Rzymskie uroczystości pogrzebowe Marii Klementyny Sobieskiej
Maria Klementyna Sobieska’s Funerary Ceremony in Rome

Author(s): Aleksandra Skrzypietz
Subject(s): Middle Ages, 6th to 12th Centuries, 13th to 14th Centuries, 15th Century, 16th Century, 17th Century, 18th Century
Published by: Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego
Keywords: queen; funeral; charity work; piety
Summary/Abstract: Maria Clementina Sobieska, the granddaughter of king Jan III, the daughter of his oldest son Jakub, and Elżbieta con Pfalz-Neuburg, was the heiress to her grandfather’s achievements and a relative of many European rulers. She married James Stuart, whom she bore two sons, Charles Edward and Henry Benedict. It was hoped that they would regain the British throne for the Stuarts. When her husband deprived her of the right to take care of the children and visit them, Maria Clementina left his court and devoted herself to religious practices and charity work. Young, very popular in Rome and deeply respected by the popes, she died in 1735. Shortly after her death, her beatification process started, during which the witnesses spoke about the last moments of the queen. The papal court decided to organise a solemn funeral. Her heart was buried in the Church of the Twelve Holy Apostles and her body in Saint Peter’s Basilica, where a magnificent tomb was erected. A funeral mass, commemorated with a special brochure, was also celebrated in Fano. Numerous members of the clergy as well as many ordinary people participated in the ceremonies, remembering the deceased with sorrow. The preachers presented her descent and deeds, which was undoubtedly meant to maintain Stuarts’ vanishing fame and their claims to the lost throne.

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