The church of Santi Vincenzo e Anastasio was commissioned by Cardinal Gulio Mazzarino (1602-61), the first minister to the French king Louis XIV (1638-1715), and designed by Martino Longhi the Elder (1602-60).
Coat of Arms of Cardinal Mazarin
The dynamic facade is the most exciting feature of the church. It sports the coat of arms of Cardinal Mazarin and the inscription: ANNO · IVBILEI · MDCL · IVLIVS · SRE · D · CAR · MAZARINVS · A · FVNDAMEN · EREXIT(Julius Mazarinus, Cardinal deacon of the Holy Roman Church, built [this] from its foundations in the year of the Jubilee 1650).
Santi Vincenzo e Anastasio has a curious claim to fame; it is the repository of the praecordia of most popes from Sixtus V (r. 1585-90) to Leo XIII (r. 1878-1903). The praecordia is the name given to the internal organs that are removed when a pope is embalmed.
Left Plaque
In 1583 the nearby Palazzo del Quirinalebecame an official papal residence. This technically made the popes parishioners of the church, since the palace was located in the parish (the parrochia papale).
Right Plaque
The first pope to have his praecordia preserved in the church was Sixtus V; the last was Leo XIII. Two plaques in the sanctuary record the names of all twenty-two popes who participated in the practise.