The Church of Saint Mary, the Help of Christians in Via Tuscolana () is a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

Marian shrine,

titular church In the Catholic Church, a titular church () is a Churches in Rome, church in Rome that is assigned to a member of the Holy orders in the Catholic Church, clergy who is created a Cardinal (Catholic Church), cardinal. These are Catholic churches in ...

and

Minor Basilica Basilicas are Catholic church buildings that have a designation, conferring special privileges, given by the Pope. Basilicas are distinguished for ceremonial purposes from other churches. The building need not be a basilica in the architectura ...

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, ...

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 ...

established the

Titular church In the Catholic Church, a titular church () is a Churches in Rome, church in Rome that is assigned to a member of the Holy orders in the Catholic Church, clergy who is created a Cardinal (Catholic Church), cardinal. These are Catholic churches in ...

''Sancta Mariæ Auxiliatricis in via Tusculana'' on 7 June 1967 via the

Apostolic Constitution An apostolic constitution () is the most solemn form of legislation issued by the Pope.New Commentary on the Code of Canon Law, pg. 57, footnote 36. By their nature, apostolic constitutions are addressed to the public. Generic constitutions use ...

''Ad Gubernacula Christianæ''. He raised it to the status of

via the

Pontifical Decree A is the official measure with which the Holy See grants to institutes of consecrated life and societies of apostolic life the recognition of ecclesiastical institution of pontifical right. When the decree of praise is issued in the form of an ...

''Dulcia Christi Verba'' on 1 April 1969.

History

Pope Pius XI Pope Pius XI (; born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti, ; 31 May 1857 – 10 February 1939) was head of the Catholic Church from 6 February 1922 until his death in February 1939. He was also the first sovereign of the Vatican City State u ...

created this parish church on 25 March 1932, with the

''Inter Pastoralis'' and entrusted to the Order of the

Salesians of Don Bosco The Salesians of Don Bosco (SDB), formally known as the Society of Saint Francis de Sales (), is a religious congregation of men in the Catholic Church, founded in 1859 by the Italian priest John Bosco to help poor and migrant youth during the ...

. The building was designed by architects Nicola Mosso and Giulio Vallotti between 1931 and 1936.

Interior

The interior follows a plan of a combination design between a Latin cross and

Greek cross The Christian cross, with or without a figure of Jesus, Christ included, is the main religious symbol of Christianity. A cross with a figure of Christ affixed to it is termed a crucifix and the figure is often referred to as the ''corpus'' (La ...

, with three naves. The walls and ceiling are decorated with frescoes of

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

inspiration, made by Roman artisan Giuseppe Melle between 1957 and 1965. Within the shrine are significant images focused on the

Blessed Virgin Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

as “Help of Christians”. A namesake statue is enshrined in the high altar of the basilica, which its crown and scepter was blessed by

on 5 December 1965, in preparation for the closure of the

Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the or , was the 21st and most recent ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. The council met each autumn from 1962 to 1965 in St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City for session ...

List of Cardinal Protectors

* Francesco Carpino as Pro illa Vice (1967–1978) *

Giuseppe Caprio Giuseppe Caprio (15 November 1914 – 15 October 2005), was an Italian cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He held the post of President of the Prefecture for the Economic Affairs of the Holy See before he retired in 1990. Caprio was b ...

(1979–1990) *

Pio Laghi Pio Laghi (21 May 1922 – 10 January 2009) was an Italian cardinal of the Catholic Church. His service was primarily in the diplomatic service of the Holy See and the Roman Curia. He served as Apostolic nuncio to several countries and as the ...

(1991–2002) *

Tarcisio Bertone Tarcisio Pietro Evasio Bertone (born 2 December 1934) is an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church and a Vatican City, Vatican diplomat. A Cardinal (Catholicism), cardinal since 2003, he served as Archbishop of Vercelli from 1991 to 1995, as S ...

, SDB

pro hac vice Pro is an abbreviation meaning "professional". Pro, PRO or variants thereof might also refer to: People * Miguel Pro (1891–1927), Mexican priest * Pro Hart (1928–2006), Australian painter * Mlungisi Mdluli (born 1980), South African retire ...

(2003–2008) *

Paolo Sardi Paolo Sardi (1 September 1934 – 13 July 2019) was an Italian cardinal of the Catholic Church who spent his career in the Roman Curia. He was patron of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta from 2009 to 2014. Early life and priesthood Sardi was ...

(2010 - 2019) *

Ángel Fernández Artime Ángel Fernández Artime, S.D.B. (born 21 August 1960) is a Spanish Catholic prelate who has served as Pro-Prefect of the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life since 2025. He was Rector Major of the Sa ...

(2023–Present)

Notes

References

Description of the frescoes of the church of Saint Mary Help of Christians in Via Tuscolana

External links

* Maria Ausiliatrice Maria Ausiliatrice 20th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy Salesian churches in Italy Rome Q. VIII Tuscolano {{Lazio-RC-church-stub