A Guide to St Peter's Basilica

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Statue of St Helena

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St Helena

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The statue of St Helena (1630-39) was carved by Andrea Bolgi (1605-56). It is signed and dated on the neck of her garment: ANDREAS BOLGIVS CARRARIENSIS F 1639 (Andrea Bolgi from Carrara made it in 1639). 

St Helena was the mother of Constantine the Great (r. 306-337), the first Roman emperor to convert to Christianity. Helena converted before her son and went on to build churches in Rome and beyond. Legend has it that on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, St Helena discovered the True Cross of Christ.

Statue of St Helena, signed and dated by Andrea Bolgi

Above the statue of St Helena is a loggia, one of the four Bernini designed to hold the Basilica's sacred relics. Each loggia is adorned with two ancient columns decorated with vine leaves, which were once part of the old basilica. The back walls bear bas-reliefs illustrating each of the relics. St Peter's houses several fragments of what purport to be the True Cross.  

The inscription reads: PARTEM CRVCIS QVAM HELENA IMPERATRIX E CALVARIO IN VRBEM AVEXIT / VRBANVS VIII PONT MAX E SESSORIANA BASILICA DESVMPTAM / ADDITIS ARA ET STATVA / HIC IN VATICANO CONDITORIO COLLOCAVIT (Urban VIII, Pontifex Maximus, took from the Sessorian Basilica and deposited here in the Vatican reliquary, with the addition of an altar and statue, the portion of the Cross that the Empress Helena brought from Calvary to the City).  

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