Sacro Cuore di Gesù a Via Piave

The Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus is located in Rome, in the Sallustiano district, in Via Piave at number 5. It belongs to the Congregation of the Handmaids of the Sacred Heart of Jesus who commissioned it with the intention of promoting the Eucharistic cult: the rooms of the convent - both those in which the foundress Raffaella Maria lived for about 32 years and those in which the Handmaids have been living since 1922 - are attached to it and create a contiguity not only physical, but of historical memory and actions that have the flavour of the Eucharist. The convent, now called the ‘St Raphael Mary Spirituality Centre’, welcomes groups for spiritual exercises, prayer meetings, retreat days, pilgrimages and all those who wish to meet with the Lord in silence.

The church was built between 1914 and 1916, in neo-Gothic style, by the architect Aristide Leonori. Raffaella Maria, who died on 6 January 1925, could thus enjoy the majesty of this temple: the high vaults must have reinforced in her the idea of a small creature in the presence of the Creator.

There is a small garden in front of the church. The façade, in two orders, is bordered by high pilasters that frame, in the upper part, a central triple lancet window surmounted by the Statue of the Sacred Heart and, in the lower part, a porch with five small arches in Gothic style; a central and two side doors open onto the small garden.

The three-nave interior, with a short transept, is divided by pillars, surmounted by a women's gallery. Above it are windows with glass panes decorated by Munich artists, depicting saints: their names correspond to those of relatives of the architect Leonori.

Starting the visit from the left aisle, on the wall are four paintings by Pietro Gabrini representing, from left to right, The Death of St Francis Xavier, The Holy Family, The Annunciation and The Crucifixion of Christ. In the small apse at the end of the nave, one can admire a copy of the painting of Our Lady of the Road, the original of which is in the Gesù Church in Rome.

The left stained glass window in the transept depicts the Universal Adoration of the Eucharist by all peoples.

In the central apse, a mosaic depicts Christ in Glory, adored by Angels and Saints who lived the Eucharistic spirituality and the spirituality of the Heart of Jesus.

Continuing to the right aisle, in the small apse, there is a painting of St Ignatius of Loyola and in the urn under the altar are the relics of St Roman the Martyr.

In the right stained glass window of the transept, above the door, the Institution of the Eucharist and The Sacrifice of Melchizedek are depicted, always emphasising the centrality of the Eucharist.

Continuing along the right aisle, immediately after the gate, there is a small neo-Gothic chapel dedicated to St. Raphael Mary whose body, found uncorrupted, was placed in 1952 in a crystal urn placed under the altar. Above the altar, the official painting representing St Raphael Maria in the glory of heaven is placed. From this chapel, it is possible to access, with a guided tour, the rooms of the former convent, where the Saint lived.

After the chapel, along the same wall, there are three more paintings by Gabrini depicting St. John Berchmans with St. Louis Gonzaga and St. Stanislaus Kostka, Our Lady of Pilar with St. James and finally St. Anthony raising a dead man.