Photo: Wikimapia
– Anastasios
Rome is not only the story of Italian people, but it is also the story of the faith of people all over the world. And this faith becomes a concrete reality, as with the building of churches. One example is Nostra Signora di Gaudalupe e San Filippo in Via Aurelia, a minor Basilica that is given to the pastoral care of the congregation of the Legionaries of Christ.
We need to remember that in 1910, Pius X declared Our Lady of Guadalupe patroness of the Americas. Pius XII, some decades later, wanted a place of worship for migrant Mexicans and Latin Americans in Rome. The church was built between 1955 and 1958 and became a parish in 1960. John Paul II made this church a minor Basilica in 1991, with the apostolic letter Recentissima licet.
The architect in charge of the new church was Giovanni Mazzocca. Franco Leggeri, in Abitarea Roma, described this church: “The beautiful temple, modern and inspired by its own classicism, work of the Architect Giovanni Mazzocca. Our Lady of Guadalupe was born as a tribute from the noble Catholic Nation of Mexico to the Holy City, and as an act of faith and devotion to the Apostolic See, so as to offer all Mexicans traveling to Europe an opportunity to find in Rome their Patroness and Queen properly honored. The construction was promoted by Pius XII at the beginning of 1955. On 11 April of the same year, the first stone was taken from the hill of Mexico City where the famous Shrine of the ‘Reyna de México y Emperatriz de las Américas’ stands, before being placed, it was personally blessed by the Pope in a private ceremony in the Vatican. Numerous personalities were present at this event and among the top representatives were Cardinals Micara, Pizzardo, G. Cicognani, Canali, Piazza, Tedeschini and Cariaci. After three years, on October 12, 1958, the solemn consecration took place, it was performed by the Card. Josè Garbi y Rivera, Archbishop of Guadalajara. The day after the inauguration was also made particularly memorable by the participation of their Eminences Pizzardo, Tedeschini, Cicognani, Gonfalonieri and Carruba, with numerous other personalities. “The church is called ‘la biancona,’ that can be translated as ‘the very white one,’ for its color. It has some work of modern art inside, but it is quite classical in its feature, not to be compared with other churches built in modern times.”
We find this description on the church website: “Behind the altar in the apse, adorned with mosaic, the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe takes center stage. Surrounding the nave, in mosaic, you can find the images of Mary venerated by the different peoples of the Americas. Also in the nave, is the Via Crucis made by the artist Luigi Enzo Mattei, sculptor of the “Body of the man of the Holy Shroud.” Adjacent to the Church, are the different rooms used for catechesis as well as a small auditorium which can be used as a conference hall or small theatre and a turf mini-soccer field.” Luigi Enzo Mattei (1945), it is the author of several works of sacred art, including the Holy Door for the Papal Basilica of Saint Mary Major in Rome and the Holy Face, donated to Pope John Paul II.
In his apostolic visit to the sanctuary of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico in 1999, John Paul II has said: “O Mother! You know the paths followed by the first evangelizers of the New World, from Guanahani Island and Hispaniola to the Amazon forests and the Andean peaks, reaching to Tierra del Fuego in the south and to the Great Lakes and mountains of the north. Accompany the Church which is working in the Americas, so that she may always preach the Gospel and renew her missionary spirit. Encourage all who devote their lives to the cause of Jesus and the spread of his kingdom. O gentle Lady of Tepeyac, Mother of indigenous peoples and Afro-Americans, for immigrants and refugees, for the young deprived of opportunity, for the old, for those who suffer any kind of poverty or marginalization. I wish to entrust and offer the future of the continent to Blessed Mary, Mother of Christ and of the Church. For this reason, I have the joy now of announcing that what I have declared on 12 December, Our Lady of Guadalupe faith of our brothers and sisters, so that in all areas of social, professional, cultural and political life they may act in accordance with the truth and the new law which Jesus brought to humanity. Holy Virgin of Guadalupe, Queen of Peace! Save the nations and peoples of this continent. Teach everyone, political leaders and citizens, to live in true freedom and to act according to the requirements of justice and respect for human rights, so that peace may thus be established once and for all. To you, O Lady of Guadalupe, Mother of Jesus and our Mother, belong all the love, honor, glory and endless praise of your American sons and daughters!”
Pilgrims will also enjoy seeing this modern church on their visits to Rome, a church that still retains a certain degree of dignity and beauty.
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