Priest, Parish, and People

Richard N. Juliani

Description

From the perspective of historical sociology, Richard N. Juliani traces the role of religion in the lives and communities of Italian immigrants in Philadelphia from the 1850s to the early 1930s. By the end of the nineteenth century, Philadelphia had one of the largest Italian populations in the country. The Archdiocese of Philadelphia eventually established twenty-three parishes for the exclusive use of Italians. Juliani describes the role these parishes played in developing and anchoring an ethnic community and in shaping its members' new identity as Italian Americans during the years of mass migration from Italy to America.

Priest, Parish, and People blends the history of Monsignor Antonio Isoleri—pastor from 1870 to 1926 of St. Mary Magdalen dePazzi, the first Italian parish founded in the country—with that of the Italian immigrant community in Philadelphia. Relying on parish and archdiocesan records, secular and church newspapers, archives of religious orders, and Father Isoleri's personal papers, Juliani chronicles the history of St. Mary Magdalen dePazzi as it grew from immigrant refuge to a large, stable, ethnic community that anchored "Little Italy" in South Philadelphia. In charting that growth, Juliani also examines conflicts between laity and clergy and between clergy and church hierarchy, as well as the remarkable fifty-six-year career of Isoleri as a spiritual and secular leader. Priest, Parish, and People provides both the details of parish history in Philadelphia and the larger context of Italian-American Catholic history.

Sujets

• Religion
• Christianisme
• Sociology of Religion
• Catechisms
• Christian Living
• Social Issues
• Philosophie et théologie
• Italian diaspora
• Catholic Church
• Catechism
• History of the United States
• Christianity
• History

Informations

• Publié par: University of Notre Dame Press
• Date de parution: 15 décembre 2016
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780268160050
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 2 Mo

Extrait

Juliani
Priest, Parish, and People

Priest, Parish, and People
Saving the Faith in Philadelphia’s “Little Italy” Richard N. Juliani
Richard N. Juliani

“This is a well-written, in-depth study of Philadelphia’s Italian Catholic community.
Focusing on a parish and its remarkable pastor, it chronicles the progress of an
Italian immigrant parish from its earliest days in the mid-nineteenth century to its
emergence as the social and religious center for the Italian community in the early Priest, Parish, twentieth century. For the author, writing this history was clearly a labor of love. He
has provided all of us with a chapter in the history of Philadelphia Catholicism that
was long overdue.” —Jay P. Dolan, author of In Search of an American Catholicism:
A History of Religion and Culture in Tension and People
“While Priest, Parish, and People is in itself a rich ethnographic story about a most
unusual priest, a particular Philadelphia parish, and the growth of parishes to meet
the needs of a rapidly growing immigrant population, it is also an important story Saving the Faith in of the struggle between Irish and Italian cultures in the assimilation process, and
an interesting insight into church politics and the workings of the Roman Catholic
Church.” —William V. D’Antonio, Catholic University of America Philadelphia’s “Little Italy”
“Rich in detail and culled from an array of primary sources, including the extensive
writings of the second pastor of St. Mary Magdalen dePazzi, Richard Juliani weaves
a masterful story. By tracing the nuanced interconnections between this first
Italian national parish in the United States, its formidable pastor, and the growing
immigrant community in South Philadelphia, this book provides new insights about
Americanization and the formation of ethnic identity.”
—Joan Saverino, The Historical Society of Pennsylvania
“Exhaustively researched, thoroughly detailed, and highly incisive in its analysis,
Juliani’s book represents the benchmark study of the Italian immigrant parish,
if not of the Italians’ encounter with American Catholicism in general. It will
become recognized as a unique and valuable contribution to the historiography of
immigrant life, and will surely challenge scholars in religious studies, immigrant and
ethnic history, and community research to examine and rethink the complex issues
and arguments raised by the author.” —Nunzio Pernicone, Drexel University
RICHARD N. JULIANI is professor of sociology at Villanova University. He is the
author of Building Little Italy: Philadelphia’s Italians before Mass Migration.
ISBN-13: 978-0-268-03265-4
ISBN-10: 0-268-03265-3
University of Notre Dame Press
Notre Dame, IN 46556 • www.undpress.nd.edu
Cover art: The new church and rectory of
St. Mary Magdalen dePazzi, early 1890s.
Courtesy of Rev. Alfred M. Natali, O.S.A.
Juliani_Priest.indd 1 10/12/06 3:06:23 PMPriest, Parish, and PeoplePriest, Parish, and People
Saving the Faith in Philadelphia’s “Little Italy”
richard n. juliani
University of Notre Dame Press
Notre Dame, IndianaJuliani samples 10/12/06 3:58 PM Page iv
Copyright ©  by University of Notre Dame
Notre Dame, Indiana 
www.undpress.nd.edu
All Rights Reserved
Manufactured in the United States of America
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Juliani, Richard N.
Priest, parish, and people : saving the faith in Philadelphia’s “little Italy” /
Richard N. Juliani.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
-: ---- (pbk. : alk. paper)
-: --- (pbk. : alk. paper)
. Church work with immigrants—Catholic Church. . Italian Americans—History.
. Philadelphia (Pa.)—Church history. I. Title.
.. 
'.—dc

