Home of the Piertrobattista family
located in Magliano Dei Marsi, Italy
From
left, Signora Maria Pietrobattista, Sister Margaret Carney, President of
Saint Bonaventure University,
and Vincenzo Pietrobattista
The
last time the University had been in contact with the Peitrobattista family was when Father
Thomas Plassmann, OFM, traveled
to Magliano dei Marsi, Italy to celebrate a festival in honor of the
100th anniversary of the founding of Saint Bonaventure's College.
When Sister Margaret
Carney received an e-mail from Laura Pietrobattista, a descendant of Fr.
Pamfilo's brother, almost 40 years had passed since the last contact
between the school and its founder's family.
She had been told by a Franciscan friar that Sister Margaret was trying
to contact the family. Sister Margaret replied to the e-mail but
there was no response.
In May of 2006, Sr. Margaret, and several others, left for an annual pilgrimage to Rome. They left early in
order to search for the family
of the founder of Saint Bonaventure University. She had only the name of a town and an e-mail address
to guide her.
They reached the small town of Magliano dei Marsi where Father Pamphilus was born. A postman showed them to the street where they could find the family.
Sister Margaret knocked on a few doors, but they
remained unanswered. She approached an elderly woman sweeping off her
stoop and told her that she was looking for the family Pietrobattista. The woman
introduced herself as Maria Pietrobattista and invited them into her
home. Soon Laura Pietrobattista and 20 fourth generation
descendants of Fr. Pamfilo's brother arrived. The older family members
talked about their memories of the 100th anniversary of the founding of Saint Bonaventure
College because of Fr. Plassmann's visit to the village and the daylong
festival they had. Before Sister Margaret left she gave the
family a
pamphlet written by Father Dominic Monti, OFM, about Father Pamfilo and the arrival
of the friars.
Sister Margaret also promised the family that she would bring the leaders of Saint Bonaventure to visit the village of Father Pamfilo's birth and bring the family to America to see the University that their relative had founded. Laura Pietrobattista indicated in a later e-mail that she plans on coming to Allegany in 2008.
Father Pamfilo was only in the United States for 12 years, but the work that he did has lived on for 150 years. The work that Father Pamphilo did to get Saint Bonaventure on its feet is a great accomplishment in and of itself. During this time schools had to find their own way to fund themselves which could be extremely difficult. At the time Saint Bonaventure was founded fifty-five institutions were also founded. Of those fifty-five only eighteen have survived. Some of these schools include St. Joseph's in Philadelphia, Loyola, Seton Hall, Marquette and Boston College. From the time the first Catholic institution was founded in 1850 until 1866 ninety-three colleges and universities were established. Of these only twenty-nine remain including Saint Bonaventure.
The 12 years that Father Pamphilo was in the United States saw him accomplish more good for the people of this area than many people would have imagined posssible. He established monasteries in Allegany, Buffalo, New York City, and Winsted, Connecticut for the Custody of the Immaculate Conception. He established temporary missions in Towanda and Dushore in Pennsylvania and in Houston Texas. In Allegany he established Saint Bonaventure's College and Seminary and St. Elizabeth's Academy. He founded two Congregations of the Sisters of Third Order of St. Francis, one in Allegany and the other in Joliet, Illinois. And lastly, he built as well as supervised twenty-two new mission churches.
Bibliography
Angelo, Mark V, O.F.M., Ph. D. The History of St. Bonaventure University.
Saint
Bonaventure, NY: Franciscan Institute, 1961.
This site was created by
Cathy Lapp for History 419, Fall 2006.
For more information please contact the
St.
Bonaventure University Archives
Last edited:
03/26/2007 08:44:31 AM