“Italians Convert around the World,” Global Histories: Italy (2019)
“Italians Convert around the World,” Global Histories: Italy
Italians Convert around the World
Although the Church’s presence in Italy was limited for nearly a century, many Italians joined the Church in other countries. Many of these converts returned to their homes, lived the gospel, and sought opportunities to share the message with their neighbors.
In 1951, Pietro and Felicità Snaidero visited their daughter and son-in-law in Cannes, France. Their daughter and her husband had recently joined the Church and were eager to share their new faith. The Snaideros converted but were unable to be baptized before they returned home to northeastern Italy. The French Mission arranged for Fabio Cagli, a member living near Bologna who had joined the Church in Switzerland, to baptize them.
Pietro and Felicità Snaidero with members of Udine group at the baptism of Luigi Pittini, circa 1955.
Though isolated from other Latter-day Saints, the Snaideros enthusiastically shared their new faith with their neighbors. They soon had a small group meeting weekly in their home. One convert, Luigi Pittini, rode his bike several miles each week to attend the meetings. Despite his advanced age, Pittini missed only once in eight years.
In the 1950s and 1960s, as many more Italians sought baptism, the Swiss Mission worked with Fabio Cagli and others to translate new editions of the Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, and Pearl of Great Price. In 1964, mission leaders established an Italian district to oversee American servicemen’s branches and to begin teaching Italians.
At about the same time, Antonio Larcher encountered the Church while living in Germany. “The gospel has touched my soul,” he wrote to his family, “and now I see my life as it should be.” Working with Ezra Taft Benson, then an Apostle and president of the European Mission, Antonio sent missionaries to his family in Brescia. In 1964, his brother, Leopoldo, and sister-in-law, Maria, were baptized. They immediately began to share the gospel with their neighbors. In 1966, the Larchers had brought enough converts to the Church that a branch was organized in Brescia with Leopoldo Larcher as president.
In 1964, Giuseppina Oliva, who joined the Church while living in Argentina, returned to Palermo. She found a small number of Latter-day Saints, including Vincenzo di Francesca. Giuseppina shared the gospel with her brother, Antonio Giurintano, and a colleague, Salvatore Ferrante. In May 1966, when a branch was organized in Palermo, Antonio Giurintano was called as president. In June 1967, Oliva was called as president of the first Relief Society in Italy.
When the Italian Mission was reopened in 1966, these faithful Italian converts scattered throughout the country became the foundation for the growing Church in Italy.