This church is associated with one of the patron saints of Rome, St. Philip Neri (1515-1595). He was a Florentine who came to Rome and worked among the poor and the youth. In 1561, St. Philip founded the Oratorians, one of several religious orders that sprang up during the Catholic “counter-reformation.”
A church had stood on this site from the 12th century, from which the current church retains its name. In 1575, Pope Gregory XIII gave the church to St. Philip and his Oratorians. The old church was not big enough for their needs, so they set about building a new one, thus the nickname, “Chiesa Nuova—the New Church.” It was consecrated in 1599, but the facade wasn’t complete for about 7 more years.
The “in Vallicella,” meaning “in the little valley” is because there was a valley in the region, but it has since been filled in. It is, therefore, a church for which none of its names make sense anymore, other than St. Philip having a strong devotion to the Virgin Mary. It retains its significance as the mother church of the Oratorians (formally known as the Confederation of Oratories of Saint Philip Neri).
If you were paying attention, yes, the church wasn’t formally consecrated until after St. Philip’s death. But that doesn’t mean he didn’t use it; he started living in the attached rooms in 1583 and remained there until his death.
We were fortunate to be able to visit the church, since it was technically closed for renovations. (Thus the fence in front of the main door in the first picture.) There was scaffolding in the nave and and the main altar was difficult to see. We did get to see the chapel of St. Philip Neri, which has contained his relics since 1602.
If we pull back a bit, you can see part of the organ above and some scaffolding on the right. Below is what the church looked like in 2015.
This was our last stop for the day and we were here for two reasons: of course, to see what we could of this historic church and to pray before the relics of this saint, but even more important, for our daily Mass.
It was a joy for me to be able to visit the church, even if we couldn’t see much of it. St. Philip Neri is the patron saint chosen by St. John Henry Newman when he became Catholic. St. John Henry Newman is the patron saint I chose when I became Catholic. It’s not every day you get to have Mass in your patron saint’s patron saint’s church.
You can read more about the Oratorians here and St. Philip Neri here.
If you really want to encourage me, it doesn’t take much, you can buy me a coffee.
Grace & peace,
Chris