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by Adriana Albi Davies, Ph.D.
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 The war-time experience of internment and police
surveillance had a long-term impact on Edmonton's Italian community. There was
a real turning away from the Italian language and roots. When new immigrants from Italy
began to arrive in Edmonton in 1949, the Italian societies had disappeared. It's as if
they had never existed and they were not talked about like a shameful episode in family
history that is buried and forgotten. Thus, this pioneer work of the establishment of
organizations through which community life took place had to be begun again. The Italians
who had been assimilated were not particularly interested in participating in the
re-invention of the Italian community. Thus, there was a deep divide between the
"founding families" and the new immigrants and an actual sense of
"caste." There was even some resentment of the newcomers and an entrenched
old-timer actually stated that the children of the new immigrants should not go to
university.
Edmonton's Italian community, from the beginning, came from various regions of Italy-north, central and south. These differences have marked the cultural life and traditions
brought from the homeland and resulted in a rich growth of community organizations.
Foundational to this new generation of community organizations was the establishment of
Santa Maria Goretti Parish in 1958. Italians had worshipped in the basement of Sacred
Heart Parish and also the chapel at the General Hospital (celebrated by a Father Luigi of
the Salesian order) but, as their numbers increased, a need was expressed for a church as
a community gathering place. Priests who spoke the Italian language had sometimes been
available to officiate, for example, Oblates of Mary Immaculate but, now, the community
looked to an order that had been established in northern Italy in the 19th century to care
for the needs of immigrants to North America. The Scalibrini Fathers were approached as
community members including Angelo Biasutto,
Enrico Butti and
Pat Giannone discussed the
establishment of church in the mid-1950s.
Interestingly enough, the original meeting had to do
with the establishment of the Cristoforo Colombo Soccer Club and building a facility for
them. When it was discovered that up to $35,000 was required, it was decided that better
use could be made of the funds and the piece of land that had been given to the Club in
trust by the City to establish a church. That explains why the Italian church was built
next door to Clarke Stadium. Sports and religion have always been close in the hearts of
Italian men! In December 1957,
Father Giovanni Bonelli and
Father Rino Ziliotto,
Missionaries of St. Charles (Scalabrini Fathers), arrived in Edmonton. They stayed at the
Archbishop's residence and with a committee of layman began planning Santa Maria Goretti
Church. Construction was begun on September 8th, 1958 and the Church dedicated on December
21.
 From the mid-1950s onwards Edmonton Italian societies
proliferated. The Ladies of the Holy Rosary was among the first societies as well as the
Catholic Youth Group (the latter organized dances where young courting couples could meet
without parental supervision). The Cristoforo Colombo Soccer Club and
the Edmonton Juventus Sports Club
were other important societies and games at Clarke Stadium become almost as important as weddings as community
gathering places. The Edmonton-Calgary rivalry continued in the "soccer wars"
with the Calgary Juventus Club begun by Alberto Romano. Mr. Soccer
in Edmonton is Mario Molinari who has been devoted to Edmonton soccer since
the beginning.
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