Tuesday, last week in Lent
S. Prisca all'Aventino
(St. Priscilla of the Aventine Hill)
Built over an ancient temple of Mithras, this church is dedicated to a member of the earliest Christian family we know by name, Sts Prisca and Aquila. As the Bible introduces them to us:
'[In Corinth, Paul] found a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who arrived shortly before from Italy with his wife Priscilla, following the order of Claudius, who departed from Rome all the Jews. (Acts 18:2-3)
"Greet Prisca and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus to save my life they have risked their head, to whom not only I but all the churches of the Gentiles; greet also the community that meets in their house" .
(Paul's Letter to the Romans 16,3-5)
A convert and student of St. Paul's, Priscilla, who with her husband, Aquila, was a tent maker, was eventually martyred and is believed to be the same "Prisca" whose tomb can be found in the catacombs.
St. Prisca's is recorded as having been a titular church by the end of the fifth century, but was destroyed and rebuilt several times before it maintained the seventeenth century restoration we see today. Of note is a baptismal font preserved here that St. Peter is believed to have used.
You can find a gallery of pictures here and a short history here.
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