The Natività di Gesù Church is located directly opposite the talking statue Pasquino in Rome. The order that ran the church gave spiritual assistance to death row inmates. Today this church, built in the 17th century, is the national church of the Congolese community in Rome.
Natività di Gesù Church Rome
Address, opening hours and entrance fee
Address: Although the church is located in Piazza di Pasquino, its official address is Vicolo dei Granari 10/A – Rome. Phone: (+39) 334 7721802 or 342 1905771 or 388 8745130. Opening hours: Wednesday to Sunday from 5:00 to 7:00 pm. Admission: Free of charge.
History and description
Built in 1692, the Chiesa della Natività di Gesù was administered by the fraternity Compagnia della Natività, which was also called the fraternity of the agonizzanti (“dying”).
The order was mainly concerned with giving aid to people who were about to die and to those condemned to death. Believers could confess in this church and thus earn an indulgence for themselves as well as for a person condemned to death.
Tradition has it that the rags with which Jesus was tied are kept in this church.
An inscription on the façade indicates that the last restoration of the church took place in 1862, when Pius IX was pope. This reconstruction was led by Andrea Busiri Vici.
The façade is divided into three levels by four wide pillars. The architectural style of the portal is neo-Renaissance. The vaults of the niches on either side of this portal are shell-shaped.
The interior consists of a single nave with two side altars on each side.