While in Rome for an audience with Pope Plus XI shortly after her election as General Superior in 1926, Mother Joseph Butler was encouraged by Cardinal Vanutelli to open a school in Rome. After a long search, property suitable for a school was found. The first Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary arrived at the end of October 1930 and within a few months the building had been renovated and the first RSHM school in Rome was established on Via Nomentana where the bilingual Istituto Marymount is today.