Chiesa di Gesù Bambino a Sacco Pastore

The Parish of the Infant Jesus in Sacco Pastore was established on 30 March 1957 in the Sacco Pastore neighbourhood (also known as Sacco Pastore-Espero), which was established in the 1940s and is now part of the 3rd District of Rome. The territory, derived from the parish of Santi Angeli Custodi, is bounded on three sides by the river Aniene and on one side by the Rome-Orte railway line and is determined by the following boundaries: Largo Valsolda, Via Valsolda, Via Valdarno, Via Val d'Aosta, Via Val Brembana, Via Roberto Bencivenga, Via Nomentana and Via Nomentana Nuova. The district has approximately 15,000 inhabitants.The parish stands in the bend of the Aniene river, in what, until the 1930s, was the Saccopastore estate owned by Duke Mario Grazioli. At that time, flocks of sheep grazed on the estate, vines were cultivated and, from some quarries, clay was extracted to make bricks. It was precisely in that area, in the quarry located in what is now Via Valdinievole, that, in 1929, among the various prehistoric finds, a first skull was discovered, the skull of Saccopastore I, belonging to a woman and dating from around the Neanderthal period (although more evolved than the one found in Germany). In the same area, in 1935, a second skull of Saccopastore II was found, this time belonging to a man. The two skulls are now preserved in the Museum of Anthropology at the Institute of Anthropology of the Sapienza University of Rome.Between the 1940s and 1950s, the historical and cultural value of the potential archaeological site took second place to the housing needs of Rome and, therefore, building expansion prevailed over conservation. In the area, after extensive reclamation work, large housing estates began to be built, whose inhabitants referred to the Parish of the Holy Guardian Angels, in the nearby Piazza Sempione, for religious life.In those years, scenes from several films were filmed in the streets, construction sites and buildings of the area. As can be seen from the photos, the land where the parish and church were to be built appears in the films I soliti ignoti by Mario Monicelli, 1958, and Il rossetto by Damiano Damiani, 1960. The red buildings, between Via Val di Fiemme and Via Val Chisone, which can be recognised in the background in the first two photos, albeit in black and white, are those occupied by evictees in the 1947 film L'onorevole Angelina by Luigi Zampa.
The Chapel in Via Val di FiemmeTo make it easier for the faithful of the neighbourhood to attend Sunday Mass and other religious services, the premises of some shops located on the steps of Via Val di Fiemme were adapted as a religious chapel. Apparently, those premises had previously housed a shop and a bakery belonging to the Gentilini biscuit company.The chapel was inaugurated by Bishop Spallanzani on 24 December 1952. Given the circumstance, it was named the Chapel of the Infant Jesus. The daily and Sunday religious service was provided by the Caracciolini Fathers from the nearby Parish of the Guardian Angels.
The founding decreeOn 30 March 1957, Cardinal Clemente Micara, Vicar of His Holiness Pope Pius XII for the Diocese of Rome in the years 1951 - 1965, issued the decree Quo facilius by which the Chapel of the Infant Jesus was erected as a Parish and dedicated to the Holy Infant Jesus (only later did the Parish take the name of Infant Jesus in Sacco Pastore).It is interesting to note that in the ecclesiastical acts of the time, the jurisdiction of the Parish was determined within the following boundaries: Fiume Aniene from Ponte Tazio, towards the mouth to Fosso di S. Agnese - you follow said Fosso to the Rome-Orte railway, including all the unauthorised houses that stand around said Fosso, between the railway and the river - you follow said railway to the left as far as the beginning of the Vigna Mangani hamlet - you follow the boundary of said hamlet to the left and crossing the adjacent Via di Pietralata, you reach the Aniene River - to the left as far as the aforementioned Ponte Tazio.At the same time as the decree of erection as a Parish, the decree appointing the first Parish Priest was also issued: Don Giuseppe Simonazzi.Subsequently, by Decree No 296 of the Head of State dated 16 April 1959, published in the Official Gazette No 122 of 22 May 1959, the Parish was also granted civil recognition.
The first parish activitiesThe first baptism administered by Fr Joseph in the new Parish, still in the Chapel premises, took place on Sunday, 31 March 1957, a little girl was baptised and given the name Irene. On 12 May 1957, Don Giuseppe celebrated the first wedding in the new Parish, uniting in marriage a couple V. and M. from Apulia.With the establishment of the parish, the first parish groups were born: Women's Catholic Action and the Work of St. Vincent. Courses of preparation for First Communion and the Sacrament of Confirmation also began, which were held in the coadjutor offices (as the document of the Ministry of the Interior defined them), i.e. in two premises - shop located in the nearby Val Chisone, also adapted for this purpose, while awaiting the construction of the Church (announced in the minutes of the erection of the Vicariate).With reference to the parish and catechism activities of the time, several testimonies make particular mention of the active commitment of Mrs Ida Guglielminetti and her husband.
The Construction of the Church and Parish HouseSubsequently, the construction of the Church and Parish House was begun. The real estate was owned by the Pontifical Work for the Preservation of the Faith and the Provision of New Churches in Rome and the project was by Arch. Tullio Rossi.Still on the subject of films, it should be remembered that in the same area where the building site of the future Church was to be opened, in 1958, the final scene of the film I soliti ignoti was filmed, in which Peppe - Vittorio Gassman finally decides to get down to some serious work by joining the workers on a building site, under the incredulous gaze of Capannelle - Carlo Pisacane.
The New ChurchIn the winter of 1962, the parish house was inaugurated, as well as the adjacent building intended to house the offices and rooms for various parish activities.On 24 December 1962, the crypt was also inaugurated, which was supposed to be followed by the construction of the Church, as per the original plan, but the latter was never realised and remained what Pope John Paul II, in his visit on 8 February 1998, would describe as the halved church.One of the first initiatives of the first Parish Priest, Don Giuseppe Simonazzi, was to purchase and have installed in the Church the monumental Roosevelt organ, built in Switzerland in 1880 and coming from the Anglican Church of San Paolo entro le Mura in Via Nazionale in Rome, which had decommissioned it