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Basilica of San Clemente

Saints & Tombs Not Applicable
Rome, Italy 4th century Feast day: November 23

A church holding relics of St. Clement of Rome.

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The Story

The Basilica of San Clemente, a short walk from the Colosseum in Rome, is one of the most remarkable churches in Christendom: a twelfth-century basilica built above a fourth-century basilica, which in turn rests on first-century Roman buildings, including a pagan temple of Mithras. Few places allow pilgrims to descend so literally through the layers of Christian history. The church is dedicated to Pope St. Clement I, the third successor of St. Peter, who led the Church of Rome at the end of the first century. His Letter to the Corinthians, written around the year 96, is among the earliest and most precious Christian documents outside the New Testament, an enduring witness to the authority of the Roman Church in the apostolic age. According to the traditional account, Clement was exiled to the Crimea under the Emperor Trajan and martyred by being cast into the sea with an anchor. Tradition holds that his relics were recovered and brought back to Rome in the ninth century by St. Cyril, the apostle of the Slavs, who was himself buried in San Clemente — his tomb remains a place of devotion, especially for Slavic pilgrims. The basilica's high altar preserves the relics of St. Clement together with those of St. Ignatius of Antioch, the great bishop-martyr who, according to the traditional account, was killed by beasts in the nearby Colosseum around the year 107. Served by the Irish Dominicans since 1667, San Clemente draws pilgrims to its glittering twelfth-century apse mosaic of the Cross as the Tree of Life, its ancient frescoes, and its excavated lower levels. The feast of St. Clement is celebrated on November 23.

Church Recognition

San Clemente is a minor basilica and one of Rome's ancient titular churches; the relics of Pope St. Clement I and St. Ignatius of Antioch are venerated at its high altar, and both martyrs are honored on the General Roman Calendar.

Catholic Teaching

San Clemente bears witness to apostolic succession — Clement being among the first successors of Peter (CCC 861–862) — and to martyrdom as the supreme testimony of faith (CCC 2473), while its layered history embodies the continuity of the Church from the apostolic age.

Plan Your Visit

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Practical

Additional Information

Pilgrims visit the medieval basilica with its celebrated apse mosaic, the tomb of St. Cyril, and the excavations beneath, descending through the fourth-century church to the Roman levels below. The basilica, near the Colosseum and the Lateran, is open to visitors, with the feast of St. Clement on November 23.

Go Deeper

The official website of the Basilica di San Clemente (https://basilicasanclemente.com), maintained by the Irish Dominicans, covers the church and excavations. Read St. Clement's Letter to the Corinthians, and see the Catechism on apostolic succession (CCC 861–862).

Location

Visit the official website ↗ See it on the interactive map →

In the Area

Other sacred sites within 40 miles.