The Scala Santa, Rome

Under the portico on the north side of St. John's Lateran is the Scala Santa or holy stairway. This is supposed to be the stairway from the house or tribune of Pilate which our Lord descended to go to Calvary. It was brought from Jerusalem by Helena, mother of Constantine, and has been held in special reverence, by the Roman Catholic Church, for 1500 years. No foot must touch the Scala Santa, penitents must make the ascent of these 28 steps on their knees. Clement XII. had the marble steps, which were being worn by the knees of the faithful, covered with wood, which has been three times renewed. There are apertures left through which the marble steps can be seen; and there is a stairway on either side for the descent. At the top is a chapel held so sacred that only the Pope can officiate at its altar, and is never open to others except on Palm Sunday, when the canons of the Lateran come here for solemn worship. The origin of this sanctuary is lost in antiquity, but it is known to have been the private chapel of the mediaeval popes and to have existed (dedicated to St. Laurence) in 578. Pelagius I. deposited here some relics of St. Andrew and St. Luke. It is permitted the laity to gaze through a grating upon the picturesque glories of the interior. The altar, in a recess, is supported by two porphyry columns; above it is a beautiful tabernacle presented by Innocent III. (1198--1216) to contain the great relic which gives the chapel its sanctity, a portrait of our Saviour as a child of 12 years old. This is the famous "Achier-o-top-e-ton." It was placed here by Stephen III. in 752, and is held by the Roman Church to be authentic. It was begun by St. Luke and finished by an angel, hence its name, Achierotopeton, or the "picture made without hands." Various theories as to how it reached this city are stated by Maroni. The apostles and the Madonna meeting after the Ascension resolved to order a portrait of the Saviour to satisfy the desires of the faithful, and gave the commission to St. Luke. After three days of prayer and fasting he drew the outline, but before he had commenced to color it the tints were found to have been filled in by invisible hands. This picture was brought from Jerusalem by Titus among the spoils of the temple, or else it came from Constantinople by a miraculous voyage of twenty-four hours, to escape falling into the hands of the Iconoclasts, about 720. Pope Gregory II. was apprised of its arrival at the mouth of the Tiber and went in person, with due escort, to carry it to Rome, since which time it has remained in the Santa Sanctorium. On the ceiling of his chapel is a grand mosaic of the 8th century. Other relics of high order are preserved here, as the sandals of our Lord, a fragment of the Cross, etc. The sill in front of the screen is covered with money thrown in as an offering by pilgrims. On the Feast of the Assumption, the Achierotopeton was borne in triumph through the streets of Rome, halting in front of the Forum, where the feet of the Pope were washed in perfumed water, and the "Kyrie Eleison" was chanted one hundred times. This custom was abolished by Pope Pius V. in 1566.