The following are excerpts from the account written by The Rev. William Chauncey Langdon, first Rector of the American Congregation in Rome, from "The Churchman," dated January 27, 1873.

"Several of the Roman papers of yesterday or today give more or less detailed accounts of an event which must have awakened unwonted reflections in the mind of many a thoughtful Roman; the first stone has been freely, formally, and openly laid, of a church which is designed to rise toward heaven, a solemn witness, in this papal city, of a faith which is Catholic without being papal, and Protestant without ceasing to be Catholic. If the completed church arrests the attention of Italians in any proportion to the effect of this laying of its cornerstone, the Festival of St Paul, 1873, will be an epoch, not merely as a friend said to me, in the history of our Church, but in that of the Church of Italy as well."

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"Nov 1870: It was at once resolved to build a church, and a handsome subscription was secured that winter toward it. "Honor to whom honor" --from that time to this, the unrewarded exertions, the unflagging patience, tact, wisdom and faith of our chaplain have carried the project forward..."

"It had been necessary to dig down fully forty feet to lay the sub-foundations; and as we leaned over the boarding, and looked down to the depths below, and, when all was ready, dropped from our own hands, with an ejaculated invocation, the first stones of a solid base of concrete and Roman cement - stones which shall never again be seen while the church shall stand - I blessed God for those living stones which the great builder of His Holy Church had laid far down out of sight, and never to be known by men, upon which to rear His spiritual temple, "all glorious within."

"To contribute toward the erection of such a church is a holy privilege, and the Church will, before long, realize that it is so; and when the last stone is set and paid for, and the next General Convention makes provision for its consecration, many will wish that they could but have had the privilege of uniting in the erection of a temple which will not only be a blessing to the children of our Church who shall hereafter wander here, but which rises to mark the coming of a new era in the history of the Church of Christ."

In 1859 Alonzo Potter, Bishop of Pennsylvania, celebrated the Eucharist in a private house on Trinità dei Monti. It was the first time that divine worship was held in the Rome according to the liturgy of the Protestant Episcopal Church. Later that same year The Rev. William Chauncey Langdon arrived in Rome with Bishop Potter's encouragement, with the purpose of forming a church. The first service was held on Nov. 20th at the Legation; on Nov 22nd a meeting of American citizens of various denominations decided to organize an Episcopal Church. This church became known as Grace Church. On Feb 2nd 1860 the Vestry held its first meeting and elected The Rev. Langdon as Rector, and the following year, Feb 11th 1861 a petition was sent to the Presiding Bishop: "that the parish of Grace Church in the city of Rome, Italy, should be received under the authority of the General Convention and be recognized as a part of the Protestant Episcopal Church." The Presiding Bishop's favorable response was received that spring.

Grace Church continued to provide services for the Americans in Rome, although the congregation was itinerant until in 1866 they were granted permission to use an old granary outside the Porta del Popolo, which at the cost of $3,000 they renovated it into a temple capable of holding up to 500 worshipers.

In 1869 The Rev. Dr. Nevin was elected Rector, and this was a critical moment, as the next year Rome ceased to be governed by the Vatican. The new constitution allowed freedom of worship, and non Roman Catholic churches were permitted to build within the walls of the city. Less than two weeks after this announcement, the Vestry resolved "to appeal to the congregation and to the friends of the chapel at home for a sum not less than Doll.[$] 100,000" for the building of a church.

In 1871 the name was changed, and in 1872 the land on which the church and rectory now stand was bought for the sum of $18,500. Shortly afterwards the first charter was obtained from the State of New York, placing the property in the hands of seven trustees. Dr. Nevin himself broke the ground for the foundations in November 1872, and on the feast of St. Paul, 25th January 1873, the cornerstone was laid.

Adapted from 'Fifty Years of St. Paul's American Church, Rome: some historical notes and descriptions by the Rector' (Walter Lowrie, Rome 1926)