Kofc - Fondazione Cavalieri di Colombo - Knights of Columbus

The Pius XI playground was dedicated and blessed by His Eminence Pietro Cardinal Gasparri, Vatican Secretary of State, in May 1926. It is one of the largest and most beautiful fields in Rome, boasting 18 acres on the Gelsomino Hill located between the Janiculum and the Vatican. As the highest elevation in the Eternal City, it offers a spectacular view of the city.
Forty years later, this playground was chosen to become the new location for St. Peter’s Oratory. In another expression of loyalty to the Holy See, the Knights of Columbus donated the original St. Peter’s Oratory location to allow for the construction of a new and much larger Audience Hall in 1965. This fulfilled the desire of Pope Paul VI for a new facility to receive the ever increasing numbers of pilgrims.
Nevertheless, the Holy Father want the Oratory’s activities to continue. Therefore, the Oratory was rebuilt, under the care of the Holy See, on the premises of the Knights of Columbus Gelsomino Hill Playground. On June 29, 1968, the New St. Peter’s Oratory was inaugurated and blessed by His Holiness Pope Paul VI.