At the General House, during the spiritual retreat for the families of boys and girls preparing to receive their First Communion,the parish priest Don Davide and Sister Paola A. made the official announcement of the opening of the Bicentenary Year 2026.
The Parish “santa Giovanna Antida” in Rome
In 1978, the first houses began to be built in the two neighborhoods of Prato Smeraldo and Fonte Meravigliosa. By 1985, there were already about 3,000 apartments.The inhabitants were officially part of the parish of Santa Perpetua e Felicita, which was quite far from their homes, but the presence of Don Francesco Di Domenico, who had moved there with his elderly parents, made it possible to celebrate the Eucharist in makeshift places: the basement of the cellars and the chapel of the nuns of Santa Francesca Romana. The cardinal vicar for the diocese of Rome, Ugo Poletti, faced with the real difficulties of a neighborhood lacking essential services and facilities, did not hesitate to make available for celebrations and catechesis some commercial premises in Via Lorgna, owned by the diocesan fund for worship.
For Christmas and other popular liturgical celebrations, services were held under a circus tent, while in May, for the feast of the patron saint, the Eucharist was celebrated outdoors on the large lawn at the intersection of Via Gradi and Via Cerva.
Cardinal Poletti, appreciating the enthusiasm and commitment of the various parish communities present and their initiatives, promoted and encouraged fundraising for the construction of the church, purchased the land, and placed a prefabricated building there, which still exists today, to start other pastoral activities. The parish of St. Giovanna Antida Thouret was canonically erected on June 1, 1980, with the vicarial decree “Le instancabili premure” (The Tireless Care).
In 1990, Cardinal Poletti attended the laying of the first stone.
In 1993, Cardinal Ruini consecrated the new church.
