Rome – It houses the brilliant rivalry between the great artist Gian Lorenzo Bernini and his rival Francesco Borromini. It tells the story of the first seminarians who came to Rome from Asia, Africa, and the Americas in the 17th century to study theology and then return to their homelands to proclaim the Gospel of Christ. It recounts the debts accumulated by families of Cardinals.
Above all, it illustrates the beginnings of the great missionary adventure of Catholicism in the modern era, which spread throughout the world in the years following the founding of the Sacred Congregation “De Propaganda Fide” . All this and much more can be found in the history of Palazzo Ferratini, whose façade faces Piazza di Spagna in the heart of Rome. The building commonly known as the “Palazzo di Propaganda Fide” is not a museum, but still houses the staff of a section of the Dicastery for Evangelization, dedicated to the First Evangelization and the new particular churches. A vibrant network of activities connects the staff of this building daily with the urgent needs, news, and challenges of ecclesial communities worldwide.
The building was “donated” to the Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith exactly 400 years ago, on June 5, 1626. Four centuries later, on Thursday, June 11, 2026, an international study day on “Palazzo di Propaganda Fide” will be held in the Aula Magna of the Pontifical Urban College, on the Janiculum Hill, in the area of the Pontifical Urbaniana University. This event offered an opportunity to explore the beginnings of the building’s eventful history and to rediscover the artistic treasures it contains.
The day begins at 9:00 a.m. with brief introductions by Cardinal Luis Antonio Gokim Tagle, Pro-Prefect of the Missionary Dicastery; Professor Vincenzo Buonomo, Rector of the Pontifical Urbaniana University; Father Armando Nugnes, Rector of the Pontifical Urban College; and José María Giaima Brosel Gavila, Rector of the Church of Santa Maria in Monserrato, the Spanish National Church in Rome. This will be followed by two study sessions: the first will focus on the history of the palace, and the second on its significant artistic and architectural aspects.
The study day’s program
400 years ago, the Valencian priest Juan Bautista Vives donated the “Palazzo di Propaganda Fide” as the headquarters of the Congregation responsible for missions throughout the world. The building had previously been the subject of a long dispute between the Spanish prelate and the financially troubled heirs of Cardinal Ferratini, who had commissioned its construction near Piazza di Spagna as a private residence. In the first session—chaired by Professor Pierantonio Piatti, Vice President of the Pontifical Committee for Historical Sciences—Monsignor Flavio Belluomini, Archivist of the Historical Archive of Propaganda Fide, will present the complex events and reasons for the donation of the palace. Following this, the second lecture, by Luca Balducci of the Library of the Pontifical Urbaniana University, will focus on the relocation of the Urban College – which since its founding in 1627, the college had housed its students in the Palazzo di Propaganda and moved to its new location on the Janiculum Hill, completed in 1926. Balducci’s lecture will focus on the purchase of the building, the various phases of the move, and the early years of the new building adjacent to the Pontifical Urbaniana University.
This highlights the continuity between the first non-European students, who were housed in the building overlooking Piazza di Spagna from the 17th century onward, and the current student community hosted in the Urban College, with over 160 students from nearly 40 different nations.
Bernini, Borromini, and the Chapel of the Three Kings
Historians attribute the main façade of Palazzo di Propaganda, which faces Piazza di Spagna and features the Column of the Immaculate Conception, to Gian Lorenzo Bernini. Francesco Borromini, on the other hand, shaped the entire architectural identity of the palace with his experimental style, beginning with the façade on Via di Propaganda, which was completed around 1662. Inside, Borromini also replaced Bernini’s small elliptical chapel with the chapel now known as the Chapel of the Three Kings, completed in 1666. Completed in this way, it features a complex floor plan rich in curves, niches, and continuous surfaces: a liturgical space dedicated to the Epiphany, within a palace where everything has always been geared towards accompanying and supporting the Church’s apostolic work throughout the world.
The Portuguese Jesuit Nuno da Silva Gonçalves, director of the journal “La Civiltà Cattolica” and professor at the Faculty of History and Cultural Heritage of the Church at the Pontifical Gregorian University, begins with a lecture by Professor Marisa Tabarrini from the Institute of History, Design, and Restoration of Architecture at the University of Rome “La Sapienza” on “The Palazzo di Propaganda Fide and its Architects.” Following this, Professor Joseph Connors from the University of Notre Dame will deliver his lecture on “From Bernini’s Small Chapel to Borromini’s Large Chapel.” At 6:00 p.m., the study day concludes with a prayer and thanksgiving service in the Chapel of the Three Kings in Palazzo di Propaganda Fide, where Vespers will be celebrated. This event on Thursday, June 11, marks the beginning of a series of studies initiated and coordinated by the Dicastery for Evangelization, which will culminate in 2027 with an international conference commemorating the 400th anniversary of the Urban College. Journalists and media professionals can apply for accreditation to attend the study day at the Holy See Press Office.
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