Giuseppe Silipigni

Italian priest (born 1877 in Gioia Tauro, Calabria, Italy) Originally working as a priest in Mileto, Italy, Silipigni came to the United States in 1912. During World War I, he became a patriotic speaker popular with the Italian immigrant community, raising $2,500 in New York City by February 1918 to erect an "Altar of Victory" in support of Italian soldiers. After the war, he was appointed pastor of Our Lady of Loretto Church in Manhattan. During the war and in the 1920s, Silipigni worked closely with the Order Sons of Italy in America (OSIA). He supported Fascist Italy and opened his church to the activities of local Blackshirts. A Christmas sermon written by Silipigno, spoken by the actor Eduardo Ciannelli, was released on Columbia E5201 in 1920.