Foyer Unitas,[1] meaning “Hearth of Unity”, had itself started as an information centre for non-Catholic pilgrims and visitors to Rome during the Holy Year of 1950, directed by Charles Boyer, SJ, at the request of Monsignor Giovanni Battista Montini (later Pope Paul VI), who was then responsible for ordinary affairs at the Secretariat of State.
Two years later, a Dutch religious institute with a charism for ecumenism and hospitality, the Ladies of Bethany, received an invitation from Pope Pius XII to expand their ministry to Rome and assist Fr.
In addition to the general information centre work, the Ladies of Bethany provided specialized tours around Rome and Vatican City, combining catechesis, theology, church history, art and architecture with an awareness of the particular interests of ecumenical pilgrims.
By 1962 the pending Vatican II Council prompted another relocation and expansion, this time to the Collegio Innocenziano in the complex of the Palazzo Pamphilj, next to the church of Sant'Agnese in Agone on Piazza Navona.
By 1986, however, changes in Italian law which required religious guest houses to meet the same codes as hotels and pensione, combined with the ageing of the original staff, prompted the Ladies of Bethany to close Foyer Unitas.
The Lay Centre community stayed in the site of Foyer Unitas for 15 years, even expanding to include a second location at the Venerable English College nearby.
In 2001, to accommodate the growing numbers and bring the residents of the two sites back together, the Lay Centre relocated to a house on the property of the Pontifical Irish College, near San Giovanni in Laterano.
An official inauguration of the new site was celebrated in April 2010, featuring vespers presided by Bishop Brian Farrell of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity and a reflection offered by U.S.
To that end, part of the weekly community evening is a presentation on a topic of contemporary church life, theology, ecumenism, or spirituality from the guest presider, in an informal setting over dinner.
Human formation takes the form of a variety of excursions through the city of Rome focusing on church and civil history, art and architecture, and culture.
All residents are involved in The Lay Centre's activities, from day-to-day, simple house tasks to helping with our various lecture series at special times during the year.
[citation needed] The Vincent Pallotti Institute was founded as the Rome branch of Education for Parish Service (EPS) of Trinity College in Washington, DC.
Timothy Radcliffe, OP, former Master of the Order; Rabbi Jack Bemporad of the Center for Interreligious Understanding; Archbishop Luis Ladaria, SJ, of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, and Mary McAleese, president emeritus of Ireland.
An Honorary Board supports the work of the Lay Centre, and includes expert Vaticanist John Allen Jr; Archbishop Michael L. Fitzgerald, Apostolic Nuncio to Egypt; Ambassador Tony Hall (ret.)