History

Statue of St. Dominic in our Chapter Hall.
Our Beginnings
St. Dominic de Guzman (1170- 1221) gathers together a group of women converts from the Albigensian heresy at Prouilhe, France, in 1206. Forming them into a community of prayer and penance, he associated them with the holy preaching of his brethren, the friars of the Order of Preachers, founded in 1216. Under Dominic’s fatherly care, monasteries were founded in San Sisto, Rome, and Bologna, and spread throughout Europe.
For His Honor and Glory

Thirteen of our fifteen foundresses pose on the steps of our first monastery at New England Avenue. Mother Mary Imelda is in the middle of the front row. (The two missing sisters were out begging!)
The first American Perpetual Rosary monastery was established at the Blue Chapel, Union City, NJ, in 1891. In 1919, fifteen sisters led by Mother Mary Imelda Gauthier, O.P., left there to found the Monastery of Our Lady of the Rosary in Summit, NJ. Two more foundations issued from our monastery: North Guilford, CT (Our Lady of Grace Monastery) in 1947, and Cainta, Philippines (Monastery of Our Lady of the Rosary) in 1977.