Chiesa di S. Ninfa dei Crociferi
Although far from finished, the Church of S. Ninfa dei Crociferi opened on 30 December 1660.
Saint Ninfa (English: Nympha) was a virgin from Palermo, where she (most likely) lived in the early 3rd century.
One version of the legend tells that Ninfa was the daughter of Aurelian, the prefect of Palermo during the time of Emperor Constantine the Great (306–37; sole emperor from 324). Ninfa converted to Christianity, and a key factor in this decision was her meeting with Bishop Mamilian of Palermo and their conversations. Prefect Aurelian would do anything to pull his daughter away from the new religion, so he arrested Bishop Mamilian and two hundred other Christians. However, his attempts were in vain, and after the Christians endured torture, they were thrown into prison. Ninfa was with her new fellow believers. An angel freed them and led them to the sea, where they found a boat that took Mamilian and Nympha north to the island of Giglio off the coast of Tuscany, where they remained in prayer and solitude.
They were eager to visit Rome and the graves of the Apostles. After visiting the apostles’ graves, Mamilian died, and Ninfa buried him near Bucina. After about a year, Ninfa also died on November 10, 316, and was buried at a site where the remains of other martyrs were preserved (thus, she was believed to have died as a martyr). The Christians of the area called upon her during a drought, praying for her intercession for rain. The long-awaited miracle occurred, and the faithful began to honor her as a saint.
Another version of the legend, however, states that Ninfa lived in the 4th century, and when the Goths invaded Sicily, she fled to the Italian mainland and died a natural death in Savona, Tuscany, in the 5th century. Some believe there were two different saints—one a martyr and the other a confessor.
The earliest mention of Ninfa is from the 8th century, when it is noted in the biography of Pope Leo IV (847–55) that he donated a gift to the church of Santa Ninfa Martire, located in Porto near Rome. Her relics were kept alongside those of Saints Tryphon and Respicius in the hospital of Santo Spirito in Sassia, not far from St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. This hospital’s church was the titular church for a cardinal, but this title was transferred in 1566 to the church of Sant’Agostino by Pope Pius V, along with the relics of these three saints.
Later, her relics were placed in various churches in Rome, including San Trifone near Piazza Fiammetta (1113), San Crisogono (1123), and the cathedral in Palestrina in the province of Rome (1116). In 1098, Pope Urban II (1088–99) placed her head in the Roman church of Santa Maria in Monticelli.
On September 5, 1593, a silver casket containing Ninfa’s head arrived in Palermo, her birthplace. The relic was ceremoniously received by the city’s senate before being placed under an altar in Palermo Cathedral, where she had been honored at least since 1483. The altar was consecrated in 1598.
The transfer of the casket from the Roman church of Santa Maria in Monticelli to her hometown was made possible through the efforts of the Countess of Olivares in the Vatican.
Her cult spread to other Sicilian cities, and the town of Santa Ninfa in the province of Trapani in Sicily bears her name.
Before 1624, Palermo had four patron saints, one for each of the four main districts of the city. These were Saints Agatha of Catania (ca. 225–ca. 251) (maybe born in Palermo), Christina of Bolsena (d. ca. 304), Ninfa, and Olivia of Palermo. Their statues can be found on the four houses around the Quattro Canti square in the center of Palermo. After the plague of 1624, which disappeared the moment the relics of Saint Rosalia of Palermo (d. ca. 1166) were carried in procession, she was then lovingly called "Santuzza" by all the people of Palermo. At that point, Agatha, Nympha, Christina, and Oliva stepped aside to allow Rosalia to hold the undisputed title of "patron saint of Palermo."
In the Martyrologium Romanum, revised by the venerable Cardinal Cesare Baronius (1538–1607), Ninfa was listed alongside Tryphon and Respicius on November 10, but with no specific location, as was already the tradition in the Roman Church. This was repeated in later editions of the martyrology, including the 1748 edition commissioned by Pope Benedict XIV (1740–58) and the 1913 edition commissioned by Pope Pius X (1903–14). Ninfa, Tryphon, and Respicius shared a common feast day from the 10th century to the 20th century, but with the Vatican's revision of the calendar in 1969, their names were removed from the Church's universal calendar due to a lack of documentation and relegated to local calendars, such as in Palermo. Ninfa’s translation feast (the ceremonial removal of holy objects from one place to another) is celebrated in Palermo on August 19, as at least part of her relics came to the city.
Tryphon still appears in the Martyrologium Romanum (on February 1, not November 10), but Respicius and Ninfa have been removed.
In images, she is often shown next to Rosalia, who, unlike Ninfa, does not hold a martyr's palm.
Tomb (1772) in Chiesa di S. Ninfa dei Crociferi, Palermo (Sicilia).
Mary in front of a crucifix. Chiesa di S. Ninfa dei Crociferi, Palermo. ”Dei Crociferi” is indicating a connection to the Crucified Christ, possibly highlighting the church's association with the Passion of Christ or the religious order that managed it.
Calvary group made in stucco by Giacomo Serpotta in Chiesa di S. Ninfa dei Crociferi (Palermo). The Virgin, Saint John the Apostle, and Saint Mary Magdalene. A fresco landscape is seen in the background. The Crucifix Chapel contains the Marassi family’s crypt.
D. IOANNES BAPTISTA MARASSI BARO FONTIS SALSI PRO SE ET SVIS ANNO MDCXC (“D. Ioannes Baptista Marassi, Baron of Fontis Salsi, [had this made] for himself and his family, in the year 1690”).
St. Camillo de Lellis’ Chapel. The altar was made in 1742, made in wood and stucco. Gaspare Serenario made the painting that shows St. Camillo who ascends in Heaven. In the shrine is his funeral mask, as well as St. Camillo’s remains (part of his heart).
Sources
Donald Garstang: Giacomo Serpotta and the Stuccatori of Palermo 1560-1790 (London, 1984) p 251-252
Chiesa dell'Immacolata Concezione
Chiesa di S. Ninfa dei Crociferi
