| Church of Saint Peregrinus in the Vatican | |
|---|---|
| San Pellegrino in Vaticano San Pellegrino in Naumachia | |
 Façade | |
 Click on the map for a fullscreen view | |
| 41°54′18.01″N 012°27′25.06″E / 41.9050028°N 12.4569611°E | |
| Location | Vatican City, Rome |
| Country | Italy |
| Denomination | Roman Catholic |
| History | |
| Status | Oratory, national church |
| Architecture | |
| Architectural type | Church |
| Style | Baroque |
| Groundbreaking | 8th century[2] |
| Completed | 16th century |
| Specifications | |
| Length | 20 metres (66 ft) |
| Width | 9 metres (30 ft) |
| Clergy | |
| Cardinal protector | Mons. Giulio Viviani [1] |
The Church of San Pellegrino in Vaticano (English: Saint Peregrine in the Vatican) is an ancient Roman Catholic oratory in the Vatican City, located on the Via dei Pellegrini. The church is dedicated to Saint Peregrine of Auxerre, a Roman priest appointed by Pope Sixtus II who had suffered martyrdom in Gaul in the third century.[3] It is one of the oldest churches in the Vatican City.[1]
The church built by Pope Leo III (750 AD - 816 AD) around 800 first received the name of "San Pellegrino in Naumachia", making reference to the naumachia built northwest of the Castel Sant'Angelo and dedicated by Roman emperor Trajan in 109. In the seventeenth century, Pope Clement X granted the church to the Pontifical Swiss Guards, who used it for their religious services in combination with the church of Santi Martino e Sebastiano degli Svizzeri until 1977. Under the name of San Pellegrino degli Svizzeri (English: Saint Peregrine of the Swiss), it became the national church in Rome of Switzerland. The oratory later fell into disrepair but was restored in the 19th century when evidence of the 9th-century frescoes were discovered.
The church now serves as the chapel of the Pontifical Gendarmerie and the firefighters of the Vatican City and is entrusted to the care of the chaplain of the corps —currently Msgr. Giulio Viviani.[1]