LDS in Italy

by Trafford R. Cole

Alba

The church in Italy began in 1965 when Italy became part of the Swiss mission. Some elders were sent to teach and baptize referrals that had gathered over the years of people interested in the church. In 1967 it became a separate mission with the mission home in Florence. Several cities were opened and soon after the first branches began to appear. My wife Fernanda first heard the missionaries and started to attend church in 1969, and there were already several members baptized at that time.

One of the first members at Padova was a lady named Alba who exemplifies the church in Italy. She and her husband are Sicilian, born and raised near Catania in the 1920’s. At that time in Sicily marriages were arranged by the families. As she explains young women and young men were not allowed to date to be with each other and even after engagement there had to be a chaperon with them at all times. In their small village to meet with the opposite sex they girls in the evening would walk around the piazza in one direction with their eyes downcast, and the boys would walk in opposite circles and they would eye each other. This was the only sight she had of her husband until the day they married. The woman’s role was absolute obedience and subjugation to her husband. They moved to Padova with their three children due to his work with the Italian railroad system. At that time Alba rarely left home. Her place was at home taking care of the children. Her husband would do the shopping and controlled all the money, because he didn’t believe it proper for her to meet other people and be seen without her husband. One day her oldest son met the missionaries and was impressed by their message. He invited them home and Alba was almost immediately converted. She and her son were baptized and from that point on nothing could stop Alba.

Not only did her husband disapprove but he tried to coerce her mentally and physically to obey and stay at home. She would have none of it. From the submissive wife who never left home she became a dynamo of energy for the Lord. She never missed a meeting, she became Relief Society president and she would take her daughter’s bicycle and ride all over the city visiting with the sisters. She developed her musical talents and became music director, director of the branch choir and later of the stake choir. She would sing in all the branch talent shows. She was a constant support of the missionaries and called every day to make sure they were all right. When I was a missionary and there was a postal strike that lasted more than a month and we were without any money she organized lunch and dinner for the missionaries among the sisters, so that I eat at her house almost every night for a month. When I fell in love with my wife the first person I went to was Alba who rejoiced with me.

Her whole family joined the church. Her husband eventually became branch president and spent most of his time in retirement supervising the missionary apartments in Northern Italy and her youngest son is now stake president in the Alessandria stake. She taught all three of my children in primary and I can’t think of a time that she didn’t have at least three or four callings. She was still riding her bicycle into her seventies, and has been the backbone of the Padova branch for 40 years. Now, as her health wanes her spirit never wavers.

LDS life in Italy

By Trafford R. Cole
I thought it might be of interest to others to write a series of blogs on the saints in Italy and Europe, and how the members live the gospel here.
I belong to the Padova ward near Venice, Italy. There are presently five stakes in Italy. The first formed was at Milan about 14 years ago. The Venice stake was the second in 1996 and takes in almost all of northeast Italy. This is a geographical area that goes from Ogden to Provo and beyond, and there are 14 units in the stake that vary from about 120 active members in Verona, to about 12 active members at Mantova.
The Bari stake was formed a few years ago and in the last two years we have had the Rome stake and the newly formed Alessandria Stake that takes in from Turin to Genova and beyond. We are hoping that the reason behind forming the last stake is that five stakes are necessary to begin planning a temple in Italy. For the time being we attend the Swiss temple near Bern Switzerland. For the saints living in Sicily this means a 24-hour bus ride to arrive and the same to return home. To see Italy go to this link:
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&time=&date=&ttype=&q=Italy&ie=UTF8&ll=41.869561,12.568359&spn=10.893993,20.43457&z=6&om=1
Even though I live at Padova, I am the branch president at Ferrara, which is about an hour away. At Ferrara we have an average attendance of 18 to 20 members. The missionaries have been there off and on for 35 years now, but the branch does not seem to grow. There is one active family and everyone else is single. Many are elderly ladies who are widows, but we also have some young adults. We have no primary, no young women and just one young man who next year turns eighteen. This is not to say that this isn't a great branch. These are members who have remained faithful for years through all sorts of hardship, and have maintained a strong spirit. When we sing all eighteen members often we make more joyous noise than a whole ward in Utah. The spirit is strong, but the difficulties are many.
Italy is a country that is 98% catholic, and many social, cultural and traditional activities revolve around the parish. The soccer fields often belong to the church and the nuns manage the kindergartens and nursery schools. When someone joins the church they don’t just change religions, but they go against hundreds of years of traditions and family and cultural values. Many have been ostracized by their families. Many have lost friends, some have even lost their job.
It takes courage to be a “Mormon.” It takes courage to join the church. It takes courage to live the gospel. It takes courage and a strong testimony that is put to the test constantly.