philippi).
In 1954, Pope Pius XII made it an alternative station church for Friday of the Fifth Week of Lent. Pope Paul VI elevated it to the status of Minor Basilica in 1964.
The present titular priest of the church is William Wakefield Baum.