Dear Readers,
May is a month with many Italian connections:
1 - St. Joseph the Worker. Pope Pius XII, concerned about communist glorification of the worker and the socialist state, on May 1, 1955, addressed the Association of Italian Workers and declared that this day would be known as the feast day of St. Joseph the Worker.
In the communist bloc, May 1 is celebrated as May Day, which glorifies the relationship between the worker and the socialist state. It is obvious that the Church was very concerned with this, and wanted to demonstrate to its faithful that it was equally concerned about the plight of the working man and woman.
2 - Italian-American Lawyers met in May 1978 in San Francisco to form a new organization. "A good seed planted in fertile ground is bound to grow."
Italian American Lawyers of the Bay Area met in order to form an organization patterned after the similar group in Los Angeles. The "good seed" was Judge Mario Clinco's idea to organize Italian American Lawyers to pursue common cultural interests and advance the Italian-American cause in the public eye.
In Los Angeles such a group was in existence since late 1977.Adhering to the sound advice of Santa Monica's Judge Clinco that Italian American Judges serve, as advisors, to the soon-to-be-formed group, Judge Walter Carpeneti, member of the prestigious Justinian Society of Jurist was instrumental in securing the support of the following Italian American Judges: John Racanelli, John A. Ertola, Victor M. Campilongo, Claude D. Perasso, Raymond J. Arata, Walter Carpeneti, Richard P. Figone, Lawrence S. Manna, Mario Barsotti, John Molinari and Walter Calcagno. It was a good beginning and IAL of the Bay Area continues to thrive.
3 - St. Philip and James, Apostles (First Century). The principal reason why these two saints are venerated on the same day is that the basilica at Rome, later known as that of the Twelve Apostles, was dedicated to both of them, as an early inscription indicates.
Jesus appealed to Philip before the feeding of the five thousand; Philip answered that six months' wages would not buy enough bread for them.
St. Philip was born at Bethsaida in Galilee. He was one of the apostles and a disciple of John the Baptist.In art, Philip is often represented with a loaf of bread to commemorate his part in the feeding of the five thousand.
St. James, also known as James the Less, was one the twelve apostles and is called "brother of the Lord" in the Gospels. He was most likely a cousin of Jesus.He is believed to be the author of the Epistle of St. James in the New Testament. James remained in Jerusalem after Pentecost and was stoned to death there in 62 A.D.
4 - Alessandro Scarlatti, the great Sicilian composer of the Baroque Era was born May, 1660 in Palermo. He died 1725 in Naples. He married Antonia Anzalone, 1678 (10 children including the musicians Pietro Fillipo and the famous composer Domenico).
5 - Cinco de Mayo - May 5th is mistakenly referred to as the Mexican Independence Day, but that's September 16. The day actually commemorates the Battle of Puebla, Mexico, where on May 5, 1862 the outnumbered Mexican Patriots, defeated the French Army.
6 - National Teachers Week is a time for honoring teachers and recognizing the lasting contributions they make to our lives. National Teachers Week is always the first full week in May. Italian-American Teachers never lose their class.
7 - Pope John Paul II was shot four times by Mehmet Ali Agca, a Turkish National, in Rome in a May 1981 assassination attempt, which Pope John fortunately survived.
An Italian parliamentary commission concluded that the former Soviet Union had been behind the assassination attempt, because the Pope, an ardent anti-communist, was the spiritual force behind Poland's Solidarity movement.
8 - Eve of Exile, King Vittorio Emanuele III, ascended the Royal Italian throne in 1900, abdicated on May 9, 1946 and was exiled in 1948. A quiet unimaginative family man, Vittorio Emanuele was notoriously indecisive on matters of state and proved only too willing to let Benito Mussolini, his aggressive strong willed prime minister, run things as he saw fit.
Only after Mussolini had single-handedly brought his kingdom to ruination in World War II did Vittorio Emanuele show some resolve by tossing him in jail and 'working' out secret surrender terms with the Allies.
This deed would have elevated him in the hearts of his war weary subjects had he not immediately lapsed back to his weak kneed ways. The Monarch, certain that Hitler would order some punitive action against him for his betrayal of the Axis, didn't want to be around when it came.
After Italy's surrender, the King, his family and personal staff hastily abandoned Rome to the approaching German armies, leaving the luckless citizens of the undefended City to fare for themselves.
By 1946, the year following the end of the war the Italian people weren't about to overlook such shameful conduct.
In a national referendum, the Italians voted to entirely abolish the monarchy and turn their nation into a republic. In retribution for Vittorio Emanuele's spineless compliance with Mussolini's alliance with Hitler, not to mention his disgraceful desertion of Rome, all male heirs members of the Royal Family were ordered out of the country and forbidden forever to set foot in Italy."Forever" ended in 2002 after the Italian Parliament voted July 2002 to end the exile imposed on the royal heirs in 1948.
