Chiesa di Santa Maria Immacolata di Lourdes, Catholic church in Aurelio district, Rome, Italy.
Chiesa di Santa Maria Immacolata di Lourdes is a Catholic church in the Aurelio district of Rome with straightforward modern design. The interior is supported by four black marble pillars that frame a large open nave, while pink granite flooring covers the entire floor throughout.
The church was built between 1958 and 1965, with its consecration on February 11, 1965, marking the anniversary of the first Marian apparition at Lourdes. The building project came during the postwar period when Rome was constructing new parish churches for expanding neighborhoods.
The eight side windows depict Teresa of Lisieux, Pius X, Louis of France, Margaret Mary Alacoque, Ignatius of Loyola, Aloysius Gonzaga, Joan of Arc and Michael the Archangel. The church is also a titular church, assigned in 1985; its cardinal-priests have included Juan Francisco Fresno, Nicholas Cheong Jin-suk, Richard Baawobr and, since 2023, François-Xavier Bustillo.
The church is located at Via Santa Bernadette 23 and is easy to reach while exploring the Aurelio neighborhood. Visitors should know that regular services take place, so it helps to check ahead whether the interior is open for viewing before stopping by.
The three mosaics above the altars in the presbytery, made by the Vatican mosaic school, show the Sacred Heart, the Apparition of Mary to Bernadette Soubirous and Saint Joseph. A bronze relief under the main altar depicts Martha and Mary, inscribed with Luke 10:42: "Maria optimam partem elegit".
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