Nostra Signora di Guadalupe e San Filippo Martire, Minor basilica and parish church in Aurelio, Rome, Italy
Nostra Signora di Guadalupe e San Filippo Martire is a church, not a chapel, built 1955–1958 to Gianni Mazzocca's design. Its facade has a neo-Romanesque profile with a tripartite portal of three parabolic arches and an octagonal rose window; smooth surfaces are given movement by travertine lozenges set alternately in rows and diagonals. Inside, three naves are divided by slender pillars carrying reinforced concrete beams that bend at the elbow instead of capitals, and the apse frames a mosaic of Our Lady of Guadalupe ringed by seven stars, with the tabernacle at the base.
Built between 1955 and 1958 to the design of architect Gianni Mazzocca, the church served Rome's Mexican community and was consecrated by Cardinal Vicar Clemente Micara on 12 December 1958. A parish followed by Micara's decree of 22 September 1960, entrusted to the Legion of Christ, who own and serve the church. Pope John Paul II raised it to minor basilica on 15 January 1991 and made it Mexico's national church and a titular church on 28 June 1991.
The church is Mexico's national church in Rome, owned and served by the Legion of Christ, which also runs the parish erected in 1960. Its second patron is Saint Philip of Jesus, born Felipe de las Casas in Mexico City in 1572 and executed in Nagasaki on 5 February 1597; he was the first Mexican-born saint canonized, hence called Mexico's protomartyr.
The church stands on Via Aurelia in the Aurelio suburb, southwest of the historic centre, and is reached by the Via Aurelia road. It is Mexico's national church in Rome, so Mexican visitors often come here for Mass and feast-day celebrations. The building is a working parish church owned by the Legion of Christ, so check locally for opening times before travelling.
The apse mosaic shows seven stars arranged in a ray around the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe, with the tabernacle set at the base of the rays. The church is also the seat of a cardinal title created by Pope John Paul II on 28 June 1991; its first Cardinal Priest was Juan Jesús Posadas Ocampo, who held the title until his death in 1993.
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