9 - Ignazio Silone, author of Fontamara, Bread and Wine, and Don Camillo written shortly after his break with Communism, are bitter, tragic comic stories of the life of Italian peasants attempting to resist the inroads of their lives by the corrupt officialdom of the Fascist era. Despite their violence and pain, these books are lit by an inner faith.
Silone was born in May, 1900 at Pescina on the banks of lake Fucino.
10 - Ella T. Grasso was the first female elected governor of the United States (some women finished spouse terms). She won the governorship of Connecticut in a landslide victory in 1974. She was born May 10, 1919.
11 - Joseph A. Doria Sr. a specialty food industry leader, died May 2003 in New York. Joseph Doria was president and founder of Grace's Marketplace, a premier specialty food retailer in Manhattan.
A hands-on president who oversaw all buying for the retail business, Doria is credited with being the first to bring high-quality authentic Italian specialties to New York's Upper East Side. Born in Carato, Italy, in 1934, he learned the specialty food industry working for 30 years alongside his father in-law Louis Balducci at Manhattan's famed Balducci's.
Doria and his wife Grace Balducci Doria opened Grace's Marketplace in 1985. The store grew to include Grace's Trattoria, a restaurant and sidewalk cafe, and a wholesale business.
At the time of his death, Doria was developing a new site for the uptown Grace's Wholesale Marketplace in East Harlem. Five of the six Doria children are actively involved in the family business and management of Grace's Marketplace remains a Doria family affair.
12. John G. Brucato, born May 12, 1905 in Palermo Sicily was the founder of San Francisco Farmers Market and made many other valuable contributions to Bay Area communities. John had a degree in agriculture and founded the San Francisco Farmer's Market in 1943.
He also founded the San Francisco Victory Garden program during WWII. John had a 21-year career with the San Francisco Water Department. As Manager of the Agriculture and Land Division, he oversaw a number of projects including leasing land that is now the Crystal Springs Golf Course, and Sunol Valley Golf Course.
He published several books, "The Fanner Goes to Town, War Comes to the Farmlands," "A Garden Guide to San Francisco," and "A Sicilian in America."
13 - Mother's Day in the United Sates, was first observed in Philadelphia PA in 1907, based on suggestions by Julia Ward Howe (as early as 1872) and Anna Jarvis in 1907. Julia Ward Howe, you may recall, wrote the words to the "Battle Hymn of the Republic".
Anna Jarvis was an Appalachian homemaker and she organized a day to raise awareness of poor health conditions in West Virginia to celebrate Mother's Day on the anniversary of her mother's death. A memorial service was held there on May 10, 1908 and in Philadelphia the following year where Jarvis moved.
Jarvis and others began a letter-writing campaign to ministers, businessmen, and politicians in their quest to establish a national Mother's Day. They were successful.
President Woodrow Wilson, in 1914, made the official announcement proclaiming Mother's Day a national observance that was to be held each year on the 2nd Sunday of May.
Many other countries of the world celebrate their own Mother's Day at different times throughout the year. Denmark, Finland, Italy, Turkey, Australia, and Belgium celebrate Mother's Day on the second Sunday in May, as we do in the United States.
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Fr. Efrem Trettel celebrates "Buon Compleanno numero 86" as he was born in Trento, Italy on May 17, 1921.
Everyone who knows Fr. Efrem joins me in wishing him "cent'anni" of good health and "buona fortuna". Fr. Efrem was ordained in 1944 (Franciscan Order) and exercised his ministry in Trento, Calabria and China. In 1953 he came to San Francisco to be Assistant Pastor at the Immaculate Conception Church, a position he held until 1972.In 1963 he founded the ARC (Apostolato Radio Cristiana) to support his ministry for the elderly and the shut-ins through radio/TV productions.
Fr. Efrem worked out of the ARC Center, broadcasting, distributing audio/visual cassettes, giving time to personal visitations in hospitals and convalescent homes.Father Efrem Trettel after a number of difficult years, with illness and the closing of the ARC Center, decided to remain in the Bay Area, rather than return to his town of Trento (Veneto), Italy.
The Management of the Italian Cemetery and Mausoleum is pleased that Fr. Efrem Trettel O.F.M. resumed the tradition of celebrating Masses in the Italian Language on the Last Saturday of the month in the main chapel of the Italian Cemetery at 10:00 a.m. (Located at 540 F. Street, Colma, CA 94014; call (650)755-1511 for more information).
Readers of L'Italo Americano are pleased that Fr. Efrems' column, “Do Ciacere” (Due Chiacchiere) appears monthly in our “giornale”.
If you want to drop Father Efrem a note, write to him c/o St. Boniface Church, 133 Golden Gate Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94102 or call (415) 863-7515 ext 401 and leave a message.Happy Birthday and “Buona Salute” to Fr. Efrem and all of our Readers with a birthday in May.
10631 Vinedale Street, Sun Valley, CA 91352 - Phone (818) 767-3413 - Fax: (818) 767-1410
