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Santa Maria del Suffragio + Crypt
This building is quite easily one of the ugliest and overstated architectural designs in Bologna. In fact, it looks more like an alien spaceship rather than a place of worship plonked down in the middle of a residential area. And from the side it’s almost windowless appearance gives it that high-rise building look from a ghetto area. Alas, it is actually a parish church.
The true enormity of it becomes obvious inside. The plain walls and lack of decorations only exacerbate the corpulent and tall body with its walls seemingly closing in.
It was built by the curator of the new neighbourhood of Libia which came about due to the quickly expanding quarter of San Donato at the end of the 19th century beginning of the 20th. Their first gathering took place under the roof within the Santuario di Santa Maria dei Poveri in via Nosadella. It was inaugurated on the 15th October 1925.
The building had been entrusted to the Dehoniani Order. They were a missionary order whose origins are traced to the end of the 1800s and based at that time in the church of Santa Maria Regina dei Cieli.
The first baptism and marriage in the new parish took place in 1932.
In 1926 the local population grew to 8,000 therefore in 1932 Santa Maria del Suffragio became an autonomous parish. Rodolfo Bettazzi and Italo Gasperi were given the task to construct a new temple in 1941. It was initially designed as a sanctuary. Unfortunately with the onset of WWII construction was halted and only reinstated in 1951.
Along the aisles are a handful of chapels although most of the wooden panel cubicles are actually confessional boxes which are either closed or open depending on the preferred option. On the sides of the cubicles are also various works of art illustrating saints which were created in the 1980s.
Finally this bronze statue represents Leone Dehon the founder of the Dehoniani Order who was actually French but established his order in Brussels around 1843. There is currently a petition for his beatification in Rome.
The most recent work carried out was in 2000 when the building underwent a lot of cleaning and restoration work. Apparently, the building was suffering under the weight of spiders webs.
Underneath is the crypt, reached through the church or via an external side door. It’s very basic in design and much warmer which is why too mass is said here during the winter months. There is little of anything important or valuable artistic wise here. Although an unusual aspect of this crypt are the few Holy icons on display around the altar and on the walls. They are in fact Ukrainian Orthodox. In recent years, a large community of Ukrainians have moved into this area and as such they were permitted to say their mass here therefore in effect sharing the same altar with Roman Catholicism.
There are rooms also within this complex which are used for community events even including a small but modern cinema.
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