<P> Pope John Paul II visited the church on February 1, 1998 . </P> <P> Sacro Cuore di Gesù in Prati rises in Lungotevere Prati, between Via Ulpiano and Via Paolo Mercuri, close to the Palace of Justice . </P> <P> The façade with salients, entirely made with reinforced concrete, underlines the internal subdivision into three naves thanks to six quadrangular piers, each surmounted by a spire . In the lower part there are three portals, whose embrasure is decorated by little columns made of red Verona marble; each portal is surmounted by a wimperg and decorated with a marble lunette hosting a bas - relief: the central lunette portrays the Souls of Purgatory, the one on the right the Deposition of Christ and the one on the left the Resurrection of Christ; the wimperg above the central portal shows a high - relief portraying the Sacred Heart of Jesus between two Angels . In correspondence to each of the side naves there is a high triphora, while the central nave corresponds to a big esaphora including a rose window showing a richly decorated trestle . The façade ends aloft with a thin octagonal bell tower: it is surmounted by a cross that hosts an earth - shaped ex-voto, donated by Victor Jouët . </P> <P> The decorations of the façade, formerly made with artificial stone, has been replaced, starting from 1960 +, by statues made with St. Gotthard stone, though identical to the original ones . They include gothic - inspired architectural features and nineteen statues of saints, personally chosen by Pope Pius X; they are positioned within recesses above the slopes of the central nave (from the left: St. Augustine, St. Peter Apostle, St. Joseph, Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, St. John Evangelist, St. Paul Apostle and St. Odo of Cluny), of the nave on the right (from the left: St. Victor, St. Francis of Assisi and St. Nicholas of Tolentino), of the nave on the left (from the left: St. Francis Xavier, St. Dominic of Guzmán and St. Michael Archangel) and close to the six pillars, placed on shelves (from the left: St. Bernard of Clairvaux, St. Gregory the Great, St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, St. Catherine of Genoa, St. Anthony of Padua and St. Patrick . </P>

Church of the sacred heart of suffrage in rome