– Anastasios
One of the most interesting things about certain churches in Rome is that they were built on sites where there was a preexisting pagan temple or a building from the Roman empire. So, there is the idea of the new worship that substitutes the old one, but also the idea of completion, what was seen only vaguely, thanks to Christianity that can be seen in its fullness, because of the revelation of God in Jesus Christ.
In the case of the Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the building held two structures from imperial times: the thermal baths of Diocletian and the Castra praetoria, the barracks of the imperial guards (we take some of this information from the well detailed website of the church). During medieval times these places were abandoned in the wilderness but during the Renaissance period there stood at this place the mansion of the Montalto-Peretti family, commissioned by Cardinal Felice Peretti who later will become Pope Sixtus V.
At the end of this century this place was given to the Jesuits, who in memory of the region of China evangelised by them around that very time, called it “Macao.” In the 19th century, this place was the object of great attention by Pope Pius IX. A train station was built here, that still stands today the most important train station in Rome called Stazione Termini.
Pius IX wanted to build a church dedicated to Saint Joseph , because this area was starting to be urbanized. But he was not able to fulfill this project. Someone suggested that he entrust the project to a north Italian priest, Giovanni Bosco, and he did.
San Giovanni Bosco undertook the project and finally completed it after facing a lot of difficulties. The new church was consecrated on May 14, 1887. On that occasion, San Giovanni Bosco made his last trip to Rome. He was already old, but certainly happy for what he was able to accomplish, thanks to his courage and constancy in continuing the project even when the money was lacking.
On May 16, San Giovanni Bosco celebrated Mass at the church, that was the only time that he had celebrated Mass here. According to the chronicles, he cried about fifteen times during the liturgy because of a vision he had seen.
Even today it is possible to visit the rooms where San Giovannu Bosco was staying. Let us remember that the Salesians, the congregation of Don Bosco, is in charge of the Basilica that also serves as a parish. In 1921, Pope Benedict XV declared the church a minor Basilica.
The neoclassical temple was built following the project of architect Count Francesco Vespignani (1842-1899), inspired by a neoclassical and Renaissance style. The church also has a monumental pipe organ, inaugurated on the occasion of the consecration of the church.
Of course in this Basilica, the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus is very strong, and not only in name. On the solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in 2009, Pope Benedict XVI had said: “The heart of God burns with compassion! In today’s solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the Church presents us this mystery for our contemplation: the mystery of the heart of God who feels compassion and who bestows all his love upon humanity. A mysterious love, which in the texts of the New Testament is revealed to us as God’s boundless and passionate love for mankind. God does not lose heart in the face of ingratitude or rejection by the people he has chosen; rather, with infinite mercy he sends his only-begotten Son into the world to take upon himself the fate of a shattered love, so that by defeating the power of evil and death he could restore human beings enslaved by sin to their dignity as sons and daughters. But this took place at a great cost—the only-begotten Son of the Father was sacrificed on the Cross: “Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end” (cf. Jn 13:1). The symbol of this love which transcends death is his side, pierced by a spear. The Apostle John, an eyewitness, tells us: “One of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water” (cf. Jn 19:34).” This temple near the train station in Rome is a reminder for us of the importance of this devotion.
(Photo from Wikipedia)
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