A convent, occupied by the white-habited Benedictine nuns of St Cecilia, lies adjacent to the church. They were installed here by Pope Clement VII (1523-1534), but the building was a monastery from the time of Pope Paschal I, in the early 9th century. The lambs from Sant'Agnese fuori le Mura are sent here until their wool is needed for a pallium. The pallia are then woven here and presented to the sub-deacons at San Giovanni in Laterano, who pass them on the sub-deacons of Basilica di San Pietro. There, they are placed in a golden casket above the tomb of St Peter.