St. Paul's Within the Walls

{{Redirect|American Church in Rome|the Catholic American national church in Rome|Santa Susanna}}

{{Infobox church

| name = St. Paul's Within the Walls

| other name = American Church in Rome

| native_name = {{langx|it|San Paolo dentro le Mura}}

| image = San Paolo dentro le Mura.jpg

| caption = The west front in 2021

| denomination = Episcopal

| architect = George Edmund Street

| style = Gothic Revival

| completed date = 1880

| website = {{URL|www.stpaulsrome.it}}

| coordinates = {{coord|41|54|04|N|12|29|39|E|type:landmark_region:IT|display=inline,title}}

|bells=23

}}

File:St. Paul's Within the Walls.jpg of 23 bells visible in the tower]]

St. Paul's Within the Walls ({{langx|it|San Paolo dentro le Mura}}), also known as the American Church in Rome, is a church of the Convocation of Episcopal Churches in Europe on Via Nazionale in Castro Pretorio, Rome. It was the first Protestant church to be built in Rome.Cooper (2003), pp. 150–151. Designed by English architect George Edmund Street in Gothic Revival style, it was built in polychrome brick and stone,MacCarthy (2011), pp. 351–352. and completed in 1880.

The church contains mosaics which are the largest works of the English Pre-Raphaelite artist Edward Burne-Jones.

Construction

Building a Protestant church in Rome became possible after the Kingdom of Italy's Capture of Rome from the Papacy in 1870.

The Episcopal expatriate congregation in Rome commissioned Street in 1872. The cornerstone was laid in 1873, and the church was inaugurated in 1876.{{cite web |url=http://www.info.roma.it/monumenti_dettaglio.asp?ID_schede=772 |title=San Paolo dentro le mura |work=monumenti.roma.it |publisher=Associazione Culturale Info.roma.it |accessdate=14 October 2014 |language=it}}

Mosaics

File:Roma - Chiesa di San Paolo nelle mura.jpg

File:Christ Enthroned in the Heavenly Jerusalem, St Paul's.jpg holds the sun, Michael in armour, Gabriel bears the lily of the Annunciation, Chemuel holds the sacred cup, and Zophiel holds the moon.{{cite book |last=Furnival |first=William James |year=1904 |title=Leadless Decorative Tiles, Faience, and Mosaic, Comprising Notes and Excerpts on the History, Materials, Manufacture & Use of Ornamental Flooring Tiles, Ceramic Mosaic, and Decorative Tiles and Faience |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2FDvAgAAQBAJ&q=Burne-Jones+mosaic+rome+michael+gabriel+uriel&pg=PA525 |location=Moscow |publisher=Ripol Classic Publishing House |page=525 |isbn=978-1-176-32563-0 |quote=While on either hand are the archangels: Michael is a glorious figure in armour; Uriel holds the sun; Gabriel bears the lily of the Annunciation; Chemuel, the angel of the Sangreal, stands next him with the sacred cup; and Zophiel, to his left, holds the moon.}}]]

Street approached Burne-Jones in 1881, but died the same year. The congregation's rector, Robert J. Nevin, travelled to England to confirm and expand the commission.MacCarthy (2011), p. 353.

Burne-Jones was eager to emulate the mosaics of Ravenna, which he had visited in 1873.Marcus (1975), p. 72.

Burne-Jones designed cartoons which he sent to Venice, together with specifications for the colours to be used. The Venice and Murano Glass and Mosaic Company mounted tesserae onto the cartoons, and the resulting assemblies were then installed in the church. The selection of colours, based on sample tiles sent to England by the company, was a collaboration between Burne-Jones and William Morris. Burne-Jones did not travel to Italy to supervise the work, instead sending his assistant, Thomas Rooke.MacCarthy (2011), p. 355.

