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Church of the Bones in Rome: 12 Interesting Facts
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“Church of the Bones” is a nickname for a real church in Rome called: Santa Maria della Concezione dei Cappuccini.
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Location: Via Vittorio Veneto 27, Rome
Metro: Metro stop Barberini (Line A)
Cost: Capuchin Crypt tickets 8.50 euros, children 5 euros
Open: Daily from 9:00 am to 7:00 pm, except holidays
Official website: https://museoecriptacappuccini.it
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12 Interesting Facts about Church of the Bones in Rome
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1 – Santa Maria della Concezione dei Cappuccini, or Our Lady of the Conception of the Capuchins, is a church in Rome, Italy.
It was commissioned in 1626 by Pope Urban VIII.
It is located at Via Veneto, close to Piazza Barberini.
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2– The church was designed by Antonio Cassoni and built between 1626 and 1631. The church contains the body of St. Felix of Cantalice and the tomb of the Saint Crispin of Viterbo.
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3– There is a burial crypt for Capuchin brothers located under the church.
In 1631, Cardinal Antonio Barberini, brother of Pope Urban VIII and a member of the Capuchin order, ordered the remains of thousands of Capuchin friars exhumed from the Via dei Lucchesi Monastery and transferred to the crypt under this church in Rome.
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5 –Fr. Michael of Bergamo oversaw the arrangement of the bones in the burial crypt. The soil in the crypt was brought from Jerusalem by order of Pope Urban VIII.
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4 – The bones are arranged along the walls, ceilings and floors in a macabre style forming art and symbols that many tourists come to Rome to see.
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6 – The moderately lit crypt consists of 5 chapels, each is decorated with bones, skulls and sometimes even complete skeletons.
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7 – After the initial transfer of bones, the Capuchin brothers also began to make their own bodies available for use in the crypts. The crypt now houses the remains of about 3,600 brothers buried between 1528 and 1870.
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8 – There is one boneless chapel with an altar in the crypt.
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9 -The tour ends in the last chapel with the special message ‘Quello che voi siete noi eravamo, quello che noi siamo voi sarete’ (translated “Exactly what you are now, we once were, what we are now, will become you.”)
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10 – The crypts under Church of the Bones in Rome opened to the public in 1851.
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11 – The famous painting: Archangel Michael Tramples Satan by Guido Reni hangs in this church also (upstairs, not in the crypt). It is the most famous depiction of Saint Michael the Archangel.
In 1630, the Archangel Michael painting was commissioned by Cardinal Barberini, a member of one the 2 most important noble families of Rome at the time. The painting was commissioned to be placed the altar in the Santa Maria della Concezione and is still there to this day.
https://www.liveonegoodlife.com/2020/archangel-michael-by-reni/
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12 – There is also a painting by Caravaggio, “St. Francis in Meditation” in the church. In it, St. Francis places a skull at the foot of a cross and meditates on the death of Jesus. (Read more at: https://rome.us/churches/capuchin-crypt.html)
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Prayer to St Michael
St. Michael the Archangel,
defend us in battle,
be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil.
May God rebuke him we humbly pray;
and do thou, O Prince of the Heavenly host, by the power of God,
cast into hell Satan and all the evil spirits who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls.
Amen.
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References for Archangel Michael by Reni
https://aleteia.org/2017/09/08/when-st-michael-crushed-a-very-pope-ish-looking-devil/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_(archangel)
“Church of the Bones in Rome”
