Gesù Divino Lavoratore

Gesu Divino Lavoratore is the parish church built in 1955 in the Portuense district of Rome, along Via Portuense southwest of the city centre. The dedication to "Jesus, the divine worker" reflects a popular devotion encouraged in 1950s Italian working-class neighborhoods - the parish was conceived to strengthen Catholic milieu against the strong communist presence in these housing areas. Architecturally it is typical of post-war Italian parish construction: a simple concrete and brick hall with sober interior and a slim free-standing campanile. The church is not a tourist draw; anyone walking through Portuense will find here a slice of Roman parish life well off the baroque pilgrimage routes.