Church of St. Francis Xavier in Garbatella

About

San Francesco Saverio alla Garbatella is a 20th-century parochial church and titular church in southern Rome, dedicated to Francis Xavier.

Karol Wojtyła, later Pope John Paul II, ministered in the church after the Second World War ; it was the first church in Rome that he visited after being elected Pope in 1978. Pope Paul VI also visited in 1976.

On 21 February 2001, it was made a titular church to be held by a cardinal-deacon.

- Franc Rodé (2006–present); made a cardinal-priest in 2016, title elevated to a cardinal-priesthood pro hac vice

On a Latin cross plan, the facade is covered in brick and decorated with travertine pilasters. The main entrance is framed by Doric columns. On the entablature there is a large lunette, inside a circular arch. The tympanum carries the arms of Pope Pius XII.

The dome is of reinforced concrete, decorated with arched windows; it is painted in gray, in imitation of lead Baroque domes. It is surmounted by a simple roof lantern. The interior is divided into three naves, delimited by Ionic columns ; the barrel vault is coffered in stucco.

The right transept has a fresco of the Madonna of Divine Love and commemorates the 1943 bombing of San Lorenzo, Rome. The apse holds a canvas painting of Francis Xavier preaching in Goa.