Saint Andrew of the Scots
Chiesa di Sant'Andrea degli Scozzesi
Location	Rome
Address	Via delle Quattro Fontane, 171
Country	Italy
Previous denomination	Roman Catholic
History
Status	Former National Church
Founded	1592
Dedication	Andrew the Apostle
Architecture
Functional status	Deconsecrated: 1 June 2004
Style	Baroque

Sant' Andrea degli Scozzesi (English: St Andrew of the Scots) is a former Catholic church in Rome, near Piazza Barberini on Via delle Quattro Fontane. Once a haven for Scottish Catholics in Rome and chapel of the Pontifical Scots College, it was deconsecrated in 2004 and still stands.

History

The Scottish National Church had been Sant'Andrea delle Fratte until Scotland became Protestant, when in 1585 Pope Sixtus V assigned it to the Minim friars of Saint Francis of Paola. The Scots College, the seminary for young men studying for the priesthood, was located nearby, on the Via del Tritone.^[1]

Around 1592 Pope Clement VIII purchased the palace of Florentine Cosmo in order to build the church of S.Andrea e S.Margherita regina. It was constructed for the Scottish expatriate community in Rome, especially for those intended for priesthood.^[2] It served as the chapel for the Pontificio Collegio Scozzese which relocated from a small house on the Via del Tritone.^[3]

The adjoining hospice was a shelter for Catholic Scots who escaped their country because of religious persecution. In 1615, Pope Paul V gave the hospice and the nearby Scots College to the Jesuits. It was rebuilt in 1645 and formally dedicated to Saint Andrew alone. They became more important when James Francis Edward Stuart, the Old Pretender, set his residence in Rome in 1717. At the Suppression of the Society of Jesus in 1773, the church came under the administration of the Italian secular clergy and was closed during the French occupation of Rome in the late 18th century. In 1820, religious activity was resumed, but under the charge of Scottish secular clergy. The adjacent college was reconstructed in 1869 by Luigi Poletti. In 1959 Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother visited the church.

The college was abandoned in 1962 for more suitable premises and was incorporated into a bank (Cassa di Risparmio delle Province Lombarde), and later by a law firm. A proviso was made that the church would remain accessible to staff and students of the Scots College however the church was formally deconsecrated by decree of the Cardinal Vicar of Rome on 1 June 2004.

Interior

The simple two-storied Baroque façade is only decorated with the cross and two fishes of Saint Andrew, the patron saint of Scotland, and the inscription Sancto Andreae Apostolo Scotorum Patrono (To St Andrew, Apostle [and] Patron of the Scots). The façade of the adjacent former Scottish Seminary is still decorated with the coat of arms and motto of the country in addition to busts of notable Scottish Catholics.

The interior of the church was left intact from 1962 until 2004 when the removable art works from the church were taken to the new college on the Via Cassia.

On the right wall of the church immediately inside the main entrance is a white marble monument to John Stewart, only son of Sir James Stewart, Bt., (called "Earl of Bute") by his second wife Christian Dundas.

The church is aisleless with two side chapels and barrel-vaulted ceiling. In the centre of the ceiling is a 16th-century fresco of St Andrew in Glory by Guillaume Courtois.

The high altar was made in the 17th century. The altarpiece from the 18th century is by Scottish painter Gavin Hamilton, and depicts the Martyrdom of St Andrew.^[4] There is also an Enthroned Madonna with Sts Columba and Ninian by Alexander Maximilian Seitz. The paintings were moved to the new Scots College.

On both sides of the sanctuary there are hinged grates covering openings into tribunes where members of the exiled royal family would sit when they attended Mass.

See also

• St Andrew's Church, Rome (Church of Scotland)
• The Scots College (Rome)

References

External links