Canneto Colony of Saints

The Society of Canneto was organized by a  group of natives from Canneto in January 1934 for the principal end of  honoring, by means of their annual celebrations and charitable  undertakings, their patron saints Maria Santissima della Stella and 

San  Vittoriano.

 In 1912, Nicola Carlucci and his wife,  Francesca, sought to bring a statue of Our Lady Madonna della Stella  from Canneto so that the Cannetani of Los Angeles might also venerate  her feast. On January 15, 1936, Mrs. Domenica Gianello and Vincenza  Ferrante planned the formation of a society under the patronage of  Madonna Santissima della Stella, “Protettrice” of Canneto, Bari.

The cult of San Vittoriano goes back to  1753 when a small coffin containing the sacred bones of San Vittoriano  arrived in Canneto. The sacred remains were brought from Napoli by two  Cannetani who had received the sacred relics from the Girondi. San  Vittoriano's body was taken to the Cathedral of La Madonna della Stella  as a reward to the piou citizens of Canneto. The feast of the transfer  of relics is celebrated yearly by the Cannetani on the last Sunday of  July.

The Canneto Colony of Saints Society and  the many Cannetani residing in Los Angeles have supported Saint Peter's  Italian Catholic Church since 1936 and will continue to be supportive  of the needs of the Parish.

St. Pio of Pietrelcina was a Capuchin  Priest from Italy who is venerated as a Saint in the Roman Catholic  Church. He was bornFrancesco Forgione, and given the name Pio when he  joined the Capuchins; he was popularly known as Padre Pio after his  ordination to the priesthood. He became famous for his stigmata among  many other things.

This is also the newest of all the  societies tied to the Saint Peter's Italian Church in L.A., and as all  the others the Saint Padre Pio Society is oriented to venerate the most  world wide popular Capucin Monk.The goal is to pray for everyone's  benefit. Twice a month the members riunite together to recite the  rosary. Once a month a general meeting is held for everyone whishing to  be involved. Its annual celebration recurrs in the month of September of  every year, besides other events. The Saint Padre Pio Society is also  involved in fund raising to benefit the Casa del Sollievo Hospital in  Foggia Italy, for the research for cures against cancer. The Society is  also instrumental in the St.Peter's Church Outreach program to help and feed the needy.

Maria SS di Costantinopoli, St. from the  region of Puglie in Italy, has been honored for over a century with  three-day festivals by the people of Bitritto. Since 1935, the event has  been celebrated in Los Angeles by a group of Italian immigrants from  Bitritto on the Sunday following the first Tuesday of March.

Today, as strong as it was then, our  Society takes pride in continuing this traditon by celebrating our  Blessed Mother with a traditional procession followed by festivities  including a dinner (prepared by volunteers) and dance. Our society,  thanks to the generosity of our members and friends, has helped in the  establishment of Saint Peter's Church by financially supporting the  construction of the dinner hall, donating the tower bell, the downstairs  Mirror Room, the construction of Villa Scalabrini center for seniors,  and many more ongoing projects.

Maria SSma. Di Costantinopoli Society,  while preserving our tradition, is committed in the rejuvenation of the  Casa Italiana and will continue supporting the growth of Saint Peter's  Church, the cultural center for Italian Americans in the Los Angeles ar

Our Lady of Mount Carmel is the title  given to the Blessed Virgin Mary in her role as patroness of the  Carmelite Order. The first Carmelites were Christian hermits living on  Mount Carmel in the Holy Land during the late 12th and early to mid 13th  centuries.

They built a chapel in the midst of  their hermitages which they dedicated to the Blessed Virgin, whom they  conceived of in chivalric terms as the "Lady of the place." Our Lady of  Mt. Carmel is also the patron saint of Chile.

The society was re-established in honor  of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, by a group of ladies from the town of San  Polo Matese, Province of Campobasso, Molise, Italy. In re-establishing  this society we hope that the current members and future generations  will continue to dedicate their time and love to the future of our  society.

The Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus  was a major fest in their hometown in June and they wished to continue  the same tradition at St. Peter's Italian Church. The founder, Maria A.  D'Egidio, and co-founder, Clara Iezza, in 2003 campaigned family members  and families from the same hometown for their interest and support.  They all agreed that the society be formed with the assistance of Fr.  Giovanni Bizzotto. The society was re-established in June 2003 with the  first feast on June 20, 2003. 

The society will enable the elders to  continue their much loved tradition and to pass it on to their children  and future generations.

The mission and tradition of Famiglia  del Sacro Cuore di Gesu' Society is to promote the devotion of the  Sacred Heart of Jesus and to provide financial support to St. Peter's  Italian Church and any organization in need of financial aid. Members of  the society attend the first Sunday of the month Mass and provide  flowers to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Quarterly, the society hosts a polenta dinner. Net proceeds go directly to support the church.

