Saint Sophia Cathedral, Rome
A cathedral built by Patriarch Josyf Slipyj after 18 years in the camps.
The Cathedral of Saint Sophia on Via di Boccea was conceived by Josyf Slipyj: in 1963, after 18 years of Soviet imprisonment, he was released and began raising funds for the church. The Italian architect Lucio Di Stefano took the plans of the original building of Kyiv's Sophia as his basis; construction began in June 1967. According to the UGCC map, the cathedral was consecrated on 27–28 September 1969 by Slipyj and 17 bishops in the presence of Pope Paul VI; according to RISU, by the Pope himself on 28 September. The interior is covered with mosaics designed by Sviatoslav Hordynsky. Slipyj died in Rome on 7 September 1984; his coffin stood in the cathedral crypt until, on 27–29 August 1992, his body was moved to St George's Cathedral in Lviv. Since 1998 the church has had the status of a basilica. After russia's invasion in 2022 the cathedral became a collection point for aid: on 6 March 2022 the President of Italy, Mattarella, came here, and by February 2023 the hundredth truck of aid for Ukraine had set off from here.
A working church — mind the schedule of services.