October 2012 - Archdiocese of Glasgow

22 • FLOURISH
WELCOME ARCHBISHOP PHILIP TARTAGLIA
Faith heritage survived hardship
Don Bosco
AS Glasgow welcomes
its second Italian-Scots
archbishop and a son of
the city, it is worth recalling
the words of his
predecessor, Archbishop
Charles Eyre, from 125
years ago.
In an 1887 letter to the
saintly John Bosco – the
Turin-based founder of the
Salesians – Archbishop Eyre
stated: “We have in this city a
large number of Italians who
are anxious to have a priest of
their own race and language.
An attempt is being made to
draw their children from the
faith, and the parents are most
anxious for a priest who can
look after them.”
Don Bosco died the following
year without being able to
respond to Archbishop Eyre’s
request.
While no Italian parish was
ever created in Glasgow,
Italian missionary priests visited
St John’s, Portugal Street,
and St Andrew’s Cathedral to
attend to the Italian community’s
spiritual needs.
The most notable of these
was Fr Guido Toncher, who
served in St John’s from 1926
before moving to London in
1937. He had been ordained in
1909 for the diocese of Rome.
Still serving in London
when Italy entered the war
in1940, he was arrested along
with other Italian natives and
interned as an ‘enemy alien’.
He was among some 700 internees
being shipped to
Canada on board the Arandora
Star, when it was torpedoed in
the Atlantic on 2 July 1940.
Some 800 people perished in
the sea – including 100 Scots-
Italians.
Fr Toncher was among the
survivors and returned to a
prison camp on the Isle of
Man. In February 1942, he
wrote to Pope Pius XII imploring
him to intercede with
the British government to free
him from “this slow martyrdom”.
Among the younger internees
on the Isle of Man was
Guido Tartaglia who had been
IN one of his last acts as Archbishop of
Glasgow, Archbishop Conti travelled to the
mountain village in Tuscany from which his
grandparents emigrated to Britain to receive
the freedom of the district.
Traditional Scottish rain failed to quell the
enthusiasm of the local people who turned out
in force for a celebratory Mass and the
unveiling of a plaque to the new honorary
citizen.
The ceremony took place below the bell
tower in the village of Treppignana from which
the Archbishop's mother's Panicali family
originated.
Their presence in the area is marked by an
impressive marble plinth which recalls the
family's gift of a bell and reconstruction of the
taken from his family in
Glasgow and was to spend
over three years in the camp.
Later, as his family grew up,
the experiences were never
dwelt upon, but they had a
formative influence, according
his son, Archbishop
Philip.
In an interview last year, the
Archbishop stated: “It was a
very difficult moment when
he was taken away from his
family but he met other young
men and they became lifelong
friends.
“Also, I think it was a moment
for him of deepening of
his faith because there were
also Italian priests in the camp
and he was part of that group.
His faith was really very
strong and deep.”
For a few months, a young
Bella
Italia
bell tower of the village church after wartime
destruction.
The sindaco, or mayor, of the district of
Fosciandora recalled how the Archbishop's
grandparents had left this tiny village in search
of a better life, and how they could never, in
their wildest dreams, have imagined that their
grandchild would become the Archbishop of
one of the most important cities in Britain.
In reply, Archbishop Conti thanked the
authorities, the local brass band and the
parishioners for their generous welcome and
promised that he would try to spend more time
visiting the area after his retirement.
Former Lord Provost Alex Mosson joined the
Archbishop in ringing the "Panicali" bell to
celebrate the occasion!
Glasgow diocesan priest, Fr
Gaetano Rossi, who had been
born near Rome, was also
among the internees. On his
return to Glasgow in October
1940 he visited the internees’
families.
“Everywhere I was received
with great relief,” he recalled
in his memoir, Memories of
1940. “It was a real pilgrimage
from one family to another.
“One thing struck me during
all these visits – the great
courage of the wives and
mothers who had been left behind.
They continued to run
the shops, they faced all kinds
of difficulties, even humiliations.
Philip in his student days with
his parents Guido and Annita
“I realised the internment,
rather than lessen their ties
with their land of origin, had
strengthened their attachment
to Italy. Some of these women
had never been in Italy – they
were born and brought up in
Scotland – still they felt that
they were fully Italians.”
While Archbishop
Tartaglia’s father, Guido, had
come to Glasgow as a boy
along with his parents, his
mother, Annita Bertolacci,
was born in the city in 1925.
Her parents made their home
in the Anderston area of the
city after leaving the hill-town
of Borgo a Mozzano, in upper
Tuscany.
When the couple married it
marked the union of Lazio and
Tuscany, the regions from
where most of the Italo-Scots
hail – particularly the
provinces of Frosinone and
Lucca.
The emigrants abandoned
the subsistence agriculture of
their mountain villages which
dictated the annual cycle of
community life.
Arriving in industrial
Scotland, they found a niche
in the catering business, opening
up fish and chips shops
and ice-cream parlours. By the
early 1930s, most Scottish
towns could boast an Italian
café.
The period from 1920-40
has been described as a golden
era for the Italians in Scotland.
They had become established
and accepted in the country,
and with that felt more able to
express their sense of being
Italian.
The experience of the war
ended that for a while, but in
recent years there has been a
resurgence of Italian cultural
expression and a renewed appreciation
of what the Italian
Scots bring to the country.
And through the good work
of priests, religious and laity
from within the Italian-Scots
community – as well as their
Scottish, Irish, English and,
now, Polish, Indian and
Nigerian fellow Catholics –
the gift of faith continues to be
handed on, cherished and celebrated.
JOHN DI MAMBRO & CO.
CHARTERED ACCOUNTANTS
We would like to offer
Archbishop Tartaglia our congratulations
and best wishes on his installation
16 Muir Street, Hamilton ML3 6EP Tel: 01698 421538 Fax: 01698 423177
Email: mailbox@jdmandco.co.uk Website: www.jdmandco.co.uk
The staff of Anya’s Catering Services Ltd would like
to congratulate Archbishop Tartaglia on his installation
Unit 7, Priestfield Industrial Estate, Blantyre, Glasgow G72 0JA
Tel: 01698 285222 • Mobile: 07768 588707
Email: info@anyascatering.co.uk• www.anyascatering.co.uk
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