Santi Angeli Custodi (Holy

Guardian Angel A guardian angel is a type of angel that is assigned to protect and guide a particular person, group or nation. Belief in tutelary deity, tutelary beings can be traced throughout all antiquity. The idea of angels that guard over people played ...

s), churchOf titular status since

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 ...

made it a cardinal-deaconry in 1965, appointing Alfredo Pacini as its first cardinal occupant (assigning this church as a title) in 1967. on Via Alpi Apuane,

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, ...

History

The church was built as a parochial church in 1922 in a new quarter of the city, the Città Giardino, on orders from

Pope Benedict XV Pope Benedict XV (; ; born Giacomo Paolo Giovanni Battista della Chiesa, ; 21 November 1854 – 22 January 1922) was head of the Catholic Church from 1914 until his death in January 1922. His pontificate was largely overshadowed by World War I a ...

, to a design by Gustavo Giovannoni. The Clerics Regular Minor, founded by St Francesco Caracciolo and also known as the Caracciolini Fathers, started working in the area on 7 April that year, and on 8 December the church was consecrated and granted to them by

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 ...

. Six years later, in 1926, it was formally established as a parish. It was built in a Neo-Classical style, inspired by the

Italian Renaissance The Italian Renaissance ( ) was a period in History of Italy, Italian history between the 14th and 16th centuries. The period is known for the initial development of the broader Renaissance culture that spread across Western Europe and marked t ...

, with a staircase in front of the façade, a

travertine Travertine ( ) is a form of terrestrial limestone deposited around mineral springs, especially hot springs. It often has a fibrous or concentric appearance and exists in white, tan, cream-colored, and rusty varieties. It is formed by a process ...

doorway, a single nave with side chapels, and a

basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica (Greek Basiliké) was a large public building with multiple functions that was typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek Eas ...

baldachino A baldachin, or baldaquin (from ), is a canopy of state typically placed over an altar or throne. It had its beginnings as a cloth canopy, but in other cases it is a sturdy, permanent architectural feature, particularly over high altars in c ...

. The church's dome is decorated with frescoes by Aronne del Vecchio, painted in 1961, of ''The Angels in Paradise with the Most Holy Trinity and the Blessed Virgin.'' (with

pendant A pendant is a loose-hanging piece of jewellery, generally attached by a small loop to a necklace, which may be known as a "pendant necklace". A pendant earring is an earring with a piece hanging down. Its name stems from the Latin word ...

s of The Evangelists) who also made an image of The Deposition for the entrance to the sacristy and of The Birth of the Saviour for the church's side entrance. The high altarpiece is a copy of

Guercino Giovanni Francesco Barbieri (February 8, 1591 – December 22, 1666),Miller, 1964 better known as (il) Guercino (), was an Italian Baroque painter and draftsman from Cento in the Emilia region, who was active in Rome and Bologna. The vigorous n ...

's St Michael the Archangel from San Pietro in Vaticano. In the Piazza Sempione outside the church is a statue of the Immaculate Conception by Gino Giammei, made in 1949.

Chapels

On the south side are *the Chapel of the Most Holy Crucifix (Santissimo Crocifisso), named after a plaster crucifix which has been moved to the Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament, where the Caracciolini encourage perpetual adoration of the Most Holy Eucharist. *the Chapel of the Madonna of Mercy ( Madonna della Misericordia), the patron of this region of the city, with a statue from 1925 of the Blessed Virgin. In the Chapel of St Francis Caracciolo is a painting by Romano Coradetti depicting Saints in Adoration of the Blessed Eucharist.

Cardinal-deacons

* Alfredo Pacini (June–December 1967) *

Sebastiano Baggio Sebastiano Baggio (16 May 1913 – 21 March 1993) was an Italian cardinal, often thought to be a likely candidate for election to the papacy. He served as President of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State and President of the Gover ...

(1969–1973; nominated

cardinal-priest A cardinal is a senior member of the clergy of the Catholic Church. As titular members of the clergy of the Diocese of Rome, they serve as advisors to the pope, who is the bishop of Rome and the visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. ...

San Sebastiano fuori le mura San Sebastiano fuori le mura (Saint Sebastian outside the Walls), or San Sebastiano ''ad Catacumbas'' (Saint Sebastian at the Catacombs), is a Basilicas in the Catholic Church#Minor basilicas, minor basilica in Rome, Central Italy. Up to the Grea ...

) * Vacant (1973–2001) *

Agostino Cacciavillan Agostino Cacciavillan (14 August 1926 – 5 March 2022) was an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church, and a cardinal since 2001. He worked in the diplomatic service of the Holy See from 1959 to 1998; he was given the titles of archbishop and nu ...

(2001–2011; Cardinal-Priest: 2011–2022) *

Angelo Acerbi Angelo Acerbi (born 23 September 1925) is an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church, who has been an archbishop since 1974 and a cardinal since 2024. He served in the diplomatic service of the Holy See as the Apostolic Nuncio to New Zealand, th ...

(2024-)

References

Angeli Christian organizations established in 1922 Roman Catholic churches completed in 1922 20th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy {{Lazio-RC-church-stub