The Church of the Gesù (Italian: Chiesa del Gesù ; Italian pronunciation: [dʒeˈzu]) is the mother church of the Society of Jesus, a Roman Catholic religious order also known as the Jesuits. Officially named Chiesa del Santissimo Nome di Gesù all'Argentina (English: Church of the Most Holy Name of Jesus), its facade is "the first truly baroque façade". The church served as model for innumerable Jesuit churches all over the world, especially in the...
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The Church of the Gesù (Italian: Chiesa del Gesù ; Italian pronunciation: [dʒeˈzu]) is the mother church of the Society of Jesus, a Roman Catholic religious order also known as the Jesuits. Officially named Chiesa del Santissimo Nome di Gesù all'Argentina (English: Church of the Most Holy Name of Jesus), its facade is "the first truly baroque façade". The church served as model for innumerable Jesuit churches all over the world, especially in the Americas. The Church of the Gesù is located in the Piazza del Gesù in Rome.
First conceived in 1551 by Saint Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Jesuits Society of Jesus, and active during the Protestant Reformation and the subsequent Catholic Reformation, the Gesù was also the home of the Superior General of the Society of Jesus until the suppression of the order in 1773.
Although Michelangelo offered to design the church for free, the endeavor was funded by Alessandro Cardinal Farnese, grandson of Pope Paul III, who had authorized the...
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