The Church of Saint Felix of Cantalice at Centocelle (, , ) is a Roman Catholic titular church in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

located in the Centocelle quarter, built as a

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in com ...

by decree of Cardinal Francesco Marchetti Selvaggiani, Vicar General of Rome. The church is referred to as ''a Centocelle'' (English: "at Centocelle") because it located at the site of a former Roman imperial cavalry barracks. On 30 April 1969, when

Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI (born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 until his death on 6 August 1978. Succeeding John XXII ...

made it a titular church for cardinals. He blessed its fresco on the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God and

World Day of Peace The World Day of Peace is an annual celebration by the Catholic Church, dedicated to world peace, universal peace, held on 1 January, the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God. Pope Paul VI established it in 1967, being inspired by the encyclical ''Pa ...

, 1970. The recent cardinal protector was Philippine Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle since 24 November 2012, and became ''

pro hac vice Pro is an abbreviation meaning "professional". Pro, PRO or variants thereof might also refer to: People * Miguel Pro (1891–1927), Mexican priest * Pro Hart (1928–2006), Australian painter * Mlungisi Mdluli (born 1980), South African retire ...

'' suburbicarian when Cardinal Tagle was raised to Cardinal Bishop rank in 2020 before being reassigned to Suburbicarian Diocese of Albano in 2025. It has been administered by the

Order of Friars Minor Capuchin The Order of Friars Minor Capuchin (; postnominal abbr. OFMCap) is a religious order of Franciscan friars within the Catholic Church, one of three " First Orders" that reformed from the Franciscan Friars Minor Observant (OFMObs, now OFM), the ...

since 1928. On 10 March 2013, Cardinal Tagle celebrated Holy Mass with members of the Italian-Filipino communities before attending the

2013 papal conclave A papal conclave was held on 12 and 13 March 2013 to elect a new pope to succeed Benedict XVI, who had resigned on 28 February 2013. Of the 117 eligible Cardinal electors in the 2013 papal conclave, cardinal electors, all but two attended. On th ...

. In May 2022, the parish held an exhibition of biographical and iconographic works related to Felix of Cantalice, the church's namesake and a friend of

Philip Neri Saint Philip Neri , born Filippo Romolo Neri, (22 July 151526 May 1595) was an Italian Catholic priest who founded the Congregation of the Oratory, a society of secular clergy dedicated to pastoral care and charitable work. He is sometimes refe ...

History

In 1927 a large sheet metal barrack served as a liturgical hall for festive celebrations. On 14 November 1929, the Italian Marquis Achilles Muti-Bussi donated the land to the Vicariate of Rome as a gesture of goodwill for its impoverished peasants living nearby, many from the Lazio countryside."Chiesa di San Felice da Cantalice", Dipartimento di Architettura e Progetto - Sapienza Università di Roma
/ref> The Capuchin friars arrived on 16 December 1930 and on 20 September of the same year the

cornerstone A cornerstone (or foundation stone or setting stone) is the first stone set in the construction of a masonry Foundation (engineering), foundation. All other stones will be set in reference to this stone, thus determining the position of the entir ...

was laid for their new Capuchin monastery. On 30 May 1932, the church itself was canonically signed and erected but the actual construction of the church began in 1934. The original church itself was established on 29 March 1935 through the apostolic decree by Vicar General of Rome, Cardinal Francesco Marchetti Selvaggiani in his letter "''Sollicitudo Omnium Ecclesiarum''" (English: "We encourage the whole church"), which canonically entrusted the shrine to the

who tended to the poor slums of the area. The church was formally recognized on 17 October 1935 by the

Holy See The Holy See (, ; ), also called the See of Rome, the Petrine See or the Apostolic See, is the central governing body of the Catholic Church and Vatican City. It encompasses the office of the pope as the Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop ...

in the ''

Acta Apostolicae Sedis ''Acta Apostolicae Sedis'' (Latin for 'Acts of the Apostolic See'), often cited as ''AAS'', is the official gazette of the Holy See, appearing about twelve times a year.Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church (Oxford University Press 2005 ), a ...

''. Several religious sisters joined in the church's charity program throughout the years, such as the Benedictine Nuns (1925), the

Daughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul The Company of the Daughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul (; abbreviated DC), commonly called the Daughters of Charity or Sisters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul, is a society of apostolic life for women within the Catholic Church. ...

