Can you tell us about the founder and how it all began?
John Carrol-Abbing, a young Irish priest, arrived in Rome in the early 1930s to pursue his ecclesiastical studies. Respected and valued in Roman Curia circles, he was assigned to important Vatican offices. At the State Secretariat, he worked alongside Monsignor Giovanni Battista Montini, who would later become Pope Paul VI. A promising diplomatic career in service to the Holy See lay ahead of him. When World War II broke out, with the encouragement and blessing of Pius XII, he took charge of relief efforts for populations ravaged by war and personally committed himself to organizing rescue initiatives throughout Italy. He found himself in the Castelli Romani region multiple times under bombardment. During one bombing raid near Albano, a single moment changed his life forever: emerging from a shelter, he saw a child among the rubble, lying beside the lifeless bodies of his parents. In that instant he asked himself: "What will become of this child?" This event marked the beginning of his missionary calling to children left alone, orphaned by war. After the conflict, he set up a makeshift hostel—modest but welcoming—in a basement of the Salesian Fathers' building on Via Varese, behind Via Marsala. It served the boys who gathered at Termini Station, trying to scrape together what they could to survive by shining shoes or helping travelers with their bags. For these street children, he created a place to sleep at night and supplied them with food he had managed to gather from the Vatican. Sleeping in the damp basement of that building, he contracted bronchopneumonia. It was during this illness that he had a dream that would become the founding vision of the City of the Boys.
"During my illness, I dreamed of the City of the Boys (...) Trust and love: the two great forces on which to build a city—not merely as a collection of stone buildings, but as a community of free, responsible citizens who would live together as brothers under the paternal protection of God."
Thankfully, the emergency of war no longer exists—but other emergencies do.
The need for shelter emerged after the war. Over time, the profile of the children in need has changed with shifting circumstances. In an intermediate phase, we had children of divorced parents, of incarcerated parents, of those struggling with addiction. In the last ten years, ninety percent are immigrants—or, as the legal terminology has it, "unaccompanied minors." Boys who are smuggled or hidden under trucks, who enter our country illegally and live on the streets. Some of these children, having no one to care for them, have a legal right to assistance from institutions until they reach adulthood. Social services send them to us. Once we accepted them directly on the basis of any report, even anonymous; now they arrive only through official channels.
According to our capacity, the boy visits the City. With a psychologist present, he decides whether to stay or not. What we call Self-Government is at work here—a method that immediately engages the boy in choosing whether to remain with us. Informed of this commitment, he must choose consciously.
What is Self-Government?
It is a system founded on the young person's active participation in the public life and decision-making of the community. It mirrors the social reality of the world he will have to navigate after reaching adulthood.
We help each boy discover his gifts and challenge him to develop them. We give him trust to do his best at what he does well. Much is said about how to instill responsibility in young people. How? By giving them things to do. By engaging their resources and putting them at the service of others.
This is the heart of Self-Government, which Monsignor Carroll-Abbing placed at the center of life in the City. It is the cornerstone of our educational approach—a way of keeping people bound together in solidarity and helping them discover and use their gifts.
Every boy has particular strengths that must be discovered, preserved, and activated for his own growth. The young people we welcome are those without meaningful family support. Lacking that primary foundation at home, they are thrown into society with no buffer, no safety net. We help them take their first steps in the wider world.
These boys are in need because they have lacked the emotional support that every human being requires for healthy character development. For this reason, they are sometimes called "troubled youth." Without help, they would easily fall into patterns of delinquency and crime.
Because of the distinctive nature of this educational method, the University of Perugia conducts research and collaborative studies with us.
How long do boys typically stay, and what do you do here?
Boys arrive older than they used to, so the average stay is about two years—barely enough time to set up an individualized educational plan. First, they take a literacy course, then attend school. We have a branch of the "Carlo Cattaneo" Professional Institute on site. We try to help them earn a qualification that will prepare them for vocational training and give them the best prospects for entering the job market.
