Santa Maria del Ritiro al Gianicolo is a 20th century convent church at Via di San Francesco di Sales 25, in the north of Trastevere on the slopes of the Gianicolo.
History[]
The diocese lists it as a church, but it functions as the chapel of the Generalate of the Congregation of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, a missionary congregation which was founded in Belgium in 1862. This is nicknamed the Scheut Fathers, after the location of its first headquarters.
The house in Rome was built in 1930 as a missionary college, and is still listed as one by the Diocese.
Appearance, and how to find it[]
This has got to be the most obscure and difficult to find church in the Centro Storico. It has no online profile at all, and no photos.
Getting there involves finding the far end of the Via di San Francesco di Sales and going through the gate straight ahead (if allowed). You will find yourself in a long, narrow courtyard with a range on the right and a garden wall on the left. Go through a gate in this, and the church is to the right.
It is a white and pale cream building on a U-shaped plan, with shallow pilasters on the external walls and tall, narrow windows.