San Trifone Society also known as  “Societa Cattolica Pugliese di Beneficenza”, was  founded in 1936 as  part of the St. Peter's Italian Church. The San Trifone Society is  made   up of members who are devoted to San Trifone. Many of them are  immigrants or  their  descendants from Adelfia Montrone, in the province  of Bari, Italy.

The purpose of the Society is to  celebrate the Feast of San Trifone, the patron saint  of  their  hometown, Montrone where the life of San Trifone is celebrated with a  feast on  November 10 of each year, the day commemorating his wrongful  death in 250 AD. San  Trifone devoted all of his time and energy to  strengthening the faith of Christians. He  suffered a torturous death as  a result of his Christian beliefs. The members of the San Trifone  Society are deeply devoted to their saint and are committed to keeping  their tradition alive in their homeland. The San Trifone Society honors  San Trifone with a feast on the closest Sunday to November 10. It begins  with a Mass at St. Peter's Italian Church followed by the procession  where the statue of San Trifone is carried by devoted to the saint. The  celebration continues with a dinner dance at Casa Italiana attended by  more than five hundred people.

This celebration is just one of the rich  Italian traditions being preserved for our children and grandchildren  at St. Peter's Italian Church. The members of the San Trifone are proud  of their tradition and grateful to Saint Peter's Church where it is kept  alive.

St. Lucy was born of noble Greek  parentage in Siracusa, Sicily, and raised as a  Christian by her mother,  Eutychia, during the period of brutal Christian persecution.  Though  Lucy wished to dedicate herself to God, Eutychia arranged for her  marriage  to a young pagan.

One day, however, the mother, who  suffered from hemorrhage, was persuaded to  make a pilgrimage to Catania  to offer prayers at the tomb of Sr. Agatha. St. Lucy  made known to  Eutychia her desire to give her own share of their fortune to the poor  and devote herself to God's service. In gratitude for her cure, Eutychia  agreed.

But this so angered the young man to  whom Lucy had been unwillingly betrothed that he denounced her as a  Christian to the governor, Paschius. The persecutions instituted by the  Emperor Diocletian were then at their height, and when St. Lucy  steadfastly clung to her faith, she was sentenced to prostitution in a  brothel. However, God rendered her immovable and the officers were not  able to carry her off to the place of evil. An attempt was made to burn  her, but burning oil and pitch had no power to hurt her or break her  strong spirit. At last she was finally put to death by the sword.

The saint's relics are venerated at  Venice and at Bourges, France. She is the patroness of Siracusa; her  emblems are a cord and eyes. The feast of Santa Lucia was celebrated  annually December 13 under the auspices of the Holy Name Society, who  endeavor to improve their spiritual life with the practice of religion  and in particular with the reception of Holy Communion every month.

The Santa Lucia Society, since 1993, has  become an independent society to carry forward the Italian traditions  and to help St. Peter's Italian Church and other charitable  organizations. In the picture the 2004 Officers.

The St. Anthony Society was founded at St. Peter’s Italian Catholic Church in 1939 under the name of “Associazione Femminile di Sant’Antonio.” Founding members included President Bernice Pontrelli, Genoveffa DeSantis, Mary Smaldino, Amalia Mance, Palma Amato, Mary Monteleone, Gioiella Lotito, Assunta Ferrante, Emilia Busco, Anna Nicassio, Angela Bruno, Pasqua Frontini and Caterina Pontrelli. In 1950 membership was extended to include men and in 1960 the Society was incorporated as the Associazione di Sant’Antonio. Later that same year the name of the Society was amended to the St. Anthony Society we know today. Our beloved Saint Anthony, often referred to as “The Saint of Miracles”, died on June 13th, 1231, when he was just 36 years old, in a small monastery in Arcella, a hamlet of the city of Padua. Anthony’s remains were carried in a funeral procession to the friars’ church in Padua. Since that day, many favors have been granted to those who called on the Saint for his intercession. During his lifetime St. Anthony was renowned for acts which could not be explained by the laws of nature. St. Anthony faithfully dedicated himself to bringing God’s message of hope and love to those hardest to reach, the poorest of the poor, the most rejected, and the most downtrodden. Each year our St. Anthony feast is held on June 13th or the closest Sunday to June 13th at Casa Italiana next to St. Peter’s Italian Catholic Church here in Los Angeles.The feast day begins with mass in the church honoring St. Anthony. The mass is followed by a procession with our statue of St. Anthony through the streets of Los Angeles. Following the procession a dinner and dance is held at Casa Italiana with a traditional sausage BBQ following dinner. If the feast falls on a day other than Sunday the Society has a mass held at St. Peter’s on June 13th followed by a brunch at Casa Italiana. The purposes of the Society are to promote the devotion to St. Anthony and to celebrate his annual feast day, to support St. Peter’s Italian Catholic Church and to help needy members and other good causes.