About Our Parish
United by our Catholic faith and English language, we celebrate and live together the faith of Saints Peter and Paul founded in this holy city of Rome. We welcome those who come to Rome as pilgrims and tourists seeking to grow in their Catholic faith celebrated in language and ways familiar to them.
We reach out to those in our city who depend on others for the compassion that leads to human dignity and opportunity. We join in ecumenical collaboration with those of other Christian traditions to know and live our gospel faith most fully.
Our Team
Priests
Lay staff & volunteers
Frequently Asked Questions
In the past, the term used was a Personal Parish or a National Church, that is, a Church designated for ministry to citizens of one country, living and working in another (expats). But Personal Parishes are seldom created anymore. So at the request of Cardinal Di Nardo, the President of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, St. Patrick’s Church was designated by Archbishop Angelo De Donati (the Vicar General of His Holiness for the Dioceses of Rome) as “A Mission for the Care of Souls of the US faithful residing in Rome or visiting the city", and Fr. Greg Apparcel was named as Chaplain to this Mission, as presented by the Superior General of the Paulist Fathers, Father Eric Andrews, C.S.P. He was succeeded by Fr. Steve Petroff, C.S.P. in 2020.
At the same time, as of August 1, 2017, Fr. Greg was named the Rector of St. Patrick’s Church (Chiesa di San Patrizio a Villa Ludovisi.) This means that we have our own sacramental registries and no longer have to seek permission for weddings and other sacraments from the local parish church, San Camillo de Lellis.
In 1922, the American Parish of Rome was established at the Church of Santa Susanna next door to the US Embassy at that time.. It was staffed by the Paulist Fathers, an American Community of Priests from the United States founded in 1858. Santa Susanna was closed on July 5, 2013 for many reasons.
For four years, the American community celebrated Masses, Weddings, First Communions, Confirmations, Baptisms and Funerals at three neighboring churches. At the beginning the Vatican Secretary of State, the Vicariate (Diocese) of Rome and other Vatican Congregations tried to help the Paulist Fathers and the American parish return to Santa Susanna. However, the Cistercian Monastery, which owns the Church, was opposed. At the same time, the Irish Augustinians had decided to leave Rome and therefore not continue their ministry at St. Patrick’s Church on Via Boncompagni (next to the most recent location of the US Embassy). They own the Church (and still do) and the surrounding properties but were unsure of what to do with the Church when they were no longer here.
So the Vatican Secretary of State put the two communities together. Even though we already knew each other, we began exploring the possibility of St. Patrick’s becoming the new church for Catholic Americans in Rome. Through the great generosity and hospitality of the Augustinians, we have now concluded the negotiations for the Paulist Fathers to lease St. Patrick’s Church (and some office and meeting space below) from the Augustinians.
Since August 1, 2017, we have been St. Patrick’s Catholic American Community of Rome. However, ALL English speakers are welcome to participate in all of our services and ministries, as we offered at Santa Susanna. All of our Masses are in English. We moved all of our possession out of Santa Susanna in September and are now very happy in our new home Church.
If you were baptized, confirmed, married or received your First Communion at Santa Susanna, ALL of those records are now kept at St. Patrick’s. If you went to Marymount International School and received First Communion or Confirmation at Santa Susanna Church, all of those records are now kept at St. Patrick’s. If you were married at either Santa Susanna Church, (or a San Camillo de Lellis during our interim) or at St. Patrick’s Church, all of the religious records are kept at St. Patrick’s.
Please contact our parish secretary, Rosanna Shedid at secretary@stpatricksamericanrome.org for a Church certificate. For civil certificates, however, you must go to the Comune di Roma (City Hall). We can recommend very reliable agencies that will do this for you for a fee.
Papal Blessings are a privilege. Many people wish to give this quite beautiful document certifying that the Holy Father has bestowed his apostolic blessing as a gift for an anniversary or birthday. Since the Holy Year of Mercy the Vatican has been concerned that these blessings not become a commercial enterprise and we respect their wishes.
For those who live outside of Rome, it can be difficult to acquire a Papal Blessing, and we very much regret that we can no longer provide this service. You can contact the Papal Office directly for a blessing (Apostolic Blessings Office of Papal Charities: ph. +39.06.6988.3135, fax +39.06.6988.3132), though it will take much longer. For other information, go to vatican.va.
