Author Archives: Dominic Candeloro

About Dominic Candeloro

Dominic Candeloro, 1401 Cleveland Avenue LaGrange Park, IL 60526 Candeloro@CasaItaliaChicago.org, dcandeloro@luc.edu 708-354-0952 Cell 847-951-910 http://tinyurl.com/candeloro 2012-13-Adjunct Prof. Italian American History, Loyola University Chicago 1981-present—Part-time volunteer program co-ordinator and librarian Italian Cultural Center at Casa Italia 2001-2006 Executive Director, American Italian Historical Association 2005-----Co Director of the Exhibit “The Dream...per non dementicare” Archivio Centrale dello Stato-Roma 1995-2003 Special Assistant to the Mayor of Chicago Heights Director, Conferences/Workshops & Weekend College, Governors State University Adjunct Professor of History 1977-1982 Visiting Assistant Professor - History, University of Illinois, Chicago.and Director of the "Italians in Chicago" Project, $300,000 NEH Grant (1979-1982). 1976-1977 Visiting Assistant Professor - History, University of Illinois, Urbana - Champaign. Ph.D. University of Illinois, Urbana - Champaign, History. Dissertation: ,Louis Freeland Post: Carpetbagger, Singletaxer, Progressive." J. Leonard Bates, Advisor. B.A. Northwestern University, 1982-1983 Fulbright Research Fellowship, Italy.

The Celestial Messenger 1920s

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In the 1920s Giuseppe Abbate led a renegade Catholic sect on the west side.

In the 1920s Giuseppe Abbate led a renegade Catholic sect on the west side.

Giuseppe Maria Abbate was a Neapolitan barber who was remanded to the Elgin State Hospital for the criminally insane in the 1930s, accused of statutory rape. In a bizarre chapter of Chicago history, this man attracted hundreds of Italians on the West Side to his pseudo-Catholic cult from 1919 to the early 1930s. Abbate dressed like the Pope. He claimed to have experienced a vision and to have been called by God to be his ” Messeggero Celeste” ( Celestial Messenger).
His basic “theological” teaching was that he and his followers were the reincarnation of the Virgin Mary and the saints. Photos in a rather slick magazine published by the cult in 1927 show him with a sword, cape, and helmet, protecting a child identified as “the Madonna Child Reincarnated at one year of age in the arms of the Celestial Messenger, her spiritual protector.” With his barber chair in the left foreground and a child identified as “the Virgin Mary at age 12” in the right foreground, Padre Celeste decked himself out in full regalia (including a Papal scull cap) and sat at his desk for yet another bizarre photo. (See the Author’s Images of America: Italians in Chicago for this photo).
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The cult’s headquarters (reportedly at 548 W. DeKoven Street) was an old home that was decked out with banners and flags extolling “Il Messeggero Celeste.” Inside, the parlor (“Il Sacro Tempio”) was crammed with a Catholic-style altar, opulent chandeliers, candles, draperies and flowers. A charismatic figure, Abbate performed one known miracle: He was able to get his Italian followers to tithe themselves! For obvious financial and other reasons, his cult was not large or long-lived. Few today have a living memory of this Celestial phenomenon. Those who seek further information should consult the Italian American Collection at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Claudia Pontarelli-Hallissey Images and Reflections

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To view 5 images of artwork with descriptions for the Loyola exhibit by Claudia Pontarelli-Hallissey, click on the link below. —. click Claudia Pontarelli-Hallissey images and reflections

 

The text without the images

Accursed Heart

My mother died of pancreatic cancer in 2001 quickly but beautifully. While I mourned her loss, ironically, right at that same time, I felt besieged by some other tragic events that seemed far worse than my mother’s death. The pain was unbearable, perhaps heightened by my loss of her. My heart screaming in pain turned to Psalm 6 in desperate prayer.
Lord, do not reprove me in your anger: punish me not in your rage. Have mercy on me, Lord, I have no strength; Lord, heal me, my body is racked; my soul is racked with pain. And you, Lord, how long? Return, Lord, rescue my soul. Save me in your merciful love, for in death no one remembers you; from the grave, who can give you praise? I am exhausted with my groaning; every night I drench my pillow with tears. My eye wastes away from grief; I have grown old surrounded by my foes. Leave me, all you who do evil; for the Lord has heard my weeping. The Lord has heard my plea; the Lord will accept my prayer. All my foes will retire in confusion, foiled and suddenly confounded.

Dad

My father’s death came too soon for me, as we had unfinished business. It was right after St. Joseph’s feast day, and I brought him some goodies at the hospital. For a long time, though he was ill, I never expected him to die. But one day, as I visited him in the hospital room, even as we spoke, I suddenly realized he had very little time left. My senses were heightened, and my presence all-embracing.
I remembered my dad and I sitting on the stoop together passing the time, doing nothing but being with each other.

