Station Church: Santa Cecilia in Trastevere

In 822, the relics of Saint Cecilia were moved from where she lay in the Catacombs to this Church.

A chapel on the Epistle side of the Church is the location (or built over the location) where one of the attempts at the martyrdom of Cecilia took place, the attempt to suffocate her in the bathhouse. The husband of Saint Cecilia, a Roman soldier, converted and was martyred, as well, (Saint Valerian).

It was in 1599 that her tomb was re-opened. The artist, Stefano Maderno, attested to having found the Saint in this same position depicted, incorrupt and with coagulated blood.

Saint Cecilia is the patroness of my home diocese, Omaha, Nebraska. Please pray for the inhabitants of this diocese today! Saint Cecilia, pray for us!

Prayer over the People:

Let us pray.

Bow your heads to God.

O God, restorer and lover of innocence, direct the hearts of Your servants towards You, so that, filled with the fervor of Your spirit, they may be found steadfast in faith and rich in good works. Through Jesus Christ, thy Son our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end.

R. Amen.

Last year’s meditation by Saint Thomas Aquinas: Wednesday after the Second Sunday in Lent