by Riccardo Sciarra
On Sunday 3 September the Community of Sant’Andrea Apostolo in Rome gathered around the altar of the parish church for the solemn mass of thanksgiving after the renovation works in the summer months and the “obligatory” celebration of the functions in the temporary liturgical hall set up in the parish hall.
The parish priest Father Ottorino Vanzaghi, Doctrinair, recalled that the works completed are the completion of what was done in the past decades by the previous Doctrinaires parish priests. Father Mario built the pastoral center and the catechism classrooms, Father Battista expanded the external structures, from the Caritas center to the sports field to the accesses to the parish offices to allow access to the elderly Pope John Paul II during the pastoral visit of 2001; and finally Father Giambattista renovated the presbytery of the church, altar, ambo, seat and baptismal font. Finally, Father Andrea reorganized the square in front of the Church by restoring the asphalt roof.
The works completed in August involved the liturgical adaptation of the church: in particular, the two side altars, dating back to the pre-conciliar period, were dismantled and the statues of the saints were relocated, thanks to the provision of two new wooden aedicules, created in the interior of the church walls which, thanks to the meticulous work of artistic carpentry, were identical to the pre-existing ones, with a sober style.
On the left is now the statue of Saint Cesare de Bus, Founder of the Doctrinaries Fathers, canonized on 15 May 2022 and, on the right, that of Saint Andrew the Apostle, after whom the parish is named, patron of the Community of Nero’s Tomb.
During the works, a side emergency exit was built which also made it possible to eliminate the architectural barriers to facilitate access for the disabled and people with walking difficulties; in the same way, the step to access the confessionals was eliminated. Finally, to complete the efficiency of the electrical system with LED lamps, energy savings and better lighting of the statues of saints and the Stations of the Cross will be achieved, while the environment for prayer will be warmer in winter and cooler in summer, thanks to the dehumidification and air conditioning system.
The church was built in the 1940s by the Diocese which entrusted its care to the Doctrinaries. At that time the area of Tomba di Nerone was rural, with some villas built along the Cassia. After the war the neighborhood underwent many transformations: in the 1970s it went from an area surrounded by greenery to a wealthy neighborhood with prestigious areas on the outskirts of Rome. Since the 1990s the neighborhood has been incorporated into the metropolis, with a significant increase in residents.
Today Sant’Andrea covers an area with around 20 thousand inhabitants, in one of the most multi-ethnic neighborhoods of the capital; a real pastoral challenge both for the involvement and integration of the communities that frequent and enrich it on a daily basis, and for the Synodal Path started by Pope Francis.
