Santa Maria Addolorata a Piazza Buenos Aires (, ) is a

titular church In the Catholic Church, a titular church () is a Churches in Rome, church in Rome that is assigned to a member of the Holy orders in the Catholic Church, clergy who is created a Cardinal (Catholic Church), cardinal. These are Catholic churches in ...

and the

Argentine Argentines, Argentinians or Argentineans are people from Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical, or cultural. For most Argentines, several (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their ...

national church A national church is a Christian church associated with a specific ethnic group or nation state. The idea was notably discussed during the 19th century, during the emergence of modern nationalism. Samuel Taylor Coleridge, in a draft discussing ...

, on Viale Regina Margherita,

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, ...

History

It was founded by the Argentine priest Msgr. José León Gallardo with donations from the Argentine bishops, with the first stone being laid on 9 July 1910, the centenary of Argentine independence. Mrs. Saenz Peña, wife of the

President of Argentina The president of Argentina, officially known as the president of the Argentine Nation, is both head of state and head of government of Argentina. Under Constitution of Argentina, the national constitution, the president is also the Head of go ...

, was present at the ceremony. Construction took twenty years, and the church was finally inaugurated in 1930. From then until 1989, the church was served by

Mercedarian The Royal, Celestial and Military Order of Our Lady of Mercy and the Redemption of the Captives (, abbreviated O. de M.), also known as the Mercedarians, is a Catholic mendicant order established in 1218 by Peter Nolasco in the city of Barcelon ...

fathers; it is now served by Argentine diocesan clergy from a community in an adjoining house. It was built by the architect Giuseppe Astorri with a 7-storey

campanile A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell to ...

and a 2-storey façade in the style of ancient Christian architecture, with a central depiction of the Lamb and symbols of the four

Evangelists Evangelist(s) may refer to: Religion * Four Evangelists, the authors of the canonical Christian Gospels * Evangelism, publicly preaching the Gospel with the intention of spreading the teachings of Jesus Christ * Evangelist (Anglican Church), a ...

. The interior is also in ancient, Roman-Byzantine style, with a nave and two aisles divided by

Ionic column The Ionic order is one of the three canonic orders of classical architecture, the other two being the Doric and the Corinthian. There are two lesser orders: the Tuscan (a plainer Doric), and the rich variant of Corinthian called the composite o ...

s, a

Cosmatesque Cosmatesque, or Cosmati, is a style of geometric decorative inlay stonework typical of the architecture of Medieval Italy, and especially of Rome and its surroundings. It was used most extensively for the decoration of church floors, but was also ...

-style pulpit and lectern and a

polychrome Polychrome is the "practice of decorating architectural elements, sculpture, etc., in a variety of colors." The term is used to refer to certain styles of architecture, pottery, or sculpture in multiple colors. When looking at artworks and ...

marble floor (laid in geometric patterns with the national

coat of arms of Argentina The coat of arms of the Argentine Republic or Argentine shield () was established in its current form in 1944 but has its origins in the seal of the General Constituent Assembly of 1813. It is supposed that it was chosen quickly because of the e ...

in the centre, and a memorial slab to its founder, which was presented by the Argentine cardinals and bishops at the

Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the or , was the 21st and most recent ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. The council met each autumn from 1962 to 1965 in St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City for session ...

). In the apse at the east end is a mosaic of Our Lady of Sorrows by Giambattista Conti and a

high altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religion, religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, Church (building), churches, and other places of worship. They are use ...

decorated with onyx and covered by a

baldachino A baldachin, or baldaquin (from ), is a canopy of state typically placed over an altar or throne. It had its beginnings as a cloth canopy, but in other cases it is a sturdy, permanent architectural feature, particularly over high altars in c ...

supported by four granite

Corinthian column The Corinthian order (, ''Korinthiakós rythmós''; ) is the last developed and most ornate of the three principal classical orders of Ancient Greek architecture and Roman architecture. The other two are the Doric order, which was the earliest, ...

s. The choir is separated from the nave by an altar ring of white marble which includes intaglia and bronze gates with the national coat-of-arms and the arms of the Order of the

Mercedarians The Royal, Celestial and Military Order of Our Lady of Mercy and the Redemption of the Captives (, abbreviated O. de M.), also known as the Mercedarians, is a Catholic mendicant order established in 1218 by Peter Nolasco in the city of Barcelo ...

. At one altar is a small statue of

Our Lady of Luján Our Lady of Luján () is a celebrated 16th-century statue of the Virgin Mary, mother of Jesus Christ. The image, also known as the Virgin of Luján (), is on display in the Basilica of Luján in Argentina. The feast day of Our Lady of Luján is ...

, principal patron of Argentina. Since 1967, it was a Cardinal's Titular Church.

Estanislao Esteban Karlic Estanislao Esteban Karlic (born 7 February 1926) is an Argentine cardinal of the Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Paraná from 1986 to 2003, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 2007. Biography Estanislao Karlic was born in Oliva ...

is the incumbent cardinal-prorector since 2007.

Special festivals and Masses

The feast of Our Lady of Sorrows is celebrated on 15 September and 15 February (due to different calendars placing the feast on different days, it is celebrated twice in this church). Mass is celebrated in Spanish on the first Sunday in the month, and occasionally at other times.

Cardinal-Priest

Pope Paul VI established "Beata Maria Virgine Addolorata a Piazza Buenos Aires" as titular church on 6 June 1967 based on the Apostolic Constitution "Sunt hic Romæ". * Nicolas Fasolino 6 June 1967 appointed-13 August 1969 died * Raúl Francisco Primatesta 5 March 1973 appointed-1 May 2006 died *

24 November 2007 appointed- present

References

External links

Nyborg: Santa Maria Addolorata

{{DEFAULTSORT:Santa Maria Addolorata A Piazza Buenos Aires

Maria Maria may refer to: People * Mary, mother of Jesus * Maria (given name), a popular given name in many languages Place names Extraterrestrial * 170 Maria, a Main belt S-type asteroid discovered in 1877 * Lunar maria (plural of ''mare''), large, ...

Maria Addolorata Maria may refer to: People * Mary, mother of Jesus * Maria (given name), a popular given name in many languages Place names Extraterrestrial * 170 Maria, a Main belt S-type asteroid discovered in 1877 * Lunar maria (plural of ''mare''), large, ...

Roman Catholic churches completed in 1930 Catholic Church in Argentina Rome Q. XVII Trieste 20th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy