“From the Archives” The Italians at Saint Mary’s

During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, many Italians immigrated to the United States.  Like the Irish before them, a good number found work on the railroads.  In Alexandria, the Potomac Yards, Alexandria Roundhouse and Fruit Growers Express attracted the Italian newcomers.  Many lived in Alexandria’s Del Ray area because of its proximity to Potomac Yards.  Before Saint Rita Mission was founded in 1914 in Del Ray and became a parish in 1924, these immigrants were members of Saint Mary Church. Like their Irish predecessors, the Italians were hard workers and moved up from jobs as laborers to skilled craftsmen, artisans, businessmen and professionals. Two Saint Mary examples of this upward mobility were the Guiffre and Colasanto families.

Gaetano Antonio “Tony” Guiffre was born in Palermo, Sicily, and came to America around 1887 with his parents, Guiseppa and Gaetano Guiffre. But Tony did not work for the railroad.  He had attended school in the United States and had the opportunity to learn different skills.  Although the 1905 Washington City Directory listed him as a carpenter, by 1912 he and his wife, Theresa Casassa Guiffre, had moved to Alexandria’s Del Ray, where he was a shoemaker. Saint Rita Mission’s first Masses and religious education classes were held in his shoe shop. By 1934, Tony had opened the Del Ray Department Store on Mount Vernon Avenue.  By 1936, when Prohibition ended, he became a beer distributor, a profession he pursued for the rest of his life.

Descendants of the Guiffre family are the largest beverage distributors in the area today and are devoted members of Alexandria’s Catholic parishes.  For many decades, Joseph “Joe” Guiffre has been a parish leader, playing an active role in nearly every facet of Saint Mary’s parish life.

Brothers Nicholas (1904-1983) and James (1906-1970) Colasanto were the sons of Anthony (Antonio) Ralph and Anna Jamele Colasanto, who came to the United States from Lombardy, Italy, around 1898. They settled in Alexandria eventually.  Anthony, too, was a shoemaker.  Both Nicholas and James became lawyers and practiced in Alexandria. Nicholas served as Alexandria’s mayor, city manager and city councilman.  As a councilman and mayor, he could perform civil marriages. During World War II, a young lady from Saint Mary was serving in North Africa, where she fell in love with a Canadian soldier. They met up again in Rome and were married by a Catholic priest in Mussolini’s former private chapel.  Ten years later, they got a letter from the U.S. government stating their marriage was not legal because the priest did not have the proper authority from the Italian government. The surprised couple called Nick Colasanto, got a marriage license at the Alexandria courthouse, and were married again.  Still, they wondered if their marriage was valid according to the Church. They spoke with a Saint Mary’s priest, who provided them with the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony in the church. Their son, a fourth grader, went to school the next day and told his teacher, “My parents got married last night.”

– Kitty Guy, Parish Historian

Throughout 2020, the Basilica of Saint Mary will present “From the Archives.” It is a weekly feature online and in our bulletin spotlighting the history of the parish. All of our “From the Archives” features are located here.