Basilica of St. Augustine in Rome, Italy

Jan 29
2 min read

There are many beautiful churches in Rome. In fact, there are over 900 churches in the city. While it might be difficult to visit all of them, I highly recommend that you visit The Basilica of St. Augustine, which is located in the Campo Marzio neighborhood located between Piazza del Popolo and the Pantheon. My friend told me about this church because my husband and I have been trying to conceive for over 9 years. In the Basilica, as soon as you enter you will walk by a shrine to Our Lady called La Madonna del Parto, or Our Lady of Childbirth. In the picture below you will see a wall covered with blue and pink ribbons and bows. Each piece represents a personal testimony of couples who had children who asked for Our Lady of Childbirth’s intercession to either conceive or who had difficult pregnancies.

Continuing to walk in the church, on the left side you will see a beautiful picture of the Madonna Di Loreto or Pilgrims' Madonna by Italian artist Caravaggio between 1604-1606. While the area looks dark where the painting is displayed, for a small fee you can turn on the light to see the painting. Don’t worry, this is the only thing you have to pay for in this church.

As you walk down the main corridor of the church you will notice the beautiful architecture, statues, and paintings. Above each of the arches are paintings of the Life of Mary. There are twelve in total. Some examples of these paintings are the Annunciation, Mary and Joeseph’s betrothal, The Nativity, The Epiphany, the finding of Jesus in the temple at 12-years old, and The Presentation.

St. Monica, who is the mother of St. Augustine, is buried at the church. You have to meander your way to the back left of the church to enter in a very small chapel, but her tomb is on the left side of the chapel. St. Monica prayed for her son’s Augustine’s conversion for 17 years. With her prayers, her son not only turned his life around, but became a theologian and a Doctor of the Church! St. Monica also prayed for her husband’s conversion for 30 years! Talk about persistence in prayer! We can ask St. Monica’s intercession for our friends, family, and especially our children who are fallen away Catholics. St. Monica is also the patron saint of difficult marriages, wives, and mothers.

There are also beautiful statues and paintings that caught my eye including the statue of St. Anne and The Virgin Mary holding Jesus, St. Rita, and more images of Our Lady.