The Jesuit Church of the Gesù, also known as Santa Maria di Gesù or Casa Professa, was built shortly after the Jesuits arrived in Palermo in 1549. Construction began in the late 16th century based on a design by the Jesuit architect Giovanni Tristano, adjacent to the order’s professed house.
True to St. Ignatius’s teaching to find God in all things, the church’s richly decorated Baroque interior reflects the same spirit of devotion the Jesuits brought to their ministry in Palermo. Pilgrims celebrate Mass here, in a space that has served the city’s Catholic community for well over four centuries.
Photo: Phyrexian, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
