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Weekly Bulletin July 10, 2022
by Terrie Evans
On this Sunday, San Antonio Church welcomes La Societa Fuscaldese Femminile, their members and guests for a Mass and Reception to honor their patron Saint, San Francesco. Many in attendance this morning were originally from Fuscaldo, a hilltop town that dates to 589 A. D. with a population of 8,164. The area is well known for San Francesco Di Paola and the many pilgrims who make the journey to visit the Sanctuary and Shrine which contains relics with documented miracles. In honor of his feast day (July 15th) a special breakfast and program is held to pay homage to him by the La Societa Fuscaldese Femminile. Their organization was started after the men’s only La Societa Fuscaldese Maschili was formed in the 1930’s for those who emigrated from Fuscaldo, Italy. Every July, this group of men and their descendants gathered at Gutzwiller’s Grove to celebrate their new life in a new home.
The La Fuscaldese Maschili Society celebrated at picnic’s, parties, and worked to donate monetary aid back to the villages they left behind. The original men’s group was active for over 70 years until they disbanded in 2002. After that, the women’ s service organization La Societa Fuscaldo Femminile was established for their families and the next generations of proud Italian Americans to pass on their traditions from the “Old Country”. These women and their families we welcome at Mass and a reception on this morning support our church and the fundraisers at Sacred Heart Italian Church in Camp Washington.
We are all honored to be part of your celebration! San Antonio Church is also pleased to have parishioners from the Mazzei Family who have been loyal members of our church for many years. Janet (Mazzei) Reiff and Connie (Mazzei) Dalessandro are dedicated volunteers who are descendants of an original and well known Fuscaldese family. Their father was Natale Mazzei (1904-1997) who emigrated to America when he was 16 years old in 1919. In the 1920 census, Natale was living on Main Street with Salvatore Mazzei, Carmine Mazzei, and his mother Concetta Mazzei. In the 1940 census, Natale was a Naturalized Citizen living at 1330 Spring Street, employed as a Tailor and owned his own home. Natale was first married to Lena Carusone (Caruso) and in the 1950 census, Natale was then wed to Antoinette Sansone until her untimely death in 1954. Natale Mazzei would later marry Mary Francis (Vilardi) born in Fuscaldo, Italy who would later become a much-cherished mom to their 9 children until she passed in 2009. The Mazzei siblings have many relatives from the Carusone, Sansone and Vilardi families with many talented seamstresses and tailors among them. The Mazzei siblings consist of five sisters and four brothers, Theresa, Connie, Pina, Janet, Joan, Michael, Joe, the late James (1939-1998) and Frank (1959-2019) who are all part of the rich history of Italian families who settled in Cincinnati.
Our San Antonio Church Community thanks Pompilios for supplying the Brunch and we appreciate the volunteers who prepared and served the morning breakfast. Thank you to Chuck Bailey, Earl Einhaus, Vic Minella, Phil and Dave Sabatelli, Ron Dalessandro and especially Mike Reiff who has been here every Sunday to handle the extra malfunctions and jobs that turn up on a weekly basis.