The Augustinian Contemplative Nuns at Santi Quattro Coronati (the Basilica of the Four Holy Crowned Ones) in Rome sing prayers and read from Holy Scripture.

The nuns live in this beautiful and historic basilica dedicated to the Four Holy Crowned Martyrs (Santi Quattro Coronati) on the Caelian Hill, a short distance from the Basilica of Saint John Lateran and from the Roman Coliseum. The monastic community has lived in the complex since 1564, which at one time was a cardinal's palace as well as a fortress that defended the ancient residence of the popes at Saint John Lateran (prior to the building of the Vatican).

This basilica was constructed to house the relics of brother and sister martyrs who, by accepting the Gospel, gave their lives for Christ and His spouse, the Church, in the nearby Coliseum and elsewhere on the Caelian Hill.

The nuns are daughters of the great convert from Hippo Regius in Africa, Saint Augustine, (354-430 A.D.) Bishop and Doctor of the Church. At the time of his death, St. Augustine left behind monasteries filled with monks and nuns who, from the 400s until today, have kept his heart alive within the Church.

Once converted to God, St. Augustine produced profound writings such as Confessions; On Christian Doctrine; On the Trinity; and The City of God. He preached 6,000- 10,000 sermons, up to an hour long each, of which over 500 exist to this day. He also gave life to a form of monasticism which takes as its model the first community of apostles in Jerusalem, brothers and sisters who, in imitation of Christ's first disciples, search together for the face of God, through a life of sincere friendship, in constant meditation on the Word of God, in praise, in passionate love for the Church and for humanity.

The daughters of St. Augustine, live in this basilica at the heart of the city of Rome where art itself sings of divine and human beauty in order to tell everyone how beautiful it is to live for God alone and that it is worth the sacrifice to give one's life for Him, a Father who has begotten us and who loves us, and who cries out, as He did 1600 years ago to Augustine, 'clothe yourself anew in Christ (in love), return to your heart, there you shall find a space for life - an inhabitable space of great depth - where man is revealed to himself - a space for true encounters.

You may email the sisters with your prayers at: [email protected]

At the monastery, every Friday of Lent, the Compline is said, followed by the Way of the Cross.

Nine martyrs are specifically associated with the Basilica of the Four Holy Crowned Ones in Rome.

When the Emperor Diocletian was in Pannonia, a Roman province in central Europe, he ordered some local stonemasons to carve an image of Asclepius, a pagan god of healing. The four craftsmen assigned this task – Claudius, Castorius, Sempronianus and Nicostratus – were secretly Christians. Most likely in obedience to the Second Commandment, which forbade the making of 'any graven image', the men refused to carry out this assignment. Along with a 5th craftsman – Simplicius – they were punished by being fastened into lead coffins and cast into a river. In one version of the story, the uncooperative stonemasons were beaten with scorpions before being drowned. Their remains were then collected and kept by fellow Christians.

In Rome, Diocletian ordered the building of a temple to Asclepius. When it was completed, the Roman army was ordered to offer incense before the image of Asclepius. Four Christian soldiers – Severus, Severianus, Carpophorus and Victorinus – refused to perform this rite and were scourged to death with lead weights.

Pope Melchiades, who was Pope between 311 and 314, is said to have dedicated the Basilica of the Four Holy Crowned Ones in Rome to these 4 Christian soldiers. Five centuries later, their relics, along with those of the Christian stonemasons, were bought to this church.

The formal address of the Basilica is:
Monache Agostiniane Santi Quattro Coronati
via dei Santi Quattro, 20 – 00184 ROMA