Santa Maria in Publicolis

Santa Maria in Publicolis


    The church of Santa Maria in Publicolis, situated on Via in Publicolis at Piazza Costaguti, is the only Roman church dedicated to the Nativity of the blessed Virgin Mary.

The name of the church
The name Publicolis alludes to the ancient Roman family name Publicolae. The noble family of Santacroce, who resides in the vicinity, lays claim to descend from this Roman family.

The history of the church
The church is mentioned in a papal bull promulgated in 1186 by Urban III. The consistory lawyer Andrea Santacroce had the church restored in 1465. Around 1640 the old church was in a state of disrepair, and it was pulled down. The cardinal Marcello Santacroce commissioned the architect Giovanni Antonio de' Rossi to design a new church.

    In 1835 Blessed Gaetano Errico instituted the Congregation of Missionaries of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, and in 1858 he was given the church along with an adjacent building to house his congregation.

The art and the architecture of the church