The number of students at the new college rose rapidly to one hundred and twenty, and the Pope summoned Allen to Rome to establish a similar college there. In 1575 Allen made a second journey to Rome, where by order of Pope Gregory XIII he assisted in the establishment of the English College at Rome. To that end, the ancient English Hospice in Rome was taken over and converted into a seminary for the sending of missionaries to England, and Jesuits were placed in the College to assist Maurice Clenock DD, Rector of the College.