Category: News

We would like to thank everyone who has continued to contribute to the ongoing expenses of San Antonio Church by mailing in their weekly envelopes or by contributing electronically utilizing WeShare . The buttons at the bottom of this post allow you to make online donations directly to the listed account for San Antonio Church.

Weekly Bulletin August 8, 2021

by Terrie Evans

On August 6, 1922, families from South Fairmount came together to celebrate the founding of the St. Anthony Welfare Center and the start of our church with a Mass presided over by the Assistant Pastor of Sacred Heart, Church, Rev. Antonio Bainotti.  As we look back into the history of San Antonio Church; we must remember how the Italians from the original Sacred Heart of Jesus Church on 5^th and Broadway helped pave the way for the residents of South Fairmount.  Before the colony of Little Italy around Queen City Avenue was formed, the 2 Italian born  Sisters of Charity did much work with the Sacred Heart Church Italians.  Those Italian families arrived from a journey that took them  from Calabria, Italy  to New Orleans  and then by boat up the Mississippi River to Cincinnati around 1800.  They too wanted a church to serve their  community and to unite all new arrivals from their home country.  After years of planning and fundraising, the new Sacred Heart  Church was dedicated on August 27, 1893. 

This church was not only for the benefit of their parishioners but, for the whole community as Archbishop William Elder was very concerned about proselytism spreading among the Italian people.  Sacred Heart Church soon became an important cultural and social center as well as a spiritual home for the Italian Catholics of Cincinnati.  At that time, the Sisters of Charity, Blandina and Justina took responsibility for the Italian Children to prepare  them for their First Holy Communion and Confirmation.  Before our church was established, Sacred Heart Church held some Baptisms and  weddings of our South Fairmount Italian families.  Many traveled by carriage on cobble stone streets to attend church or receive the sacraments where they felt welcomed at Sacred Heart.  Some of the early weddings  that were celebrated during those early years  were:  Lorenzo Panaro to Maria Josephine  Palmieri on Sunday, June 16, 1895, by Rev. Lotti, Dena  Panaro to Silvano Minella on Sunday, September 14, 1913, by Rev. John Baptist Balangero, one of the 51 weddings performed that year and the wedding of Sacred Heart Parishioner and well known boxer, Anthony LaRosa to Mary  Elena Panaro on  Wednesday, September 4, 1929, by Rev. Remigio Pigato. 

Srs. Blandina and Justina became acquainted with many of our families through Sacred Heart Church  and realized  the need for a church in their own neighborhood.  They realized how difficult it was for the South Fairmount families to traverse their way to 5^th and Broadway.  Even though Sr. Blandina and Justina came from Cicagna, a commune in the City of Genoa, northern Italy, they  knew of the many struggles of the Southern Italians who were mostly peasant farmers.  They did whatever it took to serve the  Italians from Sacred Heart and the colony of the later arrivals from the southern mountain villages of Felitto, a town founded in the 10^th Century, Potenza, overlooking the valley of the Basento River in the Apennine Mountains of Lucania, and Roccadaspide near the Cilento National park where prized chestnuts are grown for chestnut flour that is used for sweets and pasta.  For 40 years  the much beloved Sr. Blandina (Servant of God) and Sr. Justina, the Segale Sisters unconditionally served many generations of  grateful Italian families.  We will never forget them.    

We would like to thank everyone who has continued to contribute to the ongoing expenses of San Antonio Church by mailing in their weekly envelopes or by contributing electronically utilizing WeShare . The buttons at the bottom of this post allow you to make online donations directly to the listed account for San Antonio Church.

Weekly Bulletin August 1, 2021

by Terrie Evans

On this 1^st Sunday of August, San Antonio Church will welcome all the extended family  members from the Cupito, Marckesano, Palmieri and Panaro Families for the Mass and Reception  to showcase the history of our church.  Many of the members of these families were some of the first settlers who started their families in the Little Italy Section of Lick Run in South Fairmount.  These Patriarch’s and Matriarch’s who arrived in Cincinnati were part of the 10 million people who arrived in the U.S. from 1855 to 1890.  Before Ellis Island; there was Castle Garden Immigration Center, built in 1808  as a circular sandstone fort on a small artificial island offshore.  Castle Garden at one time was used as a  Fort to protect  New York Harbor, a place where Native Americans would fish and where the  first Dutch Settlers built a stone wall with cannons to guard  what was then the city of New Amsterdam.  It was considered  the first American  Immigration Station so, most likely; some of the families from South Fairmount may have been processed there.  It was operated by the state of New York until April 18, 1890 when the U.S. Government took over the processing of immigrants due to unnecessary deaths, and  workers being  involved with cheating and stealing from the new arrivals.