Vital Saints

All of my life I have prayed to the canonized saints who bequeathed to us the spiritual lessons of life. But I also know that my own deceased beloved friends and family have joined them, and I remember their good works and example too. And also, I have living saints, those who give me comfort, make me laugh, help me out and come on time. They are my own present family, friends and even acquaintances or strangers. They too show me God’s love every day.

The Beautiful, Beautiful St. Agatha

In 1993 I had breast cancer, and I had a mastectomy. An aunt sent me a gift certificate to Victoria’s Secret. I was so angry, I cried.
St. Agatha was a third century Sicilian martyr. Because she rejected the advances of a Roman senator, she was thrown into a brothel where she was beaten and then imprisoned. She then had her breast cuts off. Ancient art depicts her breasts, which were mistaken as buns, on a platter. Her execution at the stake was interrupted by a volcanic eruption.
Breasts are used commercially as advertising ploys. Agatha and all women are beautiful with or without their breasts.

Yes!

Mary is an ever-present companion in my life, as she was for my own mother. I collect icons of her because her multifaceted life-callings so represent the various roles of women today and throughout time. But, she is more than a pretty icon. She is not a static symbol, but is a dynamic personality ready to help, comfort, listen …

“And They Came to Chicago: The Italian Legacy”—a film by Gia Amella is available on You Tube

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The complete 80 minute version of ATCTC is available on You Tube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vqeikaWQCyo .
Overview

And They Came to Chicago traces the 150-year history of Italians settlement in Chicago, from early arrivals who laid the foundation for burgeoning Italian enclaves to the Italian American contribution to politics and labor, the arts and culture. Combining rare historical footage and photographs, interviews with prominent Italian Americans, authors, historians, and individuals who came of age in Chicago’s Little Italies, And They Came To Chicago journeys to the heart of one of the city’s most vibrant, and misunderstood, communities for an unforgettable look at Chicago’s Italian American legacy.

Though a handful of Northern Italian adventurers settled in the Midwest before the Revolutionary War, the first notable Italian presence in Illinois dates back to the 1850s, when Italian enclaves gradually formed around the state where there was promise of steady work. It was rough-and-tumble spirit of a growing metropolis that brought the majority of new arrivals to Chicago, the Midwest’s leading center of industry and commerce and home to one of the fastest growing Italian communites in the nation. While the city’s first Italian settlers hailed primarily from the North, the majority of Chicago’s Italians trace their ancestry to Southern Italy and Sicily, the Mezzogiorno. Mass immigration in the late 19th century pushed their numbers into the thousands and by 1920–just a few years before restrictive immigration laws were enacted–60,000 Italians called the city home, the third largest Italian population after New York and Philadelphia. Today, more than half a million Italian Americans live in greater Chicago, with Illinois ranking seventh among states with the largest Italian Americans populations.

The extraordinary accomplishments of Chicago’s Italian Americans have long overshadowed the hardships their ancestors endured early on. Among famous and unsung figures profiled include popular radio broadcaster Amabile Peguri Santacaterina; Frank Annunzio, Chicago’s leading Italian American congressman who helped make Columbus Day a national holiday; labor leader James Petrillo, a sewer digger’s son who became most powerful figures in the entertainment industry; Nobel Prize-winning physicist Enrico Fermi, who found a new home at the University of Chicago after fleeing Fascist Italy; Mother Frances Xavier Cabrini, the first American to achieve sainthood; and Ron Turano, the first American elected to the Italian Senate.

Success, though, had its price. The sting of deep-seated prejudices lingered for generations even as thousands of Italian Americans marched off to war. And while they gradually attained visibility at every level of society, perhaps more than any other ethnic group, Italian Americans continue to combat a negative public image. In Chicago especially, Italian identity, criminality and violence were synonymous in the public’s imagination a generation before gangster life became the media’s cash cow.

Through it all—the anti-immigrant backlash, the Sacco and Vanzetti case, the Great Depression and global conflict—Chicago’s Italian enclaves remained the bedrock of social life for several generations of Italian Americans. More than a dozen of Little Italies formed across Chicagoland as successive waves of immigrants followed their compatriots to America. Taylor Street on the Near West Side, the city’s largest enclave of mostly Southern Italians before the University of Illinois claimed much of the neighborhood. 24th & Oakley, first settled by Tuscan immigrants before 1920 and possibly the best-preserved Italian neighborhood. Little Sicily on the Near North Side, once home to 20,000 Sicilians, and the western suburb of Melrose Park, where the Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel was born in 1894. Chicago Heights and Roseland to the South, Highwood and Highland Park to the North. Elmwood Park and Grand & Harlem, where Italian Americans put down deep roots. And finally, Grand & Ogden, Bridgeport and Chinatown, once-thriving Italian neighborhoods that yielded to newcomers as Italian Americans gained greater economic mobility.

