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520book reviews berculosis) on individuals and communities of the period. Numerous illustrations and photographs enhance the reader's comprehension of the subject. In his epilogue Gillespie muses on the comparison between the successful, famous, yet blasphemous, Delius and the obscure, devoutWard.Who is successful , who is great,who is worth writing about?The author's reflections led me to a further one.This work,whose research and publication was supported by the DeliusTrust (London), would have never seen the light of day without such patronage , a fact which caused me to ponder the role of foundations in scholarly research and publication, but that is another book and another review. Michael J. McNally St. Charles Borromeo Seminary Overbrook, Philadelphia Churches, Communities and Children: Italian Immigrants in the Archdiocese of New York, 1880-1945. By Mary Elizabeth Brown. (Staten Island, NewYork: Center for Migration Studies. 1995. Pp. vi, 219. Paperback.) Italian mass migration to the United States began in earnest during the decade following the Risorgimento and the political unification of the Italian Peninsula. General political confusion, plummeting economy, increased taxation , a burgeoning military establishment and extended mandatory service, as well as a government that encouraged and, in some instances, forced emigration , all contributed to the massive movement of the poor from the various provinces, cities, and towns of Italy to the Americas from the 1880's to the first decades of the present century. New York City, even then the symbol of American economic and political prosperity, became the goal and dreamed-for haven for millions of the dispossessed , especially after the opening of Ellis Island. The largest single religious group represented during these years among the arriving immigrants was Roman Catholic, at least in name; the largest single national group among these was the Italian.They were also the neediest, "the most pitiable," as Archbishop Corrigan once described them, with no single language, only various dialects, no national identity, only loyalty to the local town or province of birth, and a strong mutual disdain between those hailing from Northern and Southern Italy. Many were mere slave labor, indentured to "padroni" who had paid their passage to America in return for years of servitude. The Archdiocese of NewYork found itself host to hundreds of thousands of newly arrived Roman Catholics,among whom were the Italians, most in need of every imaginable form of assistance, not least of which was the spiritual guidance and comfort of their Church. Mary Elizabeth Brown's book describes the Church's response and pastoral plan for the Italians living within the Archdiocese of NewYork from 1880 until the eve ofVatican Council II. BOOK REVIEWS521 Beginning with the administration ofJohn Cardinal McCloskeyduring which time the number of Italian immigrants arriving in New York began to rise, Brown continues in detail her study through 1945, during the rule of Francis Cardinal Spellman. She then paints a general view of the Italians up until the council. She traces the life of Italian Catholics in NewYork and the Church's response to them and their needs throughout these years. Brown studies aspects of the archdiocesan pastoral efforts in NewYork, beginning with Corrigan's initiative in bringing religious congregations to the City to work with the Italians, and the establishment ofnational parishes for Italians, as for other Catholic immigrant groups in response to the needs of these people . Schools, both industrial and parish elementary, were likewise founded, as well as orphanages, especially with the co-operation of Mother Cabrini and her Missionary Sisters of Charity. Here, and during the administration ofJohn Cardinal Farley in 1903, the Church in New York attempted to meet the spiritual needs of the Italians and assist them in becoming part ofAmerica, all the while maintaining their Catholic faith. By the Spellman years, not only had the sons and daughters of the Italian immigrants become stronger in their Catholic faith and support of the Church, but they and their children had also developed an identity as Americans and were called upon to defend their adopted country during the years of the First and SecondWorldWars and the ColdWar. Her final chapter treats of the third generation and their life and relationship with the Church up until Vatican Council...

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