Denmark - Santa Maria in Traspontina

The link between the Church of Santa Maria in Traspontina and Denmark dates back to the year 1600, when a Danish convert, Christian Payngk, convinced Pope Urban VIII to allow him to build a chapel dedicated to the Danish patron, Saint Canute, King of Denmark in the 11th century.

The church was inaugurated a short time later, on 7^th January 1640, in the presence of the College of Cardinals, and a fund established to pay for solemn Masses to be celebrated each year on 19^th January, the saint’s feast day.

Later, after a long period in which the church fell into decline, with no funds to maintain it, a movement to restore devotion to the saint led the Danish state to take on the responsibility for restoration work in 1900.

In 1920, King Christian X and Queen Alexandrine visited the church, where they laid a wreath of flowers in de colours of Denmark on the altar of Saint Canute in the side chapel. They offered the church 24 benches and a beautiful confessional, which is standing in the choir. It bears the inscription Christianus X Rex Danorum – Regina Alexandrine XV. XII. MCMXX. To this day, it is possible for Danish Catholics to hold funerals at the church.