Convent San Sisto (Rome), 28 December 2019
“If the superior is concerned about dialogue with her sister, she is taking care of her vocation,” says Fr Gerard Francis TIMONER III, O.P. Master of the Order.
Gerard was invited to give a conference on religious life at the event “Creation: a project of God’s love for humanity” held in Rome from December 27 to 29, 2019, in agreement with USMID (Union of Major Superiors of Italy).
The Master of the Order was received by the superior of the convent of St. Sixtus and visited the present chapel of St. Dominic where the community built the Christmas crib. Here he signed the book of illustrious visitors.
The sisters from various Dominican congregations arrived at St. Sixtus the Elder convent for the Master of the Order’s conference on religious life and also to greet each other personally for Christmas.
The sharing took place in the historic dining room where the angels fed St. Dominic and the friars.
San Sisto il Vecchio is the oldest Dominican convent in Rome. The temple was donated by Pope Honorius II after he approved the Order. In 2019 the Basilica was restored. The present building was built in 1700 by the Dominican Pope Benedict XIII (1724-1730).
Today the convent is run by the Congregation of Dominican Missionary Sisters of St. Sixtus.