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Anchor 1 ▼ Byzantine Doors Artist: Staurachius Date: 1070 • ▼

Anchor 1 ▶ ◀ St. Agnes Aedicule

Anchor 1 ▼ Chapel of St. Francis Xavier • This is the right forearm of St. Francis Xavier which he used to baptize while on his missionary journeys. It was placed here in 1614 ▲

Anchor 1 ▼ Chapel of the Relics • Various relics can be found in this chapel. It is also the sacrasty

Anchor 1 ▼ Altar of St. Francis of Assisi Artist: Girolamo Muziano Date: • The painting is St. Francis of Assisi

Anchor 1 S. Balbina •

Anchor 1 ▼ ▶ Chapel of the Dormition of Our Lady

Anchor 1 ▼ ▶ ◀ Right Aisle

Anchor 1 ▼ Second Courtyard • The painting has the Quattro Coronati above, with Augustinian nuns, on the left, and orphan girls, on the right, asking for their prayers • Augustinian nuns were given the church in 1560 by Pope Pius IV and still reside here today. Their original work was to help orphans

Anchor 1 ▼ ▲ ▶ ◀ Colonna Chapel Artist: Lazzaro Baldi Date: 1668 • The painting over the altar is St. Rose of Lima • St. Rose of Lima (1586-1617) is the patron saint of the Americas • During the canonization ceremony of St. Rose of Lima in 1671, this painting was displayed in St. Peter's Basililca ▶

Anchor 1 St. Lawrence Chapel & St. Benedict Chapel ▲ ▶ ◀

Anchor 1 ▼ ◀ ▶ Bust of Innocent XII Artist: Giuseppe Mazzuoli • Innocent XII was Pope from 1676-1689

Anchor 1 ▼ ▲ ▶ ◀ Right Transept

Anchor 1 Right Transept ▲ ▶ ◀

Anchor 1 ▼ St. Helena Artist: Andrea Bolgi Date: 1630-1639 • The statue is St. Helena. St. Helena was the mother of Constantine who legalized Christianity in 313. St. Helena traveled to Jerusalem in order to find the cross that Jesus was crucified on • Each of the four piers are dedicated to an important relic that is housed in the balcony area above each statue. The statues are all 16 feet 6 inches high. The relic for this pier is the true cross of St. Helena. The piece of the cross was given to St. Peter's by Pope Urban VIII (1623-1644)

Anchor 1 ▼ SS. Nereo e Achilleo •

Anchor 1 ▼ ▲ ▶ ◀ St. Joseph in the Holy Land Chapel Artist: Francesco Cozza Date: • The painting is Adoration of the Magi

Anchor 1 ◀ ▼ ▶ Right Aisle

Anchor 1 ▼ ▶ S. Paolo fuori le Mura • The memorial shrine over the tomb of St. Paul was replaced on November 18, 324 by a small basilica built by Emperor Constantine. Around this time Paul's body was moved into a bronze sarcophagus • Because of the number of visitors a larger basilica was needed so in 386 Emperor Valentinian II (375-392) made plans for a new building. Emperor Theodosius (379-395) began the project and Emperor Honorius (395-423) completed it in 395. Galla Placidia, sister of Honorius, financed the triumphal arch and the inscription on it records the event. The basilica was consecrated in 390 by Pope Siricius. Over the years it became greatly embellished • The basilica was pillaged in the 700s by the Lombards and in the 800s by the Saracens. Pope John VIII (872-882) thus surrounded it in 883 with a walled town called Johannipolis which lasted until 1348 when it was destroyed by an earthquake • In the late hours of July 15, 1823 the church burst into flame and was mostly destroyed. Workers had been fixing the roof and may have inadvertently dropped a coal. Pope Pius VII (1800-1823) was near death at the time and was not told of the disaster. Pope Leo XII (1823-1829) was elected and wrote Ad plurimas to encourage the world to donate to the rebuilding. Architect Pasquale Belli and, later, Luigi Poletti rebuilt the basilica as similar to possible to the 4th century church. Pope Gregory XVI (1831-1846) consecrated the transept on October 5, 1840. The construction was completed in 1854 and consecrated by Pope Pius IX (1846-1878) on December 10, 1854 with bishops and cardinals from around the world • On April 23, 1821 a nearby gunpowder explosion destroyed the stained glass windows. King Faud I of Egypt donated the current alabaster panes ◀

Anchor 1 ▼ S. Sebastiano •