Chiesa di Madonna del Popolo

The name of the Parish “Madonna del Popolo” was chosen by Monsignor Ireneo Aldegheri due to the strong roots of Marian worship in the village, in addition to the discovery of a medallion with the inscription "Offering of the people of Villa Franca 1881."

The beginnings were not easy. Lacking a church and a parish seat, they moved from the premises adjacent to the Church of San Rocco to private homes and later to a carpentry shed, jointly using some spaces on via Marsala and via Tione. A decisive help was given by Monsignor Aldegheri, offering part of the inheritance of Doctor Martinelli, exchanging some parish properties for the land on which the church now stands, and purchasing the current parish house on via Labriola.

The parish was established on November 1, 1977. Subsequently, 1993 marked the important moment of the blessing of the new church, finally completed after some changes during the work that extended the construction time. The church has an area of 750 sq. m. with over 700 seats. By the end of the 20th century, the parish area was enriched by a space donated by the Municipal Administration where a “green villa” for volunteering was subsequently built.

The works of art present, some from the beginning and others added later, are: the “Risen Christ” and the baptismal font, wooden works from a Trentino workshop; the “Sorrowful Madonna,” another wooden work, a gift from a parish in the Como diocese; two paintings received as gifts from the parish of the Cathedral of Villafranca; a valuable altarpiece from a Venetian school, a gift from the Villafranca couple Anna and Alberto Albertini.

(Source: Parish of Madonna del Popolo - Pastoral Unit of Villafranca di Verona)