Paris-based order to take over church above Rome's Spanish Steps

Published: 2005-07-13

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- An accord between the Holy See and France has handed responsibility for the church that towers above Rome's Spanish Steps to an urban monastic community. In a formal agreement signed July 12 between the Holy See and France, the Monastic Fraternity of Jerusalem will run the Trinita dei Monti church and convent starting next year. The new amendment to an 1828 accord between the two states said it recognized that the early 16th-century church had been run since 1828 with "particular zeal and competence" by the Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. But because the sisters were no longer able to continue their mission, the Paris-based monastic fraternity will take over running the church and its pastoral program as of Sept. 1, 2006, said a statement released July 12 by the Vatican. Msgr. Antonio Filipazzi, an official at the Vatican's Secretariat of State, said the problem resulted from a lack of new vocations to the Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. He told Catholic News Service the decision was made with input from the French bishops.

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