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St. Olympias
Born - 361
Died - 25 July 408 at Nicomedia
Feastday
- 25 July (previous 17 December)
Statue
Installed - 1667-1668
Sculptor
- Giovanni Maria De Rossi
There are similarities with
other sculptures in this area (8, 12, 13, 15, 16, 30, 38) that
allow attribution to De Rossi.
Height
- 3.1 m. (10ft 4in) travertine
The saint is dressed in
classical robes with her left hand raised.
She was
a noble
widow of Constantinople who was a friend of St John
Chrysostom. Her charitable works include building a hospital
and orphanage attached to the church of St Sofia. Her support
for John Chrysostom led to her being exiled from
Constantinople in 404.
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Sources:
Roma Sacra - San Pietro in Vaticano, Itineraries 21-22, ©Fabbrica
of St. Peter's, July 2001
Le Statue Berniniani del Colonnato di San Pietro by Valentino
Martinelli ©1987 by de Luca
Editore
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Contact:
stpetersbasilica@gmail.com
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