Settled in a quiet neighborhood alongside Highway 16 in Hartland is the St. Charles Borromeo Catholic parish, 313 Circle Drive. Three years ago in April 2021, the parish broke ground on a new worship center. Two weeks ago, a dedication Mass was held, opening the church to the public and boasting northern Italian architecture and meticulously hand-c...

In 1889, members of the Italian community in Wooster Square, led by Paulo Russo, decided to establish their own parish instead of continuing to have to attend mass at St. Patrick's Church on Grand Avenue. They dedicated it to St. Michael the Archangel. The church occupied several sites before the edifice on Wooster Place, which had served as a Bapt...

After 27 years as a member of the Beato Giovanni Liccio Society of Chicago, current President Tony Sapienza is as active and enthusiastic as ever. The group’s mission is to promote and foster the teachings of its patron, Beato Giovanni Liccio, a 15th century priest from Caccamo, Sicily, who spent his life helping the needy and the poor, and to whom...

Pope Francis paved the way for the canonization of the first saint of the millennial generation on Thursday, attributing a second miracle to a 15-year-old Italian computer whiz who died of leukemia in 2006. Carlo Acutis, born on May 3, 1991, in London and then moved with his Italian parents to Milan as a child, was the youngest contemporary person...

St. Anthony Society in New Castle is celebrating its 100-year anniversary with a traditional procession June 9 through the streets of historic and old New Castle. The procession begins at 12:30 p.m. at St. Peter the Apostle Church. Marchers will be waving to spectators along the way to a short ceremony at the Italian monument. They will take a brea...

Good Shepherd Parish, 625 Florida Grove Rd., in the Hopelawn section of Woodbridge will once again be hosting the Festa di San Antonio on Saturday, June 8 from Noon to 7PM in Msgr. Gambino Hall. The day will include Italian food and desserts (eat in/take out), raffles, activities and games for children and more. Elevator service is available. In ad...

Every Tuesday morning, a little bit of Italy comes to Our Lady of Grace Church in Gravesend. The friendly tour guide is Jeanne Nisi, a retired educator who teaches an Italian language class once a week for free.  Her students, all adults who number between 10 and 15 from week to week, get the chance to learn how to read, write, and speak Italian. T...

It’s not just an event—it’s a vivid representation of something felt so deep within the community of Jessup, Lackawanna County, Penn., that it can only be described as “anima.”  La Corsa dei Ceri, the annual “race of the saints” in honor of St. Ubaldo, is held in both Gubbio, Italy, and Jessup. Legend states that Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I (Bar...

It’s a common cliché, both among Neapolitans and tourists, to say that Naples is the realm of the sacred and profane. This is a definition I don’t really like; it’s a bit like rhetorically associating the city exclusively with the sun and the sea, when one should understand that its richness is almost always hidden in the shadows.  My passion for t...

The Cultural Italian American Organization will host its annual Feast of St. Joseph the Worker at 5 p.m. Sunday, May 5, in Nacca Hall at St. Francis of Assisi Church, 303 Clark St., Auburn. The annual event celebrates St. Joseph's (San Giuseppe) the Worker Day on May 1. St. Joseph's Day itself is March 19, honoring the foster father of Jesus and kn...