Inside the basilica of San Clemente the remains of Pope Saint Clement (the third successor of Saint. Peter), Saint Ignatius of Antioch and Saint Cyril (the apostle of the Slavs) are still preserved today.
Saint Cyril and his brother Saint Methodius, originally from Thessalonica, evangelized Moravia in 863 (for which they are particularly revered in the Czech Republic) and contributed to the development of Slavic literature. Saint Cyril during a previous mission in Crimea had found the relics of Saint Clement. In 867, after having translated the Slavic liturgical texts, the two brothers arrived in Rome asking for the approval of Pope Hadrian II.
Immediately afterwards, Saint Cyril fell ill but still decided to enter the monastery of Greek monks at the Basilica of Santa Prassede where he died in 869, at the age of 42. Methodius managed to obtain permission to bury the remains of Cyril at the Basilica of San Clemente, so that his brother could rest next to Pope Clement whose relics he had brought to Rome.
The current church, built in the 12th century, has been in the care and administration of the Irish Dominicans since 1677. In 1857, the prior, Fr Joseph Mulloly, carried out excavation works which brought to light the ancient Basilica of San Clemente from the 4th century and another lower level still, which contained buildings from the 1st century.
