Santa Maria del Rosario di Pompei, Catholic church in Castro Pretorio, Rome, Italy
Santa Maria del Rosario di Pompei is a church in Rome with a brick exterior and a facade inscribed "Almae SS. Rosarii Reginae" and "Divae Virgini Sacra". Its interior has a single nave under a lunetted barrel vault ending in a semicircular apse, with three chapels on each side. The apse holds a bronze crucifix by Louis Laumen and a fresco by L. Sacco.
Built between 1889 and 1898 to a design by Pio Piacentini, the church was attached to the provincial curia of the Marist Fathers and an international student residence. It was closed in 2006, then bought by a group of Australian dioceses and restored in 2009-2011 as part of the Domus Australia guest house. Its altar was reconsecrated on 16 October 2011 by Cardinal George Pell, and the dedication was extended to Saint Peter Chanel.
The church was closed in 2006 and later became the chapel of Domus Australia, a guest house opened in 2011 for Australian pilgrims. Its dedication was then extended to Saint Peter Chanel, the first martyr of Oceania. In the side chapels hang paintings by Sydney artist Paul Newton showing saints linked to Australia, Oceania and the Far East, among them Mary MacKillop and the imprisoned François-Xavier Nguyên Van Thuân.
The church is now the chapel of Domus Australia, the pilgrim guest house opened in 2011 on via Cernaia in Castro Pretorio. Access follows the guest house, so visitors should check with reception before entering; modest dress is expected in the chapel.
The church's side chapels hold paintings by Sydney artist Paul Newton, installed during the 2009-2011 restoration. They depict figures tied to Australia and Oceania, among them Mary MacKillop, the first Australian saint, and Peter Chanel, the French missionary and first martyr of Oceania, to whom the chapel was rededicated.
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