The “Santa Marta” Dispensary was founded on May 8, 1922, with the blessing of Pope Pius XI. It was entrusted to the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul, who serve at Santa Marta in the Vatican, and it benefits from the collaboration of volunteer doctors from the Bambino Gesù Hospital, the SS. Peter and Paul Association, private individuals, and other Roman hospitals, supported by lay volunteers who, through their work and dedication, help carry the mission forward.
In October 1921, Dula Draeck, a New York shareholder in the powdered milk company Drycko, asked Pope Benedict XV to create a service for distributing milk to poor children in Rome.
The Pope agreed and supported the initiative. On his deathbed, on January 22, 1922, he told his collaborators, who were listing the works of his Pontificate:
“You have forgotten one: the Dispensary we founded at Santa Marta for poor children. We are certain it will bring great physical and moral benefit.”
With the help of Providence and the intervention of the Vatican, the Sisters continued their work throughout the postwar period and during World War II.
In the Dispensary’s archives is a letter written in 1944 by Giovanni Battista Montini, the future Pope Paul VI. At the time, he was Substitute for the Secretariat of State, and in his letter he announced the delivery “to the Dispensary of ten boxes, each weighing 27 kilograms, of powdered milk from the Holy Father. Unfortunately, more is not available, and in fact, this supply should last for two months, while waiting for further help.”
During those years, Pope Pius XII supported the work – as documents of the time recount – “with affection more than paternal, personally and at his own expense, for this humanitarian and apostolic mission.”
In 1951, the Vatican Governorate requested to host the first Pediatric Emergency Clinic in the same premises. The Dispensary provided three rooms for this outpatient service for children from 0 to 12 years old.
In the 1960s, with rising unemployment, family needs also increased. But in 1965, during the construction of the Nervi Hall, the Santa Marta premises were demolished, and the Dispensary risked being left without a “home.” At that time, the activities included not only distribution of infant formula, but also medical visits for children and mothers, various aid distributions, and home visits.
The Vatican was determined not to lose this service for poor families and managed, the following year, to reopen the Dispensary in a small space offered by the emergency clinic, which today houses the FAS, the Health Assistance Fund.
In 1966, the Dispensary was assisting 94 children and distributing 60 kilos of powdered milk per week, donated by an association of American Catholic women.
It is estimated that over 47 years of activity, the Dispensary assisted a total of 12,800 children.
In 1970, the American women’s committee, judging that the situation was more critical in Third World countries, stopped sending milk and instead offered an annual donation.
In 1986, the Dispensary again faced the risk of closure. But the Vatican Governorate found a solution: it was moved to the former carpentry storage of the Santa Marta Hospice.
By the late 1980s, lay volunteers began collaborating with the Sisters, further enriching the services offered to poor families.
Today, the Santa Marta Dispensary cares for around 450 children, but its medical and social attention is extended to the whole family.
Day after day, the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul, entrusted by the Pope from the beginning, continue their mission by pouring love, support, and charity into the lives of the many children who have passed through the Dispensary.
The Sisters have been supported by doctors and volunteers who, in turn, have shared their skills and compassion with the families assisted.
By the will of His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI, on July 3, 2008, the work became a Foundation, with its own statutes and the protection of the Pope. H.E. Mons. Fèlix del Blanco Prieto served as President at the time of the Foundation’s creation, followed by H.E. Mons. Guido Pozzo until 2013.
The Foundation is currently presided over by the Almoner of His Holiness, H.E. Mons. Konrad Krajewski.
In 2022, the Dispensary celebrated its 100th anniversary.
The current Director of the Dispensary is Sister Anna Luisa Rizzello, FdC.
