Pauline Chapel of Salus Populi Romani Set for Restoration
Work begins Nov. 16 on frescoes and the dome, lasting 18 months; suspended scaffolding and a copied icon will maintain devotion during a brief closure.
Restoration of the Pauline Chapel at the Papal Basilica of Saint Mary Major will begin on November 16, 2026, and is expected to last about 18 months. The project is jointly promoted by the Basilica and the Governorate of the State of Vatican City.
It covers the chapel’s upper register, from the entablature to the dome, including frescoes and stucco decorations on the vaults, lunettes, pendentives, and dome, as well as frescoes and wooden furnishings in the sacristy. The aim is to restore full legibility to the monument and secure its conservation for future generations.
A shrine for Mary, Mother of the Church
Pope Paul V Borghese (1605–1621) commissioned the chapel as a monumental shrine for the icon of the Virgin Mary known as Salus Populi Romani, which tradition attributes to the hand of St. Luke the Evangelist. Architect Flaminio Ponzio designed the space. The fresco cycle, painted between 1610 and 1612, is the work of Giovanni Baglione, Lodovico Cardi (Cigoli), Guido Reni, and Giuseppe Cesari (Cavalier d’Arpino). Its iconographic program centers on the Virgin Mary as Mother of the Church and bulwark of the Catholic faith.
The dome holds one of the earliest artistic responses to Galileo Galilei’s discoveries: the Assumed Virgin rests on a naturalistic moon inspired by the telescopic observations published in 1610. Cigoli’s Immaculate Conception is known as the “Galilean Madonna.”
Devotion uninterrupted
To keep the faithful’s access to the icon uninterrupted, the Basilica is installing advanced suspended scaffolding so that work can proceed under maximum safety conditions without blocking the chapel. The chapel will be closed to the public only during a preliminary phase of about 90 days for assembly and diagnostic and photographic surveys. A copy of the icon will be displayed nearby for veneration.
Throughout the works, daily Masses will be celebrated in the Sistine Chapel of the Basilica at the usual times: 8 a.m., 9 a.m., 10 a.m., 11 a.m., 12 a.m., and 6 p.m.
The project marks the Basilica’s renewed care for its historic and artistic heritage after the Jubilee of Hope. Each year millions of pilgrims entrust themselves to the intercession of the Virgin Mary, Mother of God and Mother of the Church, at this place.