In the year 1220, Pope Honorius III invited St Dominic to take up residence at the ancient Roman basilica of St Sabina on the Aventine hill; the church was officially transferred to the Order of Preachers two years later, and has been run by them ever since. Within the convent next to the church is the cell of St Dominic, long since converted into a chapel; Fr Lawrence Lew recently discovered this postcard, which shows what it looked like in 1934.
The inscription on the marble banderole reads as follows: “Give heed, visitor; in this place the most holy men Dominic, Francis and Angelus the Carmelite pass the night in watching and divine conversations.” (The historical accuracy of this is debatable.)
Here is a recent photograph of the chapel by Father Lew himself; the roofbeams seen above the altar are original to St Dominic’s time.
The inscription on the marble banderole reads as follows: “Give heed, visitor; in this place the most holy men Dominic, Francis and Angelus the Carmelite pass the night in watching and divine conversations.” (The historical accuracy of this is debatable.)
Here is a recent photograph of the chapel by Father Lew himself; the roofbeams seen above the altar are original to St Dominic’s time.
