Who we are...
The Dominican Friars, also known as the Order of Preachers (Ordo Praedicatorum - OP), were founded by Saint Dominic de Guzmán in 1216. They are a mendicant order of the Catholic Church, dedicated to preaching, teaching, and spreading the Gospel.
Our Fathers
fr. Domenico GM Ash-Waster OP
Superior of the community, Parish assistant, Vocations Promoter
fr. Rinaldo Giuliani OP
Parish priest
fr. Maurizio Carosi OP
Responsible for pre-novices
fr. Luciano Santarelli OP
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fr. Joseph Thang OP
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fr. Son Pan Joseph OP
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The story
Located in the heart of Rome, our parish is a place where faith and community meet. Founded in the early 20th century and completed in 1916 in a splendid neo-Gothic style by architect Giuseppe Ribaldi, the church is a true architectural gem. Our parish is entrusted to the Dominican Fathers, who offer a wide range of activities and services for all ages and social categories. Whether you are a young student, a worker, a family or a senior, you will find here a welcoming and dynamic environment. For young people: Join our youth groups such as the Freedom Group for university students or the St. Catherine of Siena Group for young workers. Meet new friends, deepen your faith and experience moments of personal and community growth. For families: Join our Family Group for monthly meetings of reflection and sharing. We also offer marriage preparation courses and recreational activities for children and parents. For seniors: Our Recreation Center for Seniors is the ideal place to spend pleasant afternoons in company, with social and cultural activities. For all: Participate in our catechesis, readings of the Word of God, Eucharistic adoration and prayers for vocations. Every moment is designed to enrich your spiritual life and create a strong sense of community. Come visit us and discover the beauty of our church, with its fascinating interiors, paintings by Giovan Battista Conti, stained glass windows and evocative mosaics. The Parish of Santa Maria del Rosario in Prati is a place where faith comes to life and the community is strengthened. We await you with open arms!
The first church
The parish of Santa Maria del Rosario in Prati has distant roots. Precisely in a chapel that the scholar Giovanni Vitto De Rossi, who had lived in Monte Mario since 1625, had built, around 1641, next to his house for the winemakers, dedicating it to the "Madonna del Rosario e della Febbre", with clear reference to the malaria that was raging in the plain below. Starting in 1651, with a legacy from De Rossi himself, construction work began on the first church entitled: Santissimo Rosario in Monte Mario. Camillo Arcucci drew up the project that was only fully realized in 1700. The building, crowned by a dome, has a simple façade, is surmounted by a small asymmetrical bell tower and is inserted into the adjacent convent building. The church and convent were entrusted to the Dominicans in 1709.
Gregory XVI
The enrichment of the staircase in front dates back to 1838, when - during the pontificate of Gregory XVI - it was necessary to connect the level of the church with the new layout of the Via Trionfale. It was only in 1828 that this conventual church was erected into a parish by Leo XII, who reconfirmed its care to the Order of Preachers. Its territory extended from Vicolo Massimi to Porta Angelica and the bastions of Castel Sant'Angelo. It was in 1931 that the Dominican nuns, already hosted in S. Caterina da Siena in Magnanapoli (Salita del Grillo, 37 - Rome), took up residence in the current monastery. This Community is the direct continuation of the one founded in 1221 by St. Dominic (1170-1221) in S. Sisto Vecchio and which in 1575 had abandoned that convent due to the advancing malaria* Of that initial location the nuns conserve, in the church of Monte Mario, the cloister grate from the time of St. Dominic and the so-called "Madonna di San Luca", a Byzantine icon of notable value, one of the oldest among the similar ones existing in Rome. The interior of the church, very bright, combines an elliptical body corresponding to the dome, and moved by four small niche chapels, with a long presbytery slightly oblique with respect to the body of the church itself and which could correspond to a previous construction of which there is no news.