 With Castle Garden closed, the reception center was moved to the U.S. Barge Office  located on the Eastern edge of the Battery Waterfront.  The Federal Government  then  took over of immigration control  at Ellis Island  which opened  on January 2, 1892.  Sadly, many of the immigrant passenger records were destroyed in a fire that consumed some of the structures at Ellis Island on June 15, 1897.  During this time many Italians were making their transatlantic journey which left Naples by way of Gibraltar to New York or other ports such as Boston, Baltimore, Philadelphia or New Orleans.  The Captain of each arriving ship would prepare a  handwritten Customs Passenger List and then file it with the collector of customs at the port of arrival.  Many times, those who were transported in steerage  were not even listed, as steerage passenger lists were rare. 

 Those who had a destination of New York, Buffalo or the  Great Lakes may have gone on to Western Pennsylvania, Northern Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan or Minnesota.  Those who arrived in Boston would sometimes go on to the New England States and those arriving at Baltimore or Philadelphia at times went to Pittsburgh and then traveled by boat to cities along the Ohio River.  If families landed in New Orleans many went on by boat up the Mississippi to places such as Missouri or Illinois.  Their journey was a long uncomfortable trip especially for those in steerage that sometimes would accommodate  700 to 800 passengers in only 7  different sleeping apartments.  There were many deaths and  illnesses with some arrivals sent back to their home country for various reasons.  In each history of our families, we cannot forget the risks they endured to come here for a better life for their family.  They had to have a sponsor, a job and a place to live.  More than 100 million Americans  today can trace their family history to this early period of immigration.  Remember, they came here for all of us.

We would like to thank everyone who has continued to contribute to the ongoing expenses of San Antonio Church by mailing in their weekly envelopes or by contributing electronically utilizing WeShare . The buttons at the bottom of this post allow you to make online donations directly to the listed account for San Antonio Church.

Weekly Bulletin July 25, 2021

by Terrie Evans

     San Antonio National Italian Parish was established on the insistence of Sr. Blandina Segale (Servant of God), who lobbied for the immigrant Italians she feared, would lose their Catholic Faith. These Sisters of Charity: Sr. Blandina, Justina, and Euphrasia also knew these families wouldn’t survive unless they received assistance to acclimate to their new surroundings. These three women religious were entrusted to the care of the Italian Population in 1897 by Mother General of the Sisters of Charity, Sr. Mary Blanche. The religious Sisters knew of the 200 children in Fairmount, so they requested funds, especially for children’s welfare work. Another much-needed priority was an Americanization Center in the neighborhood. The Sisters of Charity received $3,400 toward their cause and chose to use it on a building at 1946 Queen City Avenue. They would name the center, The Saint Anthony Welfare Center and use some of the rooms for citizenship classes, as many immigrants failed to pass the examination required to gain naturalization papers.

     They also encouraged those Italian families to attend church, receive the Sacraments, Baptize their children, and enroll them in Catholic Schools; this would become the start of our church. As Rose (Esposito) Campbell would say many years later, “ With Italians, everything centered around the church, it was like that in the old country.” After Sacred Heart Church, Our Lady of Mt. Carmel became the 2nd Italian Catholic Parish in Cincinnati, followed by San Antonio, with a total Italian population of around 5,000. During those early years, families settled close to the church when rent was about $11.00. Their belongings were “three pieces of furniture and a rug,” as Philomena (Marckesano) Schare once said. This founding of what is now San Antonio Church taught many of our ancestors to maintain our Catholic Faith, culture, traditions and come together to form Catholic Social Clubs while acclimating to America.

