Chiesa San Pio da Pietrelcina in Roma

As with many realities in the Roman suburbs, the physical reality of the parish of San Pio da Pietrelcina coincides with the civil reality. Therefore, talking about the parish means talking about the neighbourhood, together with the schools, constitutes the aggregative nucleus of the area. So before any other presentation, it is appropriate to make some mention of the history of the area. The neighbourhood is located in the XIII Municipality, in the south-western outskirts of the capital, and is known by the name of its oldest street, Via di Malafede, a toponym of medieval origin, determined by the fact that at the time it was a border area, abandoned and therefore dangerous for those who walked along the Via Ostiense, through unhealthy and marshy woods, in the connection between the sea and the eternal city. In fact, the first, official denomination of the district dates back to the Fascist period, which had identified in this area adjacent to the royal estate of Castel Fusano, a good site for the building of a residential quarter for the regime's hierarchs. The project did not come to fruition, but was given the name Giardino di Roma. Archaeological research has shown that in ancient times, the area must have been the object of interest for the leading figures of Rome's public life, and was dotted with villae rustiche owned by the Roman aristocracy, connected to agricultural and productive activities, as well as road and water infrastructures that guaranteed the area the necessary services. In recent decades, remains of buildings of considerable size, enriched with decorative elements, have been brought to light. In this respect, it is enough to mention the discovery of a lead fistula, with LFABICILONISCV written on it, which testifies to the presence of the villa of Lucius Fabius Cilon, senator, consul and friend of the emperor Septimius Severus (146-211). Since the late 1990s, the current residential settlement has developed, just off the Grande Raccordo Anulare, between Via Ostiense to the north, Via di Mezzocammino to the west and Cristoforo Colombo to the south. To the east it overlooks the Malafede valley. In a short time, the affluence of many families in the neighbourhood manifested the need to ensure more adequate religious assistance to the faithful living in the area (cf. Decree of canonical erection). The legal entity of the parish was officially established on 1 October 2000 through the erection decree issued by His Eminence Cardinal Camillo Ruini, at the time Vicar General of His Holiness for the Diocese of Rome, but as the text of the decree mentions, it was the pastoral solicitude of the happily reigning Pope John Paul II that decreed the birth of a parish dedicated to a man whom he himself had proclaimed Blessed just a few months earlier (2 May 1999): the friar of Pietrelcina. Thus was born the parish of BEATO PADRE PIO DA PIETRELCINA. It took two years for a second decree by Cardinal Ruini to change the name of the parish, replacing the title of Blessed Father with the title of Saint following the Saint's canonisation on 16 June 2002 in St. Peter's Square and presided over by Pope Wojtyla. Thus, on 26 June 2002 (just ten days after the canonisation), the parish of SAN PIO DA PIETRELCINA also appeared among the parishes of the capital. By the Cardinal's happy will, the appointment of the parish priest of San Pio took effect on the same date as the erection of the parish, and on 1 October 2000, the Reverend Don Paolo Pressacco of the Roman clergy, ordained a priest on 20 April 1991, became the first parish priest of this district. With these words, Father Paolo announced the birth of the new parish and his first impressions in the diocesan newspaper:

The area of the new parish is all a construction site as the houses are still being built, only a part has already been delivered and is still inhabited. The inconveniences for the inhabitants of the neighbourhood are many (...). The parish has also shared this precarious situation, for a long time without a venue we celebrated Holy Mass outdoors, in the square (...). The precariousness that characterises the beginnings of a work is certainly difficult, but it is always a harbinger of special divine graces. We have an authoritative witness to this in Blessed Padre Pio, who in his life lived through difficulties and trials with exemplary fortitude, but also experienced how the Kingdom of God always begins as a small seed, which then becomes a large tree.

It was Fr Paolo who celebrated the first Holy Mass in this district before the parish was established, and in a letter dated 7 July 2000 he announced to the president of the then XIII Circoscrizione that the following Sunday (9 July) at 10.30 a.m. he would celebrate in Piazza G. De Lullo. For about a year it was like this; the settings of Fr Paolo's pastoral action were the square and the people's homes, until 4 March 2003 when His Excellency Monsignor Rino Fisichella, then Auxiliary Bishop for the Southern sector, came to celebrate Holy Mass in the first parish church, at 97 Via Giorgio De Lullo. On 15 September 2004, a new chapter in the history of the parish began, as Fr Roberto Zammerini from the diocesan clergy of Rome was appointed parish priest. He was ordained a priest on 14 May 1995, and came to Giardino di Roma following the transfer of Fr Paolo as the new rector of the Redemptoris Mater seminary in Avignon. With Fr Roberto, real ordinary pastoral activities began to take shape in the small church in Via Giorgio De Lullo. The neighbourhood continues to grow and families begin to expand. Premarital courses and preparations for Baptism are the most lively activities for a neighbourhood of young couples beginning their life together. But greater and more hidden is the work conducted by Fr Roberto to build the new parish complex. During the years of his service as pastor of the parish of San Pio, he did much to prepare the construction of the new church, and on 16 December 2007, with the laying of the foundation stone in the presence of many faithful and the Most Excellent Bishops Mgr. Paolo Schiavon, Auxiliary Bishop for the southern sector of the Diocese of Rome, and Bishop Ernesto Mandara, director of the office for the Preservation of the Faith and the building of new Churches in Rome, the building site was opened for the realisation of architect Alessandro Anselmi's project for the new parish complex. Like a new Moses on the threshold of the promised land, after five years of service as parish priest, almost at the end of the work, Fr Roberto was called by Cardinal Vicar Agostino Vallini to take over as Rector of the Pontifical Roman Minor Seminary, handing over the baton to Fr Alfio Tirrò, of the diocesan clergy of Rome, who was ordained a priest on 14 May 2000 and became the third parish priest of the community on 1 September 2009. In this transitional phase, sad news came unexpectedly to announce the untimely and sudden death of the dearly loved Fr Paolo, the first parish priest, who returned to the Father's house on 20 July 2009. The consolation in the face of the tragic news is that the community boasts the privilege of having had him as a loving and caring pastor who, from heaven, continues to carry out his work of intercession for his beloved parish of San Pio. On 23 October 2010, after three years of construction work, finally, in the Eucharistic celebration presided over by His Eminence Cardinal Agostino Vallini, Vicar General of His Holiness for the Diocese of Rome, the church was consecrated and the parish complex blessed and inaugurated. A new phase begins. Since September 2017, the parish priest is Fr Tommaso Mazzucchi, and currently the parish vicar is Fr Paolo Do Van Tan. Today, the neighbourhood has the presence of around 4,000 young families, with many children, who bring to the community two great sentiments: responsibility towards our and their future, and hope for a community founded on welcome and sharing. The community of God's children.