Marymount International School Rome celebrates 80 years with Holy Mass in St. Peter's BasilicaOn October 15, Cardinal James Michael Harvey will preside over the celebration at the Altar of the Chair, in the presence of the school community and the Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary. During the liturgy, the Headmistress, Paulina Skerman, will be formally commissioned.Marymount International School Rome will celebrate its 80th anniversary on Thursday, October 15, 2026, with Holy Mass at the Altar of the Chair in St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican City. The celebration will be presided over by Cardinal James Michael Harvey, Archpriest of the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls. Students, families, faculty, alumni, the Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary, and institutional and international guests will attend. During the liturgy, the school's Headmistress, Paulina Skerman, will be formally commissioned. The anniversary and the commissioning rite thus unite, in a single celebration, the memory of eighty years of history and the school's educational commitment to future generations. Marymount International School Rome opened its doors on October 16, 1946, at the Roman house of the Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary. The school was founded to meet the educational needs of American and international families who arrived in Rome after the Second World War. Fifteen students were expected; on the first day, thirty arrived, transported by a United States Army vehicle. Thus was born the first international school in Rome. In 1953 the community moved to Villa Lauchli, on the Via Cassia, where the school remains today. In the decades that followed, the school introduced the International Baccalaureate Diploma in 1985 and extended coeducation through Grade 12 in 1991. At the origin of this history lies the mission of the Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary, a congregation founded in Béziers, France, by Father Pierre Jean Antoine Gailhac. At the heart of this mission is the education of the whole person: intellectual, human, spiritual, and social. Eighty years after its founding, this principle continues to guide the daily life of the school. Today Marymount welcomes approximately 900 students aged 2 to 18, from Early Childhood through Grade 12, representing more than 90 nationalities and 17 different faiths. In this community, young people grow together, learn to understand different perspectives, and develop universal principles and values. Generations of alumni have carried this formation into the world as open minded and conscientious citizens, ready to take on responsibility and to serve as agents of change. “Eighty years ago, in a Europe striving to rebuild itself, the Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary chose to respond to the educational needs of families who had come to Rome from all over the world,” said Paulina Skerman, Headmistress of Marymount International School Rome. “Today that same mission lives on in a community that brings together more than ninety nationalities, where every student is guided to grow in mind, heart, and spirit. Celebrating this anniversary means giving thanks to all who came before us and renewing our commitment to forming young people who are able to engage in dialogue across cultures and to become leaders of positive change in the world.” The Holy Mass on October 15 will take place on the eve of the exact anniversary of the school's opening. For Marymount International School Rome, the celebration is a moment of thanksgiving for all who have contributed to its history and, at the same time, the beginning of its ninth decade of service to education in Rome. About Marymount International School Rome Marymount International School Rome is a Catholic international school founded in 1946 by the Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary. Located at Villa Lauchli on the Via Cassia, it welcomes approximately 900 students aged 2 to 18, from Early Childhood through Grade 12, representing more than 90 nationalities. Inspired by the mission of the Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary, the school promotes the education of the whole person and offers the American curriculum and the International Baccalaureate Diploma.

On October 15, Cardinal James Michael Harvey will preside over the celebration at the Altar of the Chair, in the presence of the school community and the Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary. During the liturgy, the Headmistress, Paulina Skerman, will be formally commissioned. Marymount International School Rome will celebrate its 80th anniversary on Thursday, October 15, 2026, with Holy Mass at the Altar of the Chair in St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican City. The celebration will be presided over by Cardinal James Michael Harvey, Archpriest of the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls. Students, families, faculty, alumni, the Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary, and institutional and international guests will attend. During the liturgy, the school's Headmistress, Paulina Skerman, will be formally commissioned. The anniversary and the commissioning rite thus unite, in a single celebration, the memory of eighty years of history and the school's educational commitment to future generations. Marymount International School Rome opened its doors on October 16, 1946, at the Roman house of the Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary. The school was founded to meet the educational needs of American and international families who arrived in Rome after the Second World War. Fifteen students were expected; on the first day, thirty arrived, transported by a United States Army vehicle. Thus was born the first international school in Rome. In 1953 the community moved to Villa Lauchli, on the Via Cassia, where the school remains today. In the decades that followed, the school introduced the International Baccalaureate Diploma in 1985 and extended coeducation through Grade 12 in 1991. At the origin of this history lies the mission of the Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary, a congregation founded in Béziers, France, by Father Pierre Jean Antoine Gailhac. At the heart of this mission is the education of the whole person: intellectual, human, spiritual, and social. Eighty years after its founding, this principle continues to guide the daily life of the school. Today Marymount welcomes approximately 900 students aged 2 to 18, from Early Childhood through Grade 12, representing more than 90 nationalities and 17 different faiths. In this community, young people grow together, learn to understand different perspectives, and develop universal principles and values. Generations of alumni have carried this formation into the world as open minded and conscientious citizens, ready to take on responsibility and to serve as agents of change. “Eighty years ago, in a Europe striving to rebuild itself, the Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary chose to respond to the educational needs of families who had come to Rome from all over the world,” said Paulina Skerman, Headmistress of Marymount International School Rome. “Today that same mission lives on in a community that brings together more than ninety nationalities, where every student is guided to grow in mind, heart, and spirit. Celebrating this anniversary means giving thanks to all who came before us and renewing our commitment to forming young people who are able to engage in dialogue across cultures and to become leaders of positive change in the world.” The Holy Mass on October 15 will take place on the eve of the exact anniversary of the school's opening. For Marymount International School Rome, the celebration is a moment of thanksgiving for all who have contributed to its history and, at the same time, the beginning of its ninth decade of service to education in Rome. Marymount International School Rome is a Catholic international school founded in 1946 by the Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary. Located at Villa Lauchli on the Via Cassia, it welcomes approximately 900 students aged 2 to 18, from Early Childhood through Grade 12, representing more than 90 nationalities. Inspired by the mission of the Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary, the school promotes the education of the whole person and offers the American curriculum and the International Baccalaureate Diploma.