The church of
San Salvatore (San Pietro in Borgo) is located in the square of the Holy Office in Vatican City.
The church is of medieval origin and is known in the documents with the name of
San Salvatore de Ossibus, to the nearby cemetery of the pilgrims, or San Salvatore in Terrione,
in reference to the Roman Porta Cavalleggeri, now no longer existing.
The oldest names date from the pontificate of Leo IV (847-855). A decree from the pope names the
church as San Salvatore in Terrione. The church appears again in the papal bulls of 1053, 1158 and 1186.
The church was annexed by the Schola Francorum, or the hospice for Frankish pilgrims who came to Rome
to visit the tomb of St Peter.
It was restored under Nicholas V (1447 - 1455), whose coat of arms is found in the church. Soon after
the church was abandoned and partially destroyed during the building of the Palace of the Holy Office.
The church was restored as a chapel in 1923 by the Knights of Columbus. There was a restoration in 2011, sponsored by the "Ohio Chapter of the Patrons of the Arts in the Vatican Museums".
It is now part of the Soup Kitchen (and homeless womens Shelter), run by Mother Teresa's,
Missionaries of Charity, opened in the 1980's by Pope John Paul II as a gift to Blessed Mother Teresa.
