The basilica of Santi Pietro e Paolo a Via Ostiense is one of the

titular churches In the Catholic Church, a titular church () is a church in Rome that is assigned to a member of the clergy who is created a cardinal. These are Catholic churches in the city, within the jurisdiction of the Diocese of Rome, that serve as honorary ...

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, ...

, to which

Cardinal-Priest A cardinal is a senior member of the clergy of the Catholic Church. As titular members of the clergy of the Diocese of Rome, they serve as advisors to the pope, who is the bishop of Rome and the visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. ...

s are appointed. It is a modern building at Piazzale dei Santi Pietro e Paolo 8 in EUR (Esposizione Universale Roma). It is at the west end of the Viale Europa, the last two blocks of which is a monumental approach reserved for pedestrians and paved with polychrome marble.

History

The title was established on 5 February 1965 by 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 ...

. The original scheme was part of the 1936

Fascist Fascism ( ) is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement. It is characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural soci ...

scheme for hosting the

World Exhibition A world's fair, also known as a universal exhibition, is a large global exhibition designed to showcase the achievements of nations. These exhibitions vary in character and are held in different parts of the world at a specific site for a perio ...

in 1942, which never took place because of

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 ...

but which left a legacy of monumental buildings. The church was planned for a high point at the west end of the site, and was entrusted to a committee of architects: , Alfredo Energici, , Nello Ena, and Costantino Vetriani. They chose a plan based on a Greek cross, in deliberate emulation of the original plan for the new St Peter's by Michelangelo. Construction began in 1939, but was delayed by the war and by a lack of enthusiasm on the part of the diocese. It was only completed in 1955, and became a parish church in 1958. The parish is administered by the Franciscan Conventuals. The cardinalate title is Santi Pietro e Paolo in Via Ostiense, and the present titular is

Pedro Barreto Pedro Ricardo Barreto Jimeno (; born 12 February 1944) is a Peruvian prelate of the Catholic Church who was Archbishop of Huancayo from 2004 to 2024. He has been a cardinal since 2018. Biography Barreto was born in Lima, Peru, on 12 February 1 ...

Exterior

The site is on a ridge overlooking the

Tiber Valley The Tiber Valley (Italian: ''Valle del Tevere'') is the largest geographical part of the of the Tiber river included in the Emilia-Romagna, Tuscany, Umbria, and the Lazio regions; it is characterized by river terraces and floodplain areas that e ...

, and sloping down to the main area of the EUR on the other side. It is in the north-west corner of the EUR. The intention of the planners was that the building should be visible from afar. The edifice is a cube in brown brick with stone trim, and with four gigantic pylons attached to each face forming the Greek cross. These pylons are banded with six horizontal stone string courses. The hemispherical dome is covered in hexagonal tiles and sits on a drum having eight rectangular recesses containing porthole windows. The lantern is a cylinder with fourteen rectangular slits, capped with a conical finial crowned by a statue of Our Lady. The entrance is in the eastern pylon, and in the enormous rectangular recess above the doors is a relief of the resurrected Christ with the apostles. Immediately above the door is the Confession of Peter in Latin, and above the recess is a dedicatory inscription.

Interior

Apart from a marble dado, all the interior surfaces are painted in a uniform light brownish yellow. The dome is coffered with a cross motif, has a stained glass window in the oculus showing a cross. There are eight round windows in the dome's drum. The interior features a large mosaic of Christ over the main altar. The left-hand side chapel is dedicated to the Immaculate Conception and contains a mosaic of the Madonna and Child, while the right-hand one is dedicated to Francis of Assisi and contains a mosaic of him and other Franciscan saints. There are reliefs depicting the Evangelists at the cardinal points. In the center of the church is a sixteen-sided light fitting suspended from the dome pendentive and matching the width of the dome.

Holders of the title

The Cardinal-Priests of Ss. Pietro e Paolo a Via Ostiense include: *

Franjo Šeper Franjo Šeper (2 October 1905 – 30 December 1981) was a Croatian prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith from 1968 to 1981, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1965. Before th ...

(22 February 1965 - 30 December 1981) *

Ricardo Vidal Ricardo Tito Jamin Vidal (February 6, 1931 – October 18, 2017) was a Filipino prelate of the Catholic Church. Made a cardinal in 1985, he was Archbishop of Cebu from 1982 to 2010. Early life and education Vidal was born on February 6, 19 ...

(25 May 1985 - 18 October 2017) *

(28 June 2018 - ) {{DEFAULTSORT:Pietro E Paolo A Via Ostiense Titular churches Italian fascist architecture 20th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy Rome Q. XXXII Europa