This extensive work in Via Tuscolana consists of various sections including a large church dedicated to the Help of Christians. It was erected as a parish on 25 March 1932 by Pius XI. The project was conceived in the form of a large Latin cross, with a major arm of 72 metres and a minor arm of 40 metres.
The church was solemnly consecrated on 17 May 1936 and since 1967 has been the seat of the cardinalate of "Santa Maria Ausiliatrice" in Via Tuscolana. Since April 1969 it has had the dignity of a minor basilica.
The church was designed by architects prof. Giulio Vallotti, of the Salesians’ technical office, and prof. Nicola Mosso, from Turin, in the style of the great Roman churches of the Renaissance, and as such was frescoed, between 1957 and 1965, by Fr Giuseppe Melle, Salesian of Don Bosco. In addition to being a valuable artist, he was also a good theologian and in the basilica he represented numerous themes in the following pictorial cycles: Marian, ecclesial, Eucharistic and Salesian, with echoes and styles that recall the famous Raphael Rooms in the Vatican.
The façade is divided into two orders. In the lower order, four columns surmounted by an architrave and a tympanum crown the main entrance of the church. There is something similar in the higher order, only that the columns are reduced to two and in place of the door there is a large window. The whole is surmounted by a balustrade with a statue of the Help of Christians at the centre. To complete the façade there are two bell towers, for a total of eight bells.
Inside, with three naves, there are numerous symbolic and thematic arrangements. The dome depicts the angels with the Assumption. The tambour contains the episodes narrated in Holy Scripture and the Marian dogmas. The domed vault represents the sovereignty of Mary over the angels and humanity. Lower down in the foreground are the apostles and evangelists, then the martyrs and in the background the confessors of the faith and the bishops.
The main vault also represents the victories of Lepanto (1571) and Vienna (1683), attributed to Mary Help of Christians. Along the sides is the illustration Salesian work(schools and missions) and the images and episodes of the most famous Marian shrines.
On the six altars of the side chapels Fr Melle also represented a Eucharistic cycle. The lunettes show the action of the three Persons of the Most Holy Trinity united in the sacrifice of the Son, evoked in the Mass. The sails of the vaults show scenes from the Old Testament that prefigure it: the Souls in Purgatory; the blood of the Passover Lamb; the sacrifice of Isaac; the bread of Elijah; the sacrifice of Melchizedek; the manna in the desert.
To the left of the transept is the chapel of St John Bosco. In the vault there is a singular commentary on the "Salve Regina": Don Bosco prays to Mary to show her Son Jesus after this life which is a valley of tears. Beneath the trompe l'oeil dome Fr Melle depicts diseases, suffering and scenes of the First World War.
On the opposite side is the St Joseph chapel. The patron saint of the Catholic Church leans on the head of Jesus and blesses the faithful. And a cartouche under the Madonna reads "Go to Joseph", thus promoting entrustment to Jesus' foster-father.
The statue of Mary Help of Christians, finally, dominates the centre of the dome over the apse, with the symbols of Mary's Queenship – the crowns and the sceptre – which were blessed by Pope Paul VI on 5 December 1965, at the end of the Second Vatican Council.
Every year, on the occasion of the anniversary of Mary Help of Christians, the basilica becomes the centrepiece of a very heartfelt popular devotion which culminates in the procession through the streets of the district and is accompanied by a large regional festival, with stalls and other attractions.
