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“C’era una volta,” there once was a sweet elderly lady who lived in the neighborhood. Lucia was her name. The poor lady lived in the alley behind our home. It was an awful road and, quite honestly, not the best of locales. It wasn’t even paved! Instead, the alleyway was peppered with gravel; yet she liked it and the privacy it provided. No other pe...

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Each June, for more than 60 years, dozens of Italian Americans on Galveston Island in Texas have gathered at Sacred Heart Catholic Church of Holy Family Parish in Galveston to honor the feast of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist. The annual event carries on a Sicilian tradition of honoring St. John the Baptist for his intercession during a storm...

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An alternative to the Via Appia was built by Emperor Trajan in 109 AD as part of a building spree after his defeat of Dacia (modern Romania) replenished the coffers and ushered in an era of relative peace. A roman coin was issued commemorating the Traiana. Strabo notes that the new coastal road was a day's travel shorter between Benevento and Brind...

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Museum dedicated to foster respect for Italy’s diverse religious history Italy is officially a secular state with freedom of religion guaranteed under the 1947 constitution of the Italian Republic. Italy’s status as a secular state was further confirmed on Feb. 19, 1984, when Italy and the Vatican signed a concordat under which Roman Catholicism ce...

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The Reverend Joseph P. Capella, a beloved Catholic priest who served as pastor, a teacher and a chaplain and rector at Bishop Eustace Preparatory School, the rector of Camden Catholic High School as well as serving as a member and chaplain of the Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Society and as the former chaplain of the New Jersey Sons of Italy and the Sons...

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A special Mass in honor of their patron saint, a procession, and an outdoor festival will draw parishioners and community members to Windham on July 15-16 for the second annual St. Anthony of Padua Festival. The festival, which will be held on the grounds of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church on 919 Roosevelt Trail, was initially held last summer to...

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The Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church and Shrine will celebrate the 129th anniversary of its devotion to the Blessed Mother on July 17. Festivities will begin with a 7:30 a.m. Mass in English and 9 a.m. solemn Mass in Italian, followed by a procession with the statue to a noon field Mass. A procession through the streets of the parish afterward will...

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On June 23, the St. John the Baptist Society celebrated their 112th Feast of St. John with a Mass and a procession. The event was held at St. Joseph Church, located on Third Street and French Streets. The Mass for the Feast of St. John started at around 6:30 p.m. Attendees came and prayed and received blessings. The atmosphere of St. Joseph Church...

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 He may have been the original Earth Day advocate and serves as the patron saint for animals, the environment and ecology in the Catholic faith. St. Francis of Assisi adored all of God's creations. and now, due to the generosity and devotion of a local couple, the likeness of St. Francis of Assisi, an Italian Catholic friar, deacon and mystic, is f...

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Relics and reliquaries were really a thing of the Middle Ages. A saint’s bone or two could put your tiny village on the map and quickly transform it into a pilgrimage destination, which also meant something else: money. Hang on, you may say: are we talking about spirituality or cash? Well, both. But let’s take a step at a time and see exactly what...

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