Please note: The Vatican has recently changed its requirements for the issuance of Papal Blessings. The following updated information is provided for your convenience:
- For weddings, the full name of the bride, with her maiden name, and the full name of the groom, along with the name of the Catholic church, city and state, where the ceremony will take place and the date of wedding must be provided;
- For First Communions and Confirmations, the full name of the recipient, the name of the church, city and state, and the date of the reception of the sacrament must be provided;
- For wedding anniversaries, the couple's first names, e.g., John and Joan Doe, must be provided; a blessing will not be issued in the name of a "Mr. and Mrs," e.g., "Mr. and Mrs. John Doe."
Sometimes the blessings can be arranged in a short time. However there are often delays due to the number of requests or at holiday times when work slows down and/or the offices are closed. There are also spelling errors which are common with Italian calligraphers. You will need to allow a minimum of 2 months, if not longer
The following information was provided by the Monastero Agostianiano di S. Lucia. They have the Lateran treasury of relics and a couple of priests we know have obtained some from the Sisters in the past. However, the procedure has now changed.
The request is to be addressed to:
Rev. Msgr. Marco Frisina
Direttore, Ufficio Liturgico
Vicariato di Roma
Piazza S. Giovanni in Laterno, 6/a
00184 Rome
Italy
The letter from your bishop must be sealed with his personal seal or the diocese's seal.
The following are excerpts from the Sisters superior's letter to a friend: "The new request for the holy relics must be presented first to the Vicariate of Rome for approval ... Your request must be accompanied by an endorsement letter from your bishop which guarantees that the relics you wish to obtain are intended for public veneration [emphasis added]. You must also list down the number of relics you wish to obtain and only the approved number of the relics will be given. Please do not send any donation to us before you are notified of the approval of your request."
Specify the exact relics they are interested in obtaining. It helps if you give the full name of the Saint, along with the Saint's title and feast day on the Roman calendar, not Byzantine calendar. The Sisters are unfamiliar with the Eastern martyrology. E.g., St. Lawrence, Deacon and Martyr, (10 August).
How many can one request? A friend obtained a total of about 12 at one time for a Ukrainian Orthodox bishop. He advises not to ask for more in one letter since the Vicariato may get suspicious that they are being sold, which has happened numerous times in the past.
How far ahead? With the new procedure described above, it may take months. The approval has to be given. Then, the Sisters confect the relics in the cases. The Sisters act rather quickly but the approval is another matter. The person making the request may get the relics at one time and the authenticates (documents confirming the relics' authenticity) will arrive months later, sometimes 6 to 12 months. This is because the Sisters have to submit the documents back to the Vicariato for signature and seal.
How much is the cost? The Sisters will communicate the donation amount to the requestor when the list is approved. The "cost" depends on what kind of "thecae" (cases) the requestor desires. Approximate costs are 20 to 30 euro each. Even for the less expensive cases, my friend has always given the Sisters more since the donations (less the price of the cases) help support the monastery and they are not doing that well financially.
A Brief History
For over 1,500 years, Rome was without a church dedicated to St. Patrick. However, on the 1st of February 1888 this was rectified and the foundation stone of the present church was laid. The man with the dream was Fr. Patrick Glynn, an Augustinian from Limerick, Ireland, who was based in the Augustinian Church of Santa Maria in Posterula (near Orvieto). However, it took another 23 years before the church in Rome was completed and opened on St. Patrick’s Day, in 1911. The mosaic which dominates the sanctuary and the church, is the work of Rodolfo Villani (1929) depicting St. Patrick converting the High King Laoghaire at Tara, using the shamrock to explain the Trinity. The gold banner inscription “Ut Christiani Ita et Romani Sitis” (“Be ye Christians as those of the Roman Church”) – is a quote taken from the writings of St. Patrick.
On the left side of the main altar is the Sacred Heart altar with a beautiful mosaic of the Last Supper by Galimberti (1942). On the right side of the main altar is Our Lady’s altar with the painting of Our Lady of Grace. This painting is from the 14th century and is painted on slate. In 1955, layers of paint from previous restorations were removed to reveal the original. This painting has been a focus of devotion for Augustinians for more than two centuries, having come to them from the Church of San Biagio in Tinta which was just around the corner from their old church of Santa Maria in Posterula.
In 1922 the American Parish of Rome was established at the Church of Santa Susanna not far from St. Patrick’s. It was staffed by the Paulist Fathers, an American Community of Priests from the United States founded in 1858. Santa Susanna closed on July 5, 2013 for many reasons, and for four years the American community celebrated Masses, Weddings, First Communions, Confirmations, Baptisms and Funerals at four neighboring churches. Since the closing, the Vatican Secretary of State, the Vicariate (Diocese) of Rome and other Vatican Congregations tried unsuccessfully to help the Paulist Fathers and the American Parish to return to Santa Susanna. At the same time, the Irish Augustinians had decided five years earlier to leave Rome and discontinue their ministry at St. Patrick’s Church. They own the Church (and still do) and the surrounding properties but were unsure of what to do with the Church when they were no longer in Rome.
