The church of San Francesco di Paola, called in dialect «do' Santu Patri», stands in Gela beside its convent, the former Regina Margherita orphanage. It was built in 1738 by the friars of the Minim order, who left it for good in 1809.
What to see
The entrance is adorned with a late Baroque portal, on whose entablature appears the crest of the Minim friars with the word «Charitas». To the left of the doorway stairs lead to the bell tower, where two richly decorated bells are kept, one by Giacomo Grimaldi from 1880 and one by Melchiorre di Burgio from 1832.
The interior is adorned with fine stucco decoration, and the vault with a fresco of the glorification of Saint Francis of Paola. Above the tabernacles of the five chapels are statues of Saint Nicholas of Bari, of Saint Anne and of Saint Francis of Paola, a crucified Jesus with a painting of Our Lady of Sorrows, and a Santa Maria delle Grazie; on the walls two paintings show Saint John of God and Saint Anne. In the presbytery, on the left, there is a richly carved throne in which two birds hold up the armrests. Above the entrance door is a choir loft with frescoes dating from the building of the church, now in total ruin.
Visiting
The church remained closed from 1987 for long restoration works, until 2016; one of the sources moves the reopening to 2018. Today it is the seat of perpetual Eucharistic adoration and bears the name of church of the Divine Mercy. Opening hours and visiting arrangements do not appear in the sources consulted: check with the parish.
Our editors' tip
Around 1970 the collapse of part of the floor revealed the existence of a large unexplored crypt: the sources consulted do not say whether it was later studied or whether it can be visited.