How is the City changing since Law 149
As an institution, the City has been indirectly affected by the law to become a "Family-Type Community"—small residential units with limited numbers. We were never an orphanage; Monsignor never wanted that. We have further reduced our already small groups of fifteen or sixteen boys to apartment units of eight, as required by current national and regional regulations. We are transitioning from the classical model of community living—even in small groups—to a family-type model. For example, all the boys used to eat together in a common dining room; now smaller meals are consumed in the apartments.
Who lives in the City?
There are two residential supervisors: one for Garden City and one for Industrial City. The first houses the younger boys and has a higher proportion of Italians (ages 10–14). Because they are younger, they tend to have longer stays.
Industrial City houses the older boys (ages 15–18), who make up two-thirds of the total. Our educators are chosen from among graduates in Education Sciences and Community Directors. At present we have about seventy residents, though in the past we have had as many as 150.
The International Institute for the Study of Contemporary Youth Problems
Founded by Monsignor Carroll-Abbing to promote and organize initiatives for study, research, and training on issues affecting young people, at both national and international levels.
Particular attention is given to situations of hardship, always with a view to the full personal and social development of young people, grounded in an ethical vision of responsible and compassionate citizenship.
Has the City changed because it now serves almost exclusively foreign nationals?
We have no barriers. Our principle is to help the person, regardless of any other consideration. There was a period when we had residents from all five continents! After age eighteen, the law classifies them as undocumented. In my capacity as president, I would technically be required to report them; otherwise I could be accused of harboring an illegal resident. When this happens, I cannot simply turn them out. I notify the appropriate authorities, but in practice this law is not enforced. Once they turn eighteen, the municipality no longer pays us a per-diem, but we continue to house them until they find a job opportunity that allows them to obtain residency papers.
How do you keep going?
American charity—so far, anyway. Let me explain. Monsignor Carroll-Abbing, with his pragmatic Anglo-Saxon mindset, founded a financial organization in New York, appealing to the hearts of American benefactors. He created fundraising committees and established a charitable foundation. Until now, we have survived entirely on their support; they have allowed us to build and maintain our facilities. But with generational change, the children and grandchildren of these benefactors are less inclined to give.
And there is the matter of currency exchange. The dollar is no longer as favorable as it once was.
As Christians, how do you approach the religious faiths of your residents?
Our educational mission is Christian. We seek to convey the Christian spirit through example. We promote education in human values that are shared with Christian values, without proselytizing. We have the greatest respect for the religions of each resident. In fact, we are building a mosque to meet the needs of our Muslim residents.
Laura Nardini, 2008
There is also a City for the Girls
The City for the Girls in Rome is a residential facility organized into three "apartment groups" that welcomes girls in difficult circumstances and can house them until adulthood and their entry into the workforce. The main building is a large villa set in an expansive garden. Other smaller structures include a chapel, a workshop block, and the caretaker's residence.
Self-Government
Self-Government is an educational method that requires the active participation of young people, developing in them a sense of responsibility and belonging to the community. According to Monsignor John Carroll-Abbing's vision, Self-Government prepares youth for life because it allows citizens to internalize norms and laws and to integrate themselves responsibly into society. The principles of Self-Government are established in an internal Constitution, which sets forth the City's governance and organization. The supreme body is the Citizen Assembly, which meets regularly under the presidency of a Mayor elected by the Assembly, to discuss and resolve issues. The City of the Boys thus functions as a small municipality with its own political, administrative, economic, and financial structures, managed by the young people themselves. After his election, the Mayor appoints a Judge to administer justice, and a Council made up of four Officials: Health, Finance, Sports and Recreation, and Food Services. The internal currency, used for commerce and economic transactions within the City, is called the Shield. Young people earn Shields by demonstrating commitment in all their activities, both academic and extracurricular. This currency is used for small purchases at the bazaar and, when deposited in the City bank, can be converted to euros at a fixed rate of 1 Shield = €0.01.