When I decided to try (once again) to learn Italian, a major goal of mine was to attend, and understand, Mass in the language of my heritage. I have attended the Italian Mass at St. Lucy’s Church several times over the years. I understand very little of it, however, it reaches me in a special way. From the beginning of the Great Migration, the Church always played a central role in our assimilation story.

When Italian immigrants first arrived, the Catholic Church in the United States did not now how to approach the ways of the Southern Italian Catholic. With a focus on Mary and Patron Saints, coupled with a lack of language skills, these new immigrants were often relegated to the church basement. So what did we do? What we have always done. We persevered. We created our own communities, mutual aid societies, and our own parishes,