So the Vatican Secretary of State put the two communities together. Even though we already knew each other, we began exploring St. Patrick’s becoming the new church for Catholic Americans in Rome. Through the great generosity and hospitality of the Augustinians, we reached an agreement for the Paulist Fathers to lease St. Patrick’s Church along with some office and meeting space from the Augustinians. On August 1, 2017, we became St. Patrick’s Catholic American Community of Rome, and Father Greg Apparcel became the new Rector of St. Patrick’s as well as the Chaplain for the Mission of the Care of the U.S. Faithful Resident in Rome. Despite these changes, ALL English speakers are welcome to participate in all of our services and ministries, just as we offered at Santa Susanna. All of our Masses are celebrated in English.
In October 2020, Paulist Father Steve Petroff became the new Rector and Chaplain with Fr. Joe Ciccone as the new Vice Rector of St. Patrick’s and Vice Chaplain for the US Faithful in Rome.
And on July 1, 2023, Paulist Father Matthew Berrios became the new Rector and Chaplain with Fr. Greg Apparcel returning as as the new Vice Rector of St. Patrick’s and Vice Chaplain for the US Faithful in Rome.
Music Ministry
Meet Dafrosa Cho and Raimundo Pereira, co-directors of our music ministry.
Raimundo was born in Caracas in 1972. Studied in his country of origin: Composition, Singing, Conducting, Piano and Venezuelan traditional stringed instruments. In Caracas he has been professor of Musicianship and Choir at the Lamas and Reyna Schools of Music, as well as a Cantor of the Tribuna Musical of the Cathedral.
Jung-Ah (Dafrosa) Cho, organist of Santa Susanna Church, was born in Dae-gu, South Korea. In 1995 she graduated in organ at the Catholic University of Dae-gu. During studies in Dae-gu, she was director of Dae-myung’s church choir and organist in the Cathedral. After graduating she was the director of the Armed Forces Nursing Academy’s church choir. In 1996 she moved to Italy to begin her studies at the Pontifical Institute of Sacred Music in Rome. In 2003 under the tutorship of M° Giancarlo Parodi, she obtained her Master’s degree of organ.
Dafrosa and Raimundo were married in the Church of Santa Susanna on April 14, 2007.
In 1995 Raimundo won a scholarship from the Venezuelan government and moved to Rome to continue his studies in the Pontifical Institute for Church Music where he obtained his Degree as ‘Magister of Sacred Composition’, (Ivan Florjanc, Valentin Miserachs) and the “Licenza” in Gregorian Chant Luigi Agustoni, Nino Albarosa, Alberto Turco, Johannes Berchmans Goeschl and Daniel Saulnier; as well as Baroque music studies with Emma Kirkby, Gloria Banditelli, Lavinia Bertotti, Roberto Gini, Gianluca Capuano and Helmuth Rilling. He has sung in the Youth Choir of the Santa Cecilia Academy (Martino Faggiani, Myung-Whun Chung, Norbert Balatsch, Gianluigi Gelmetti, Rinaldo Alessandrini), World Youth Choir (Frieder Bernius, Gary Graden), Choir of the Teatro Regio di Parma (Valeri Gerghiev, Zubin Mehta, Fabio Biondi), I Madrigalisti Ambrosiani di Milano (Gianluca Capuano), Ensemble Concerto (Roberto Gini) and the World Chamber Choir (Tonu Kaljuste, Peter Dijkstra).
Raimundo’s compositions have been performed in various countries. He has made several recordings, participated in radio and television productions, and given concerts in various countries of America, Asia and Europe. He serves often as a Psalmist in the Pontifical Liturgy. Since 2001 he is a Cantor of the Pontifical Musical Chapel (Sistine Chapel Choir).
In the last years Dafrosa participated in several specialization courses on Italian organ music of the 18th and 19th century. Since 2003 Dafrosa has been assistant to the chair of Organ at the Pontifical Institute of Sacred Music. In 2007 she has recorded a selection of church music invited by the Korean Community of Saint Paul. Cho has played for many special occasions including the public audience with his holiness John Paul II and Benedict XVI, and at the aula Paolo VI for the Canonization of Arnold Janssen and Joseph Freinademetz. She has performed recitals in Korea, Venezuela, Finland and various places around Italy.