     With the guidance of Sr. Blandina, Sr. Justina, Sr. Euphrasia, and the Franciscan Fathers, those early immigrants became stable. They found a place in American civic life while giving them pride in being Italian. A milestone event took place in 1923 when the Italian Community in Cincinnati celebrated their 1st Columbus Day Banquet. In 1924, many Italians realized how fortunate they were to be in their new home country when the Johnson Immigration Bill passed and new immigration quotas were enacted. A perplexed Sr. Justina worried that this Bill would work against and cause significant damage to the Italians. When it was passed, Sr. Justina then said, “An Italian discovered America and gave it to the world.” They were given the tools to live and prosper for a life they journeyed more than 5,000 miles for. To quote Sr. Blandina: “Always keep your chin up and your eyes on God! ” and our ancestors took her advice.

We would like to thank everyone who has continued to contribute to the ongoing expenses of San Antonio Church by mailing in their weekly envelopes or by contributing electronically utilizing WeShare . The buttons at the bottom of this post allow you to make online donations directly to the listed account for San Antonio Church.

Weekly Bulletin July 18, 2021

by Terrie Evans

On Sunday August 1, 2021, San Antonio Church will hold a Mass and Reception in our Hall to kick off the celebration for our church’s  100^th Anniversary next year.   We will cover the years of 1922-1931 to gather stories of the neighborhood, our church and the families who were part of the fabric of that history.  To start our milestone event, we will introduce four early families who will  bring in their information, documents and pictures to share .  These families were present  when on the 6^th of August, 1922  with the opening of the St. Anthony Welfare Center and  were there at the formal opening on October 8^th,  1922. 

The 1^st Family from that time is the Cupito Family who made their homestead 1897 Montrose Street in the Lower Lick Run area of South Fairmount  when Antonio Cupito became Vice President of the Festival Committee.  The Cupito family consisted of  Antonio ( 1891-1939),  Maria Grazia (Di Stasi) Cupito (1885-1947),  with children,  Joseph (1913-1984), Antonio Jr. (1914-1927), Russell (1916-1995), Victor J. (1919-2021), John (1920-1921), Noble (1920-1991) and Rose Marie (Cupito) Young. 

The 2^nd Family is Pasquale and Maddalena (Dalessandro) Marckesano and their family who resided at 1960 Montrose Street in the Upper Lick Run section of South Fairmount.  Their family  members were sons Ralph and James and daughters, Anna, Jeanie, Philomena (Marckesano) Schare, Rose (Marckesano) Panaro,  Nellie (Marckesano) Stath, Louise (Marckesano) Studt, Jenny (Marckesano) Fleming and Mary (Marckesano) Schwartz. 

The 3^rd San Antonio Family from those early years were Gennaro Palmire (1851-1929), wife Maria (Schiavo) Palmire (1857-1922), daughter Mary Josephine (Palmire) Panaro (1880-1973), and son  Anthony Joseph Palmire (1892-1960).  They resided at 2149 Queen City Avenue with Anthony  later residing at 2120 Queen City Avenue.  Gennaro, Maria and little Mary Josephine came to America around 1888.  Anthony Joseph was born after they settled here in 1892 and went on to become the Chairman of the 1^st San Antonio Festival.  Anthony  married Esther Yost and had 3 daughters Rose Ann, Toni, and Mary Jo.    

The 4th family we are highlighting is the Panaro family, Vincenzo (1847-1910) and Maria (Matturo) Panaro (1844-1941), who came to the United States after son Lorenzo (1873-1940 ) and  daughter Virginia( Panaro) Greico (1870-1931) sent for them in 1900.  Daughter Virginia Panaro wed Anthony Greico  (1867-1949) in Italy  and their family consisted of Maria, Helen, Joseph and Nellie.  Son Lorenzo Panaro married Mary Josephine Palmire on June 16,1895  at Sacred Heart Church and their family consisted of Bernadina (Dena) (1897-1984), Eugene (1899-2003), John (1903-1986), Frank (1904-1974), Anthony (1905-1985), Mary (1908-2002), Larry (1910-1986), and William (1914-1995).  They lived at 2149 Queen City Avenue with the Palmire family for a few years and then  re- located to 1998 Queen City Avenue to accommodate their growing family.