The Church of Sant’Anselmo
The Church of Sant’Anselmo is located on the Aventine Hill, next to the Piazza dei Cavalieri di Malta, a favorite destination for tourists who can admire the beauty of the dome of St. Peter through the hole of the famous lock.
From the left side of the square a discreet and orderly avenue leads to the church preceded by a quadriporticus with a small fountain in the center and to the side the bronze statue of St. Anselm, made by the Swiss sculptor A. Wider from Widnau.
The church was built between 1892 and 1900 from a design by Francesco Vespignani and Abbot Hildebrand de Hemptinne in pure neo-Romanic style. The three naves are divided by granite columns with Ionic capitals, with the columns supporting the triumphal arch above the altar end with the Corinthian capitals.
The apse mosaic depicts the jeweled cross between angels and saints Benedict and Anselm, the work of the German monk Radbodus Commandeur.
Together with the Badia and the Pontifical Athenaeum, our church, named after the Benedictine monk and doctor of the Church of Saint Anselm, is a center of liturgical spirituality and Gregorian chant. Since 1962 it has been the starting point of the penitential procession presided over by the Pope on Ash Wednesday. In 1985 Pope St. John Paul II established our church as a cardinalate diakonia, now entrusted to Card. Lorenzo Baldisseri.
In our church we can celebrate weddings, anniversaries and Masses in suffrage. In case of need, contact the Rector of the Church, Fr. Doroteo Toic OSB:
Tel. (+39)065791338
e-mail basilica@anselmianum.com
The wedding office
The wedding office is open at the following times:
From Monday to Saturday from 16.00 to 19.00, except Thursday from 10.00 to 12.00.
Sunday, public holidays and the entire month of August the office is closed.
Message from the rector
Dear friends who wish to marry in our church,
at Sant’Anselmo on the Aventine, the Benedictine monastic community welcomes you and prays every day for those who, in front of the altar of our basilica, pronounce their “yes” to join in the sacrament of marriage. We pray for you because we are aware that the most important thing in life and the most beautiful in this world is love. As Rector of this basilica I would like to tell you how much we monks esteem your decision and how close we are to you in our prayer. The doors of our church and our hearts are always open. You can come when you want to renew your love and ask for a blessing from the Lord and, on the other hand, we also receive the blessing from God through your love. Therefore, thank you from my heart and from the other fathers who live at Sant’Anselmo.
P. Doroteo Toic OSB – Rector of the church