There are four Burne-Jones mosaics. The Annunciation and The Tree of Life, both completed in 1894, are over successive arches of the chancel, leading towards the apse, whose semi-dome displays Christ Enthroned in the Heavenly Jerusalem,MacCarthy (2011), pp. 354–357. completed in 1885. The fourth mosaic, known as The Earthly Paradise or The Church Militant, lower down on the wall of the apse, was completed in 1907 by Rooke, after Burne-Jones's death.

Burne-Jones set the Annunciation scene in a desert, while The Tree of Life shows Christ in the pose of crucifixion but superimposed on a verdant tree. In the depiction of the Heavenly Jerusalem, Christ is flanked by archangels, with an empty space representing Lucifer's vacated position. The fourth mosaic includes figures with faces modelled on contemporary people.

The church also contains mosaics by the American artist George Breck, who had studied in Rome between 1897 and 1902,Dictionary of American Biography, Vol. 2, p. 3 and stained glass windows in the nave, designed and manufactured for the church by the English firm of Clayton and Bell, a company also influenced by the Pre-Raphaelite movement. These tell the story of the life of St. Paul.{{cite web |title=The Stained Glass Windows |url=https://www.stpaulsrome.it/the-stained-glass-windows/ |website=St. Pauls within the Walls |access-date=14 January 2025}}

Joel Nafuma Refugee Center (JNRC)

Located at St. Paul's Within the Walls Episcopal Church, the Joel Nafuma Refugee Center (JNRC) is a day center for refugees in the heart of Rome, founded in 1982.[http://www.stpaulsrome.it/jnrc-2/ Joel Nafuma Refugee Center at St. Paul's website] stpaulsrome.it, accessed 17 October 2018

The scope of services offered in the center range from basic assistance to settlement services, and aim to address the needs of the whole person. Staff and volunteers accompany guests in their struggle to rebuild their lives through ongoing art and psychotherapy programs and legal support. This spectrum of services aims to address the immediate and urgent needs of newly arrived guests, as well as the needs of guests who (due to the Dublin Regulation) will seek to rebuild their lives in Italy.[http://jnrc.it/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/JNRCAnnualReport.pdf JOEL NAFUMA REFUGEE CENTER 2016 Annual Program Report] jnrc.it accessed 21 October 2018[https://medium.com/needslist/a-place-of-solace-the-joel-nafuma-refugee-center-b8b0364fbc83 Rina G. Patel: A Place of Solace: The Joel Nafuma Refugee Center] medium.com/needslist accessed 21 October 2018

In October 2018, the US Ambassador Callista Gingrich visited to make a formal presentation of a grant from the U.S. Department of State's Julia Taft Refugee Fund.[https://va.usembassy.gov/ambassador-gingrich-presents-joel-nafuma-refugee-center-with-julia-taft-refugee-fund-grant/ Ambassador Gingrich Presents Joel Nafuma Refugee Center with Julia Taft Refugee Fund Grant] va.usembassy.gov, accessed 17 October 2018

Notes

References

{{cite book |last=Cooper |first=Suzanne Fagence |year=2003 |title=Pre-Raphaelite Art in the Victoria & Albert Museum |location=London |publisher=V&A Publications |isbn=1-85177-393-2}}
{{cite book |last=MacCarthy |first=Fiona |authorlink=Fiona MacCarthy |year=2011 |title=The Last Pre-Raphaelite: Edward Burne-Jones and the Victorian Imagination |location=London |publisher=Faber and Faber |isbn=978-0-571-22861-4}}
{{cite book |last=Rice Millon |first=Judith |year=1982 |title=St. Paul's Within the Walls Rome. A building history and guide, 1870–1980 |location=Dublin, New Hampshire |publisher=William L. Bauhan | isbn=0-87233-058-3}}
{{cite book |editor-last=Marcus |editor-first=Penelope |year=1975 |title=Burne-Jones: The paintings, graphic and decorative work of Sir Edward Burne-Jones 1833–98 |location=London |publisher=Arts Council of Great Britain | isbn=0-7287-0073-5}}