2007 documentary on the history of Italians in Chicago by Gia Amella appeared in WTTW and WMAQ-TV. Italic Institue President, Bill Dal Cerro originated the project when he persuaded WTTW to back the production of the documentary.

2007 documentary on the history of Italians in Chicago by Gia Amella appeared in WTTW and WMAQ-TV. Italic Institue President, Bill Dal Cerro originated the project when he persuaded WTTW to back the production of the documentary.

Fr. Armando Pierini—THE Most Accomplished Scalabrinian

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DeSertoJoewPierini1966
This is the Chapter on Armando Pierini who played crucial roles in the establishment of the the Sacred Heart Seminary, the Villa Scalabrini, and the Fra Noi newspaper. For 60 years he was at the very center of Chicago Italian Catholicsm
Click below to access a scanned version of Candeloro’s edited interview with Pierini
Pierini ChapterB

Click Here to link to a variety of interviews

Rev. Armando Pierini, 90, Villa Scalabrini Founder

October 15, 1998|By Meg McSherry Breslin, Tribune Staff Writer.

In the 1940s, Italian-Americans weren’t likely to send their elders to nursing homes. In the Italian tradition, families cared for their aging mothers and fathers at home.

But Rev. Armando Pierini saw a growing need for a new form of care for the aging at that time, and he had the gumption and personality to make his vision a reality.

After years of fundraising and planning, Father Pierini opened the Villa Scalabrini nursing home in Northlake, serving primarily Italian-Americans, in 1951. The home focused on the spiritual and physical care of the elderly and became a popular residence.

Father Pierini was director of the Villa for 30 years and remained a resident there until his death Tuesday at age 90 in West Suburban Hospital in Oak Park.

Also the founder of the Fra Noi newspaper and a leader behind the formation of the Joint Civic Committee of Italian Americans, Father Pierini was a key figure in his community.

“He was one of those rare individuals who had such total selflessness and total devotion to whatever it was he was involved in, and that was mostly the care of these (elderly) people,” said Dominic DiFrisco, president emeritus of the Joint Civic Committee of Italian Americans.

Father Pierini was born in Perugia, Italy, and was ordained into the Missionaries of St. Charles, Scalabrinians, in 1932.

As the director of Villa Scalabrini, Father Pierini took a creative and aggressive approach toward keeping the home alive by soliciting donations from churches and prominent community leaders. He started the Fra Noi newspaper in part to promote the home and had a weekly radio program on which he often discussed the virtues of the home.

In 1972, Father Pierini didn’t hesitate to write a letter with U.S. Rep. Frank Annunzio that they sent directly to Frank Sinatra, asking whether he would perform at a benefit to raise funds for Villa Scalabrini. Sinatra responded almost immediately to Father Pierini’s passionate request. “You print the tickets and I’ll be happy to pay for the rest,” he said.

“Father Pierini was not at all shocked by Sinatra’s presence,” DiFrisco said. “He just believed it was divine intervention which led to Sinatra accepting the offer.”

At the home, Father Pierini was tireless in his efforts to beautify the surroundings and to make people feel comfortable. Residents were invited to plant gardens in a big courtyard in the center of the complex and to decorate their rooms.

Dedicated to his own vow of poverty, Father Pierini slept on the floor or in a recliner in the basement of the home for years because he didn’t want to take away a potential room for a resident.

“Besides being a builder, he was a very spiritual and prayerful man,” said Rev. John Di Vito, chaplain at Villa Scalabrini. “He was known for his prayers and his ascetic life.”

On his 50th anniversary in the priesthood in 1982, the Fra Noi newspaper tried to sum up Father Pierini’s contributions to the community.

“Father Pierini may be reluctant to accept any credit or merit for the work he has done in the name of Christ,” the paper wrote, “but the Italian-American community will always be grateful to him for his leadership, his inspiration and his perseverance in successfully giving the community an institution of which all can be justly proud.”

Father Pierini is survived by a sister, Leopolda Pittola. Visitation will be from 3 to 9 p.m. Thursday and Friday at Villa Scalabrini, 480 N. Wolf Rd., Northlake. A funeral service will be held Saturday at 10 a.m. at Villa Scalabrini.

