The Church of Santo Stefano in Selci, located in Lazio, is an ancient building whose origins date back to the 11th century. Rebuilt in 1945, the church has a gabled form and is characterized by a white-painted, plastered facade.
Church of Santo Stefano
Location
Via del Colle, 14
02040 – Selci (RI)
Opening Hours.
Open during church services
The Church of Santo Stefano in Selci, located in Lazio, is an ancient building whose origins date back to the 11th century. Rebuilt in 1945, the church has a gabled form and is characterized by a white-painted, plastered facade.
The church of S. Stefano stands on a small hill along the main road in a suburban location. Among Selci’s churches, that of St. Stephen is considered the oldest. The modestly sized building dates back to the 11th century.
A popular legend has it that at a time marked by a severe epidemic in the region, a man from Aspra Sabina (today’s Casperia), a particularly hard-hit place, made his way to Selci. Stricken by the plague and probably seeking help, the man reached the place where the church stands today, and there the protomartyr Stephen (considered the first Christian to die to witness his faith in Christ and spread the Gospel) appeared to him. According to legend, St. Stephen persuaded him to turn back to avoid spreading the contagion among the inhabitants of Selci. In another version of the story, the saint allegedly gave the man the wrong direction, diverting him to the Sabine mountains. Thanks to this miraculous intervention, Selci remained immune from the epidemic.
From that moment, the people of Selci chose St. Stephen as their Heavenly Protector, building a church in his honor on the spot where the apparition would have occurred. The feast day dedicated to St. Stephen was set for August 3, a favorable date for a successful agricultural season, since the harvest was now over. This day celebrates the “invention” (i.e., the finding, from the Latin “invenio”) of the saint’s relics. It is also said that for a time, the church of St. Stephen served as the main seat of the parish of Selci, as evidenced by several sources, before the 14th century.