6

Bishop Scalabrini and Other American Bishops

(1888 – 1905)

The news that Bishop Scalabrini had established an Institute of priests for the pastoral care of Italian immigrants circulated rapidly in the United States and Canada in the early 1890’s. Requests for missionaries came from several cities where Italians were arriving to work in mostly menial jobs. From the few surviving letters exchanged between Bishop Scalabrini and the Bishops of Cincinnati, Hartford, New Orleans, Kansas City and other dioceses, the difficulties of new ministry across language and cultural barriers, of priests’ adaptation to their new environment, of the lack of religious practice on the part of the immigrants, of easy conflicts between immigrants and their priests, are quite evident. At the same time, the American Bishops appear determined to find ways and means to provide the newcomers with pastoral care. Bishop Scalabrini was equally committed to give a prompt response, even though his personnel resources were limited and the preparation of his priests not always adequate. The overall result, however, was positive. The awareness of the special pastoral attention required by the immigrants spread even in dioceses where Bishop Scalabrini’s missionaries were not present and the missionaries themselves found by trial and error a way to be effective. The Apostolic Delegate Archbishop Francesco Satolli wrote to Bishop Scalabrini from Washington, D.C., on November 16, 1893: “Your efforts to provide missionaries to the poor Italian immigrants who reside in these regions are worthy of every praise. And I am

happy to bring to your knowledge that from various places I received comforting information on the behavior and zeal with which the Missionaries of the Piacenza Institute work. . . . I know very well the serious obstacles that stand in the way of this work, but I am confident that, little by little, they can be overcome.” (AGS, 549/5) By the time of Bishop Scalabrini’s visit to the United States in 1901, his Institute was beginning to consolidate and more requests were made for its missionaries to serve the immigrants.

            The few letters found refer to others who may still be in some archives and yet they point out some critical aspects, that would return regularly with every new wave of immigrants, in the life of the Church in the United States.

            For some dioceses like Boston and Providence the contact between their Bishops and Bishop Scalabrini was regularly and effectively mediated by Fr. Francesco Zaboglio who exchanged the pertinent correspondence. Thus, for the case of Providence, for example, Fr. Zaboglio wrote to Bishop Scalabrini on September 19, 1888: “This morning I visited the Bishop of Providence, a city located between New York and Boston, as Your Excellency will notice by looking at the enclosed map. He would like to have a priest whom he would house in his own residence and who would be the parish priest for the Italians in his city. There are only about one thousand five hundred Italians, but His Excellency thinks that their number will increase. Therefore, he would like to start the parish on a firm base now that their number is not very large. Nothing in particular has been settled and he told me that he will write to Your Excellency. . . . Bishop Harkins of Providence speaks French and some Italian in addition to English of course. He said that it was Cardinal Gibbons who spoke to him about our Society.” The answer of Bishop Scalabrini was on October 17, 1888: “I think that Providence will be an excellent location. Two priests and a catechist would not be too much for a population of one thousand five hundred souls whose number is constantly increasing. Speak to the Bishop precisely about this. . . .”

            From this beginning, a network of Italian parishes became established in the State of Rhode Island.

            The direct correspondence of Bishop Scalabrini can be fully understood in the context of Fr. Zaboglio’s extensive reporting from the United States.