∞ The paper in this book meets the guidelines for permanence and durability of
the Committee on Production Guidelines for Book Longevity of the Council on Library Resources.       
Preface vii
Introduction
1
         
The Italian Church in Philadelphia
8
        
European Politics, American Catholicism, and Italian Immigration
33
           
Portrait of a Young Priest
46
          
The Challenge of Leadership
56
          
Saving the Children
82
         
Columbus and Other Heroes: The Search for Identity
95vi Contents
           
Building Parish and Community
109
           
The Nineties: New Problems and Solutions
136
          
The “Italian Problem”: Catholic and Protestant Responses
165
         
A New Century
182
            
Saving the Faith of Southern Italians
209
           
Beyond South Philadelphia
229
              
Final Years of a Priest
259
              
The Dismemberment of Our Lady of Good Counsel
290
Epilogue: Parish, Priest, and People
309
Notes 325
Index 373      
My interest in the religious life of Italian Americans owes much to the late
Monsignor Bartholomew Fair, beginning from the time when he was a pastor in
the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. I am greatly indebted to him for many acts of
kindness, but especially for bringing me to St. Mary Magdalen dePazzi Church
in South Philadelphia to meet Monsignor Vito Mazzone, who was then its
pastor, one afternoon in the late 1960s. It was with some trepidation that I went,
because I had been warned that Father Mazzone was a difficult man who would
probably be unwilling to make parish records available to me. I still recall
standing in the entrance of the rectory and hearing Father Fair’s voice as he said,
“Vito, this is my friend, Richard.” Mazzone not only granted me immediate and
extensive access to his sacramental ledgers but also invited me to use his desk
and office while I studied this historic parish. It was, however, only the
beginning of a long and productive experience.
Subsequently, Father John DeMayo, the first archdiocesan archivist,
introduced me to the Consultors’ Minutes, the record of deliberations between
bishops and their priestly advisers on Church matters. And I soon became almost a
lodger at the Philadelphia Archdiocesan Historical Research Center (PAHRC),
an inexhaustible repository of materials bearing on Church history. The PAHRC
staff represents a group of professional archivists and historians whose
enthusiasm, intelligence, and congeniality have enormously contributed to my efforts.
This group includes its director, Joseph J. Casino, Archivist Christine Friend,
Archivist Brent Stauffer, and Office Manager Lois Wilson. In particular, Shawn
Weldon, PAHRC Archivist and Records Manager, embodies the highest
professional standards as an archivist, historian, and humanist. His indefatigable
pursuit of materials as well as his cogent criticisms and original ideas contributed
far more to my work than I can adequately thank him for. I wish to applaud the
entire PAHRC staff not merely for aiding my research but also for making the
time spent so pleasant. They exemplify what an outstanding research facility is
all about.
I am also indebted to Father John J. Sheridan, O.S.A., Archivist of the St.
Thomas of Villanova Province, and Father Fernando Rojo Martinez, O.S.A.,
Postulatore Generale of the Augustinian General Archives in Rome, for enabling
me to use records related to Our Lady of Good Counsel parish and school. I
viiviii Preface
thank Sister Francis Marie, Archivist of the Franciscan Missionary Sisters of
the Sacred Heart, who supplied published and unpublished material on the
orphanage and school at St. Mary Magdalen dePazzi as well as the vintage
photograph of its sisters and students that appears in this book. Similarly, Sister
Elizabeth Chambers, Sister Paola Canziani, and Sister Louise Giugni of the
Daughters of Charity provided consultation that stretched from Albuquerque,
New Mexico, to their mother house in Rome. I also owe my gratitude to Father
Donato P. Silveri, the last pastor of St. Mary Magdalen dePazzi parish, before it
was closed by the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, for his constant faith in this
project. I must mention the late Dr. Sofia A. Janelli, who, as interim custodian, long
held the personal papers of Monsignor Antonio Isoleri. And I especially would
have wanted to thank Father Gianfausto Rosoli of the Missionary Society of
St. Charles, and formerly the director of the Centro Studi Emigrazione in Rome,
who unfortunately died while this work was in a preliminary stage, for his
encouragement.
Another person, however, became uniquely essential to my endeavor. I first
met Father Alfred M. Natali, O.S.A., sometime in the 1980s, when he resided at
the rectory of St. Mary Magdalen dePazzi. Like many of the founding
members of this parish, as well as other residents of the early Italian community in
Philadelphia, he was a native of Genoa. As we prowled the attic above the main
church one afternoon, seeking materials that might relate to its early years, he
pointed to a small crate that held the papers of Isoleri and asked me if I would
like to have them. At that moment, Natali became responsible for what I would
be able to accomplish. Along with other guardians, Natali had preserved much
of the record of the religious experience of Philadelphia’s Italians. I carried the
fragile wooden box to the trunk of my car, not sure at all what use I would make
of the invaluable, but daunting, collection that it contained.
For several years, I occasionally looked at the contents of the crate that I had
brought home, upwards of 20,000 pages of sermons, letters, and notes, mainly
in Italian, sometimes in English, in Isoleri’s careful, cursive script. But the
longer that I examined these materials, the more compelling they became. I grew
increasingly aware that these papers, illuminating a priestly life in a distant time