Santa Maria Addolorata a Piazza Buenos Aires (Our Lady of Sorrows

Our Lady of Sorrows

Our Lady of Sorrows , the Sorrowful Mother or Mother of Sorrows , and Our Lady of the Seven Sorrows or Our Lady of the Seven Dolours are names by which the Blessed Virgin Mary is referred to in relation to sorrows in her life...

 at Piazza Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...

), titular church and the Argentine

Argentina

Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...

 national church

National church

National church is a concept of a Christian church associated with a specific ethnic group or nation state. The idea was notably discussed during the 19th century, during the emergence of modern nationalism....

, on Viale Regina Margherita, Rome

Rome

Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...

.

History

It was founded by the Argentine priest Msgr. José León Gallardo with donations from the Argentine bishops, with the first stone being laid on 9 July 1910, the centenary of Argentine independence. Mrs. Seaz Peña, wife of the President of the Republic of Argentine, was present at the ceremony. Construction took twenty years, and the church was finally inaugurated in 1930. From then until 1989, the church was served by Mercedarian

Order of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mercy

The Royal, Celestial and Military Order of Our Lady of Mercy and the Redemption of the Captives also known as Our Lady of Ransom is a Roman Catholic religious order established in 1218 by St...

 fathers; it is now served by Argentine diocesan clergy from a community in an adjoining house.

It was built by the architect Giuseppe Astorri with a 7-storey campanile

Campanile

Campanile is an Italian word meaning "bell tower" . The term applies to bell towers which are either part of a larger building or free-standing, although in American English, the latter meaning has become prevalent.The most famous campanile is probably the Leaning Tower of Pisa...

 and a 2-storey façade in the style of ancient Christian architecture, with a central depiction of the Lamb and symbols of the four Evangelists

Four Evangelists

In Christian tradition the Four Evangelists are Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, the authors attributed with the creation of the four Gospel accounts in the New Testament that bear the following titles:*Gospel according to Matthew*Gospel according to Mark...

. The interior is also in ancient, Roman-Byzantine style, with a nave and two aisles divided by Ionic columns, a Cosmatesque

Cosmatesque

Cosmatesque, or Cosmati, is a style of geometric decorative inlay stonework typical of Medieval Italy, and especially of Rome and its surroundings. It was used most extensively for the decoration of church floors, but was also used to decorate church walls, pulpits, and bishop's thrones...

-style pulpit and lectern and a polychrome

Polychrome

Polychrome is one of the terms used to describe the use of multiple colors in one entity. It has also been defined as "The practice of decorating architectural elements, sculpture, etc., in a variety of colors." Polychromatic light is composed of a number of different wavelengths...

 marble floor (laid in geometric patterns with the national coat-of-arms in the centre, and a memorial slab to its founder, which was presented by the Argentine cardinals and bishops at the Second Vatican Council

Second Vatican Council

The Second Vatican Council addressed relations between the Roman Catholic Church and the modern world. It was the twenty-first Ecumenical Council of the Catholic Church and the second to be held at St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican. It opened under Pope John XXIII on 11 October 1962 and closed...

).

In the apse at the east end is a mosaic of Our Lady of Sorrows by Giambattista Conti and a high altar decorated with onyx and covered by a baldachino supported by four granite Corinthian columns. The choir is separated from the nave by an altar ring of white marble which includes intaglia and bronze gates with the national coat-of-arms and the arms of the Order of the Mercedarians.

At one altar is a small statue of Our Lady of Luján, principal patron of Argentina.

Special festivals and Masses

The feast of Our Lady of Sorrows is celebrated on 15 September and 15 February (due to different calendars placing the feast on different days, it is celebrated twice in this church).

Mass is celebrated in Spanish on the first Sunday in the month, and occasionally at other times.