Peter D’Agostino on the Concordat 1929 between church and state in Italy–link to Google Books

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The leading scholar of the relationship between Italian immigrants in Chicago and the Catholic Church was Peter D’Agostino, professor of history at UIC. Tragically, his career was cut short when he became the victim of an unsolved street murder in 2005 at age 42.

Rome in America: Transnational Catholic Ideology from the Risorgimento to …

Rome in America:

Transnational Catholic Ideology from the Risorgimento to Fascism (Google eBook)

Univ of North Carolina Press, 2004 – History – 393 pages
For years, historians have argued that Catholicism in the United States stood decisively apart from papal politics in European society. The Church in America, historians insist, forged an “American Catholicism,” a national faith responsive to domestic concerns, disengaged from the disruptive ideological conflicts of the Old World. Drawing on previously unexamined documents from Italian state collections and newly opened Vatican archives, Peter D’Agostino paints a starkly different portrait. In his narrative, Catholicism in the United States emerges as a powerful outpost within an international church that struggled for three generations to vindicate the temporal claims of the papacy within European society.Even as they assimilated into American society, Catholics of all ethnicities participated in a vital, international culture of myths, rituals, and symbols that glorified papal Rome and demonized its liberal, Protestant, and Jewish opponents. From the 1848 attack on the Papal States that culminated in the creation of the Kingdom of Italy to the Lateran Treaties in 1929 between Fascist Italy and the Vatican that established Vatican City, American Catholics consistently rose up to support their Holy Father. At every turn American liberals, Protestants, and Jews resisted Catholics, whose support for the papacy revealed social boundaries that separated them from their American neighbors.

By Peter R. D’Agostino Follow this link to D’Agostino’s chapter on the Concordat of 1929….   http://books.google.com/booksid=U9wNxgCo7ycC&pg=PA197&source=gbs_toc_r&cad4#v=onepage&q&f=false

Rome in America describes the efforts of the Catholic Church to influence immigrant Catholics in Chicago and the US.
To celebrate the signing of the Concordat, Scalabrini priests gathered almost 1000 people and 25 religious organizations to pose for this picture in front of OLP along with Italian government officials.

To celebrate the signing of the Concordat, Scalabrini priests gathered almost 1000 people and 25 religious organizations to pose for this picture in front of St. Philip Benizi Church along with Italian government officials in 1929.

Scalabrini Fathers in Chicago–A Mission to Lead

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Fr. Pierini along w Fr. Franch played a big role in establishing the Sacred Heart Seminary (now Casa Italia) in Stone Park. Pierini also founded Villa Scalabrini Home for the Aged and the Fra Noi newspaper in addition to his radio ministry.

Fr. Pierini along w Fr. Franch played a big role in establishing the Sacred Heart Seminary (now Casa Italia) in Stone Park. Pierini also founded Villa Scalabrini Home for the Aged and the Fra Noi newspaper in addition to his radio ministry.

Scalabrini Fathers Mission to Lead in Chicago  click on the blue to access 17 page article on Scalabrini Fathers in Chicago

SemGrouBking1936  

The Scalabrini seminary began in the early 1930s at Santa Maria Addolorata on the Near NW side with a mission to train Italian American boys to become priests to serve the Italian American community.

The Scalabrini seminary began in the early 1930s at Santa Maria Addolorata on the Near NW side with a mission to train Italian American boys to become priests to serve the Italian American community.

 219 Villa S dedication poster

Religion and Ethnic Identity Among Italians in Chicago — Anthony Mansueto –Abstract bio

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Religion and Ethnic Identity Among Italians in Chicago

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Religion and Ethnic Identity Among Italians in Chicago

Anthony Mansueto

This paper will explore the complex relationship between religion generally, and Catholicism in particular, and ethnic identity among Italian immigrants and their descendants in Chicago. Drawing on the oral history interviews conducted as part of the Italians in Chicago Project in 1980-1981, for which I served as the principal interviewer, and looking forward to a follow up study, I will explore the diverse meanings of Catholicism (popular and “high” traditions) and anticlericalism for Italian immigrants and their descendants. Specifically, I will argue that growing levels of identification with the institutional church (as opposed to local popular traditions) was one of the principal elements in the emergence of an Italian American identity among second generation Italians in Chicago during the post war years. This is by contrast with the immigrants themselves who tended to identify with the region, province, or even town from which they came and who were more likely to be anticlerical and/or to identify with popular religious traditions from their places of origin. Similarly, the decision of the Archdiocese of Chicago to de-emphasize ethnic parishes and use the Catholic schools as agents of assimilation was one of the principal factors in the decline of Italian American identity in later generations.  The paper will conclude by identifying research questions and methods for a follow up study which will look at the current situation of Italian American identity and the prospects for conservation, with particular emphasis on the religion question.