The year 2026 marks a significant milestone. As the congregation celebrates 40 years at the Generalate House on Via Cassia 645 in Rome, a new chapter is also quietly beginning — with the acquisition of a new Casa Generalizia at 8 Via Iberia.
A Legacy Built on Four Decades of Mission
The journey at Via Cassia 645 began on May 7, 1986, when the community relocated from the previous residence on Via della Camilluccia after outgrowing the space. For four decades, this house has served as the administrative and spiritual heart of the SSpS — hosting international assemblies, welcoming over 130 student sisters from around the world, and standing as a steady beacon of hospitality and apostolate in Rome.
Under the leadership of successive Congregational Leaders — from Sr. Annemarie Reisch, who oversaw the original purchase, to the current leader, Sr. Miriam Altenhofen — the Generalate Community has remained a vital bridge between local missions and the global Church. Thousands have passed through its doors: bishops, ambassadors, SVD and SSpS international tertiate program participants, families, friends, and youth. The community has also walked closely with the marginalized, collaborating with Sant’Egidio and Centro Astalli to support refugees and migrants — from the first family arriving from Eritrea in July 2010 to the most recent Syrian family, who departed in March 2026.
Via Cassia 645 has truly been, as it is lovingly called, a “laboratory of the Holy Spirit” — a place where different cultures and provinces converge toward a shared mission, where being “immersed in the life of the Trinity” is not just an ideal but a daily lived reality. This anniversary is a celebration of that legacy: forty years of proving that embracing differences enables a community to impact the world through compassion.
Looking Forward: A New Home at 8 Via Iberia
And yet, as one chapter is celebrated, another is quietly beginning. The SSpS Generalate Community is stepping into a new home — the Casa Generalizia at 8 Via Iberia — a place that carries with it its own years of prayer and community life, having been formerly home to the Mercedarias de la Caridad (MC).
The move is already underway. On June 8, the first four SSpS Sisters will cross the threshold of Via Iberia and begin building community life in the new house. The MC Sisters, who have walked this transition alongside the incoming community with gracious hospitality, will say a final goodbye. The SSpS will be the official owner of the new property once the legal documentations are complete. The building renovations will then begin — a practical step toward making the house more suitable for the needs for the Generalate Adminstration and the Sisters’ Community. The work ahead is not just about walls and rooms, but about shaping a space where mission, prayer, and community can take root and flourish.
Behind the scenes, the processing of documents with the local government and the Vatican continues steadily, moving forward one careful step at a time.
Perhaps the most beautiful moment of this transition so far came on May 15, when Sr. Miriam and a few Sisters were welcomed into the local parish during a Eucharistic celebration that was a welcome for the SSpS as the new owners of 8 Via Iberia and a loving send-off for the departing MC Sisters. Afterward, everyone gathered at the Via Iberia house for fellowship — a simple and heartfelt moment shared between two communities, grateful for the past and hopeful for what lies ahead.
Forty Years of Walking Together with the Filipino Community
On Pentecost Sunday, May 24, 2026, the Holy Spirit Filipino Community celebrated with the Missionary Sisters Servants of the Holy Spirit at the Casa Generalizia, Via Cassia 645.
Leaving home is never easy. For the thousands of Filipino migrant workers who have passed through Rome over the decades, the Holy Spirit Filipino Community has been something rare and precious — a place where they are known, welcomed, and never alone.
This year, that community turned 40. It was in June 1986 that Sr. Orosia Piguing, SSpS, was appointed to coordinate the new apostolate. The SSpS Generalate offered a small room for the community of migrants. At first she struggled to organize the Filipinos, but she slowly gained their trust and confidence. In October 2007, the community was integrated into the Sant’Andrea Parish, celebrating a Filipino Sunday Mass once a month and joining the Italian Mass on the third Sunday of each month. A smaller group, the Legion of Mary, was also formed for Marian devotional prayer meetings and activities supporting Filipino migrants.
What began as a small gathering of faith has grown into a living network of friendship, prayer, and practical support. At its heart is a simple but profound mission, carried forward by an SSpS sister who serves as spiritual guide: to walk alongside Filipino migrants as they deepen their Christian faith — and to help them live that faith boldly, becoming bearers of the Good News to the employers, neighbors, and strangers they encounter every day in Rome.
Community life unfolds in many ways. Sunday Eucharist brings members together in worship. Recollection days offer space to pause, breathe, and reconnect with God. Home visitations remind individuals that someone cares enough to show up. The Legion of Mary nourishes devotion and apostolic courage. And for those facing the very real pressures of life abroad, job assistance, guidance, counseling, and leadership formation are also available — because faith and dignity go hand in hand.
Forty years on, the community’s greatest witness is simply this: no one has to make the journey alone.
A House, a Community, a Mission
From the corridors of Via Cassia to the new threshold of Via Iberia, and from the first small gathering of Filipino migrants to a community 40 years strong, the SSpS Generalate in Rome has always been more than a building — it is a living witness to what becomes possible when faith, hospitality, and mission share the same roof. As one chapter closes and another begins, the spirit that has shaped four decades of welcome, solidarity, and apostolic courage carries forward, undimmed.
Sr. Krystyna Szweda, SSpS and Sr. Elaine Faith Taneo, SSpS
Rome, Italy
