Façade Sacro Cuore di Gesù in Prati rises in
Lungotevere Prati, between Via Ulpiano and Via
Paolo Mercuri, close to the
Palace of Justice. The façade with salients, entirely made with
reinforced concrete, underlines the internal subdivision into three naves thanks to six quadrangular
piers, each surmounted by a
spire. In the lower part there are three
portals, whose embrasure is decorated by little columns made of
red Verona marble; each portal is surmounted by a
wimperg and decorated with a marble
lunette hosting a
bas-relief: the central lunette portrays the
Souls of Purgatory, the one on the right the
Deposition of Christ and the one on the left the
Resurrection of Christ; the wimperg above the central portal shows a high-relief portraying the
Sacred Heart of Jesus between two Angels. In correspondence to each of the side naves there is a high triphora, while the central nave corresponds to a big esaphora including a
rose window showing a richly decorated trestle. The façade ends aloft with a thin octagonal
bell tower: it is surmounted by a cross that hosts an earth-shaped
ex-voto, donated by Victor Jouët. The decorations of the façade, formerly made with
artificial stone, has been replaced, starting from 1960+, by statues made with St. Gotthard stone, though identical to the original ones. They include gothic-inspired architectural features and nineteen statues of saints, personally chosen by
Pope Pius X; they are positioned within recesses above the slopes of the central nave (from the left:
St. Augustine,
St. Peter Apostle,
St. Joseph,
Our Lady of the Sacred Heart,
St. John Evangelist,
St. Paul Apostle and
St. Odo of Cluny), of the nave on the right (from the left:
St. Victor,
St. Francis of Assisi and
St. Nicholas of Tolentino), of the nave on the left (from the left:
St. Francis Xavier,
St. Dominic of Guzmán and
St. Michael Archangel) and close to the six pillars, placed on shelves (from the left:
St. Bernard of Clairvaux,
St. Gregory the Great,
St. Margaret Mary Alacoque,
St. Catherine of Genoa,
St. Anthony of Padua and
St. Patrick.
Interior The interior of the church, slightly rotated in respect with the axis of the façade, has three
naves with six
bays each, covered with a
groin vault and divided by pointed arches which rest on polystyle pillars with carved
capitals; the pillars and the ribs of the vaults are decorated with stripes of gray stone and red bricks, while the floor shows inserts of
red Verona marble. The external light enters from the three windows of the façade, as well as from eighteen biphoras with stained glass windows; the ones in the nave on the right show, starting from the entrance,
St. Frances of Rome and St. Catherine of Genoa,
St. Bridget and St. Ambrose,
St. Bonaventure and St. Thomas Aquinas,
St. Ephrem and St. Peter Damian,
St. Joan of Arc and St. Sebastian,
St. Robert Bellarmine and St. Francis of Sales. Along the two side naves, in correspondence of each span, there is a barely deep, rectangular
chapel; the second and fourth chapel of each side host a marble altar, while the other ones show fine wooden neo-gothic
confessionals. The first altar on the right is dedicated to
St. Michael Archangel and is surmounted by an altar piece by Alessandro Catani portraying the Saint; the
predella shows seven musician Angels, painted by the daughters of the artist. The following altar is dedicated to
St. Margaret Mary Alacoque and is surmounted by a
triptych by Giovan Battista Conti portraying the
Vision of the Heart of Jesus to Margaret Maria Alacoque (1923), while the predella shows, from the left,
St. Jeanne-Françoise Frémiot de Chantal,
St. Margaret Maria Alacoque surrounded by the souls of the Purgatory,
St. Margaret Maria Alacoque shows to the novices the worship of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and
St. Francis of Sales. The first altar on the left is dedicated to
St. Anthony of Padua: the altar piece, by Giuseppe Burgo, portrays
St. Anthony as the saint of charity and rests on a predella showing, from the left,
St. Gerolamo Emiliani,
St. Vincent de Paul,
St. Camillus de Lellis,
Jesus the Saviour parting the bread,
Blessed Anna Maria Taigi,
St. Elizabeth of Hungary and
St. Louise de Marillac. The following altar is dedicated to
St. Gregory the Great and is surmounted by an altar piece inspired to the legend of the monk Justus: it shows
St. Gregory the Great celebrating mass for the soul of the monk Justus and, above it, the
Blessed Spirit and, on the top of the frame, the sculpture
God the Father; the predella shows, from the left,
St. Michael Archangel,
St. Gregory the Great and poor people,
St. Gregory the Great dictates the Gregorian chant and
St. Gabriel Archangel; the work is by Giovan Battista Conti. In the last span of the side nave on the left, placed against the wall, rises the
Funeral monument to Monsignor Pietro Benedetti (1932), made with polychrome marbles, completed by a bronze "Piety" in the lower part and a bronze bust of the same Bishop in the higher. Both side naves end with a polygonal
chapel, which contains a marble altar whose slab rests on little columns and closed by a balustrade decorated with trilobate arches. The chapel in the nave on the right is dedicated to
St. Joseph and corresponds to the second oratory of the Association of the Sacred Heart of the Suffrage of the Purgatory Souls; its altar is surmounted by an altar piece by Giuseppe Brugo portraying
St. Joseph with Jesus as a child between two angels, St. Teresa and St. Bernard. The chapel on the opposite side is dedicated to
Our Lady of the Rosary and the altar is surmounted by the altar piece by Francesco Notari
Our Lady of the Rosary between angels, St. Dominic of Guzmán and St. Catherine of Siena; the frame is decorated with
God the Father (in the middle) and the
Annunciation (on both sides), while the painted
predella shows on the left
St. Zita, St. Agnes and St. Cecilia, on the right ''St. Alphonsus Maria de' Liguori, St. Bernardino of Siena and St. Cyril of Alexandria
; the tabernacle is decorated with the Sacred Heart of Jesus''. The frame was designed by Notari and manufactured by carpenter Giuseppe Fallaci, wood carver Arturo Grossi and gilder Giovacchino Corsi. The central nave ends with a deep polygonal
apse, enlightened by two orders of ogival windows; in the centre of the apse rises the marble high altar, decorated with gilded bronzes and surmounted by the tabernacle Behind the altar there is the altar piece
The Sacred Heart and the Souls of Purgatory, by Giuseppe and Alessandro Catani.
Pipe organ Close to the counter-façade, above a wooden cantoria whose bulwark is decorated with a series of ogival arches, rises the
pipe organ, built by
Fabbrica Organi Ruffatti after 1960+ in place of a former one, coming from the church of
Santa Brigida.
Museo delle anime del Purgatorio Next to the church, within the
sacristy, is the
Museo delle anime del Purgatorio ("Museum of the Souls of Purgatory"), whose entry is a door in the sixth span of the nave on the right. On July 2, 1897 a miraculous occurrence happened in the Chapel of the Association of the Sacred Heart of Purgatory Souls' Suffrage, when, during a fire, the soul of a deceased appeared to the attendance and his effigy was impressed on the wall; hereafter Victor Jouët decided to search for testimonies (documents and looms) about the appearances of the souls of
Purgatory and to collect them in a museum close to the church. == Notes ==