(1935) and the Franciscan nuns (1927). The nuns assisted the Capuchin Friars in tending to the poor children, prostitutes and the unemployed. On 1 October 1934, Cardinal Vicar Ugo Poletti drew the exact land measurements and ownership of the parish, which was enacted into civil law on 17 October 1935. On 2 October 1941, the church was consecrated by Monsignor Luigi Traglia, who was then the titular archbishop of Caesarea in Palestine, and the vice-regent of Rome. The land territory was taken from one of the sub-parishes of Saint Marcellino e Pietro ad Duas Lauros and Saint Mary of Good Counsel church. On 1 May 2020,

Pope Francis Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...

conceded to Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, Prefect for the Evangelization of Peoples the rank of cardinal-bishop making the church a suburbicarian church ''

''.

Parish

In 1960,

Pope John XXIII Pope John XXIII (born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli; 25 November 18813 June 1963) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 28 October 1958 until his death on 3 June 1963. He is the most recent pope to take ...

visited the parish for Lenten observances. On 1 January 1970, on the occasion of the

blessed the

apse In architecture, an apse (: apses; from Latin , 'arch, vault'; from Ancient Greek , , 'arch'; sometimes written apsis; : apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical Vault (architecture), vault or semi-dome, also known as an ' ...

of the church in a ceremony televised live by RAI. In May 2021, the parish collaborated with a nearby mosque to hold an "Ifatar of the brotherhood", during Ramadan.

Architecture

The parish complex was designed by Italian architects Mario and Giulio Pediconi. The church has a typical basilican layout with columns and nave. The main façade has a polychromed modern painting by Rodolfo Villani which depicts Saint Felix of Cantalice in prayer.

Interior

The church is decorated with works of the

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...

Capuchin artist Ugolino da Belluno, which include the ''Madonna and Child with Saint Felix'' in the apse and the ''Appearance of angels and Jesus in a vision of St Francis'' in the transept. In July 1968, the Vicariate of Rome approved the

fresco Fresco ( or frescoes) is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaster, the painting become ...

in the apse of the church featuring Saint Felix of Cantalice, its namesake patron saint made by Father Ugolino from Belluno (born Silvio Alessandri, born 15 December 1919). At the time, the fresco was heavily criticized for its polychrome colours, the poor natural lighting, and the manner in which it was painted on the wall of 480 square meters. The fresco in the apse features the Madonna as ''Virgin of the Flowers'', wearing a robe of lilies while handing down the

Child Jesus The Christ Child—also known as Baby Jesus, Infant Jesus, Child Jesus, Divine Child, Divine Infant and the Holy Child—refers to Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ during his early years. The term refers to a period of life of Jesus, Jesus' l ...

to Saint Felix, hooded and prostrate. Below are images of children victims of violence: the Jewish children of Terezin who were exterminated by the

Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

authorities, while a newspaper image of ''Mario Dominici'' is featured, the boy found dead in the area during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

as a result of Nazi

Anti-Semitism Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...

. It also features cherubic angels, and

zodiac The zodiac is a belt-shaped region of the sky that extends approximately 8° north and south celestial latitude of the ecliptic – the apparent path of the Sun across the celestial sphere over the course of the year. Within this zodiac ...

sign constellations which tell the story of creation. Other scenes of the frescoes involve morality tales, anti-greed and anti-pornographic sentiments, as well as several miraculous scenes from the life of Saint Felix of Cantalice. The church appears in a scene from

Pier Paolo Pasolini Pier Paolo Pasolini (; 5 March 1922 – 2 November 1975) was an Italian poet, film director, writer, actor and playwright. He is considered one of the defining public intellectuals in 20th-century Italian history, influential both as an artist ...

's 1961 film '' Accattone''.

List of Cardinals

* Stephen Kim Sou-hwan of

Korea Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...

— Cardinal-Priest by

— (30 April 1969 – 16 February 2009) * Luis Antonio Tagle of the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

— Cardinal-Priest by

Pope Benedict XVI Pope BenedictXVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until his resignation on 28 February 2013. Benedict's election as p ...

— (24 November 2012 – 1 May 2020) — Cardinal-Bishop by Pope Francis — (1 May 2020 – 24 May 2025, reassigned to Suburbicarian Diocese of Albano)Miranda, Salvador. "The Cardinals of the HolyRoman Church", Florida International University
/ref>

References

Sources

* C. Rendina, ''Le Chiese di Roma'', Newton & Compton Editori, Milano 2000 * C. Cerchiai, ''Quartiere XIX. Prenestino-Centocelle'', in AA.VV, ''I quartieri di Roma'', Newton & Compton Editori, Roma 2006

External links

Parish website
{{DEFAULTSORT:San Felice Da Cantalice A Centocelle Felice Da Cantalice Felice Da Cantalice Rome Q. XIX Prenestino-Centocelle