San Benedetto, Parish church in Ostiense district, Rome, Italy.
San Benedetto is a brick church on Via del Gazometro in Rome's Ostiense district, built 1916–1925. Its two-tier facade has a pillared entrance portico inscribed with the Benedictine motto «Obsculta o fili praecepta magistri: ora et labora»; above is an oval window with a cross, fish, christogram, dove and pastoral staff, and the coat of arms of Pope Pius XII. Inside is a single nave with a right-hand aisle and four chapels on the left.
Pope Pius X planned a church near the Ostiense gasometer in 1912 but died before work began; his successor Benedict XV started it, and the church is named for him. A wooden shack served as the church from 1916, and only pillars and roof stood at Benedict XV's death. It was completed in 1925 under Pius XI and made a parish on 3 June 1926. Don Giovanni Gregorucci hid Jews here during the Holocaust, and the building was damaged in 1944.
The church is the seat of the cardinal title of San Benedetto fuori Porta San Paolo, created by John Paul II on 28 June 1988; its first holder was Achille Silvestrini, and Christophe Pierre has held it since 2023. A plaque in the entrance atrium records the 1988 decree, and another at the back of the church recalls John Paul II's visit of 14 February 1988.
The church is located at Via del Gazometro 23 and holds regular services throughout the week. Visitors should check opening times in advance to plan their visit appropriately.
Don Giovanni Gregorucci hid Jews in the church during the Holocaust, and the building was damaged in 1944 during the Liberation of Rome. A plaque at the back records John Paul II's visit of 14 February 1988, and another in the Marian chapel marks the 28 June 1988 decree making it a cardinal deaconry.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 92,619 contributors worldwide.