About San Salvatore in Onda (Church of the Holy Savior in Onda) & the tomb of Saint Vincent Pallotti:
Another beautiful church in Rome! The city is full of amazingly beautiful churches, but what makes this one even more special is that it contains the incorrupt body of Saint Vincent Pallotti. Never heard of him? Well, here is his story.
About Saint Vincent Pallotti:
Vincent Pallotti was born in Rome on April 21st, 1795. He was descended from the noble families of the Pallotti of Norcia and the De Rossi of Rome. His early studies were made at the Pious Schools of San Pantaleone, and from there he passed to the Roman College. At the age of sixteen, he resolved to become a priest, and was ordained on 16 May 1818. Shortly thereafter he earned a doctorate in theology.
He was given an assistant professorship at the Sapienza University but resigned it soon after to devote himself to pastoral work. Pallotti worked selflessly looking after the poor in the urban areas of the city for most of his life. He organized schools for shoemakers, tailors, coachmen, carpenters, and gardeners so that they could better work at their trade. He also attended evening classes for those who were young farmers and unskilled workers. He soon became known as a “second Saint Philip Neri”.
Saint Vincent Pallotti believed that everyone is called to be an apostle–no matter one’s occupation in life–as long as the work is seen as an act of love. Saint Vincent Pallotti had a great devotion to the mystery of the Most Blessed Trinity, and to the Virgin Mary. His contemporaries, including the pope, considered him a saint during his life.
Many miracles were associated with his life and he was even known to bi-locate!
Vincent Pallotti died in Rome, on January 22, 1850. Vincent Pallotti was Canonized by Pope John XXIII on January 20, 1963.
We celebrate the Feast of Saint Vincent Pallotti on January 22.
About The Society of the Catholic Apostolate (SAC):
On 9 January 1835, Pallotti founded the Union of the Catholic Apostolate. He expressed his idea in the following words: “The Catholic Apostolate, that is, the universal apostolate, which is common to all classes of people, consists in doing all that one must and can do for the great glory of God and for one’s own salvation and that of one’s neighbor.” On 11 July 1835, Pope Gregory XVI gave his approval.
The Society was placed under the protection of Mary, Queen of Apostles. During the cholera plague in 1837, Pallotti ministered to the stricken. In 1838 the Society was ordered dissolved, as it was seen as a duplication of the Society for the Propagation of the Faith. Vincent Pallotti appealed this decision to the pope and the order of dissolution was withdrawn.
On October 28, 2003 the Union of Catholic Apostolate was declared an International Public Association of the Faithful by a decree of the Pontifical Council for the Laity. We know them today as the Pallottines.
You will find the incorrupt body of Saint Vincent Pallotti in the Church of the Holy Savior in Onda.
The body of St. Vincent Pallotti was exhumed in 1906 and again 1950; examiners found his body to be incorrupt, a sign of holiness in the tradition of the Roman Catholic Church.
His body is enshrined here in the Church of the Holy Savior in Onda beneath the main altar, as shown in the photo.
The tomb of Blessed Ellisabetta Sanna in the Church of the Holy Savior in Onda:
Also in the church is the tomb of Blessed Ellisabetta Sanna. Ellisabetta was one of the first lay persons who cooperated with St. Vincent’s vision–to increase love using any and all means. People visited Ellisabetta for advice…..even Pallotti and his Pallottines visited her for advice too. She soon witnessed the foundation of the Union of the Catholic Apostolate and she became an active member of that organization.
Ellisabetta Sanna was declared Blessed by Pope Francis on January 27, 2014. The Pallatines celebrate the Feast of Blessed Ellisabetta Sanna on February 17.
Traveling to San Salvatore in Onda (Church of the Holy Savior in Onda)
The church is close to the River Tiber, about 30 minutes walk from Vatican City. .
Address: Via dei Pettinari, 56-58, 00186 Roma RM, Italy
Tel: +39 06 6819 4601
