The buildings today
Today, the estate consists of five buildings, the oldest of which was consecrated in AD 439 by Patriarch Cyril of Alexandria for the veneration of St. Stephen, the first martyr of the Mother Church of Jerusalem. Having uncovered the remains of a Byzantine monastery and its basilica, decorated with beautiful mosaics commissioned by Empress Eudoxia, the friars obtained permission from Pope Leo XIII to restore this great holy site.
One estate, five buildings
The Basilica of St. Stephen
Permission to rebuild the church was also granted by a firman of the Ottoman Sultan Abdul Hamid II on 20 October 1892.
The archaeology laboratory and ‘museum’
The second building dates from the Ottoman period and now houses the archaeology laboratory and ‘museum’.
The Dominican priory
The third building is the Dominican priory, with the friars’ rooms and common areas. Below them are the library, the map library, the photo library and the most recent facilities designed to welcome researchers from all over the world who come to work on the ambitious project launched by the Dominicans of the priory: The Bible in its Traditions.
The École
The fourth building is the École itself, with the lecture hall, the classrooms and accommodation for students, researchers and visiting professors.
The community house
The fifth building, formerly the porter’s lodge at the entrance to the estate, has been converted into a community house for the three sisters of the Congregation of Mercy who help maintain the entire estate.
The complex also includes a St. Paul’s path: the Apostle of the Gentiles, converted on the road to Damascus after witnessing the stoning of St. Stephen, returned to Jerusalem, from where he set out to bear witness to the crucified and risen Christ, all the way to Rome.
Your gift helps maintain the Priory of St. Stephen and its places of study and prayer.