History of the Scalabrinian Congregation Vol

EDITED BY MARIO FRANCESCONI, C. S. HISTORY OF THE SCALABRINIAN CONGREGATION VOL. III (1888-1905) ISTITUTO STORICO SCALABRINIANO HISTORY OF THE SCALABRINIAN CONGREGATION VOLUME III EARLY MISSIONS IN BRAZIL 1888 - 1905 by Mario Francesconi, c.s. Translated from Italian by Martino Bortolazzo, cs PROVINCE OF ST. CHARLES BORROMEO-SCALABRINIANS SCALABRINIAN DEVELOPMENT OFFICE CENTER FOR MIGRATION STUDIES NEW YORK 1983 ISTITUTO STORICO SCALABRINIANO 2021 Reviewed and transcribed in digital format by Peter P. Polo, cs Layout and reprint by Graziano Battistella, cs Chapter I - Emigration to Brazil.Contents Saga of Italian Migrants 5 1. Brief History of Immigration to Brazil until 1950. 5 2. The First Act of the Drama. 10 Chapter II - Italian Missionaries in the State of Espirito Santo (1888-1908) 15 1. From 1888 to 1895 15 2. From 1903 to 1908 21 Chapter III - Founding of the Scalabrinian Missions in the State of Paraná (1887 - 1905) and the Mission of the Tibagi (1904 -1911) 35 1. Pioneering Work of Father Colbacchini. 35 2. Santa Felicidade 60 3. Rondinha and Campo Comprido 74 4. The Mission of the Tibagi 76 Chapter IV - Italian Migration In The State of São Paulo 91 1. The Flow of Italian Migration in 1906 91 2. Conditions of Immigrants in the “Fazendas” 99 3. Italian industrial workers in the State of São Paulo 103 4. Religious Conditions of Emigrants 107 Chapter V - São Paulo, The Christopher Columbus Orphanage 1895 - 1905 119 1. Father Giuseppe Marchetti, the Founder 119 2. Father Faustino Consoni 142 Chapter Vi - Beginnings at the Parishes of São Bernardo and Cascalho. Other Activities of the Missionaries of São Paulo 165 1. The Parish of São Bernardo 165 2. Cascalho (Parish of the Assumption) 168 3. Riberão Pires (Parish of St. Joseph) 172 4. The “Umberto I Hospital (Matarazzo Hospital) 172 5. Their Most Important Work 174 Chapter VII - Italian Emigration In Rio Grande do Sul 1875 – 1905 179 1. A Glance at the Epic of Italian Emigration. 179 2. Religious Conditions 190 3. A Report to Bishop Scalabrini 194 Chapter VIII - The Early Ten Years of the Scalabrinian Missions in Rio Grande do Sul (1896 - 1905) 203 1. Encantado 203 2. Capoeiras 226 3. Nova Bassano 231 4. Protasio Alves 247 5. São Lourenço de Vilas Boas (Coronel Pilar) 249 6. Monte Belo 251 7. Monte Vêneto (Cotipora). 251 Appendix I Bishop Scalabrini’s Visit To Brazil From His Letters And The Press (June - December 1904) 255 Appendix II 325 Founding Of The Missionary Sisters Of St. Charles Borromeo – Scalabrinians 325 A Complicated Story 327 The Initiative of Father Giuseppe Marchetti 331 The Group of Piacenza and the Sisters Apostles of The Sacred Heart 337 Canonical Approval and Difficult Beginnings 350 Contrasts with Mother Merloni 357 Appendix III 369 Scalabrini To Ledochowski - First Report To The Sacred Congregation For The Propagation Of The Faith 371 Appendix IV Scalabrini to Ledochowski - Second Report to the Sacred Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith 379 CHAPTER I EMIGRATION TO BRAZIL SAGA OF ITALIAN MIGRANTS At the beginning of the nineteenth century, Brazil, then a Portu- guese1. Brief colony, History had ofsome Immigration four million to inhabitants Brazil until thus 1950distributed: one million whites, about two million black slaves, three hundred thousand natives. The Prince Regent Dom João, who had arrived from Portugal in 1808, following the invasion of Napoleon, ruled the colony. He liber- alized trades, and acknowledged the right of immigrants to private ownership of land. It was then when non-Portuguese immigrants began to arrive. In 1815 an end was put to the trade of black slaves from the north- ern coasts of Africa. In order to supply new laborers to replace them, Dom Joao accepted an offer of workers presented by the Swiss Con- federation. In 1819, the first group of the two thousand and three Swiss immigrants arrived at Rio de Janeiro and went on to found Nova Friburgo. However, both this, and the rural colony of Santa Leopoldina, which had been settled on the basis of a law in favor of immigrants enacted through the efforts of Hipolito Jose’ de Costa in 1819, failed. In 1822, Dom Pedro, a son of Dom João proclaimed the indepen- dence of Brazil and founded the Empire. Concerned over the prob- lem of the scarcity of population, he sought to entice European immigrants. The first Germans settled in Rio Grande do Sul in 1824, while others attempted to give new life to the colony of Nova Friburgo. In 1828, the Emperor had one hundred and forty Prussians to fix their residence at Pernambuco, to be joined by another one hundred the following year. At the same time, the German colonization of the State of Santa Catarina also began. 5 EMIGRATION TO BRAZIL The failure of several of these enterprises raised a political issue in Congress causing immigration policies to undergo alternating phases consequent to the changing moods of Parliament. In fact, from 1830 to 1836 allocations for immigration were suspended. In the mean- while, in 1831, Dom Pedro abdicated in favor of his son Dom Pedro II, who started a period of prosperity and of expansion of the migra- tory movement, encouraging it especially by delegating jurisdiction over it to the single states. The rich landowner, Senator Nicolau de Campo Vergueiro had a number of Portuguese come to work his land as sharecroppers. This way he initiated for the landowners a system that was to grow ever more articulate with the beginning of 1847, and more so as the progressive abolition of slavery brought freedom to increasing number of slaves, while coffee plantations were making great strides. In 1842 the Council of State began to support the interests of landowners who championed an immigration policy of hired farm hands in prefer- ence to one of independent farmers. They were pushing for a system by which land should be owned only through purchase in cash thus intending to prevent immigrants from becoming landowners. Thus, for all practical purposes, the large estate ownership reversed to the slavery system, or turned to hired farm laborers. In 1847 the State of Espirito Santo saw the arrival of a German immigration, which was destined to expand rapidly and to exert a beneficial influence on the economy of the State. Appearance of the yellow fever in 1849, however, caused a detour of a great part of immigrants toward Argentina, a healthier country, more attuned to the kinds of cultures dear to Europeans. Later on, because of the economic gains made through the courageous initiatives of Dom Pedro II, and of the consequent increasing need of hired farm hands, and due also to the progressive diminution of slave work, a great expansion of emigration began. In 1875 there arrived in Rio Grande do Sul the first Italian immigrants who from 1877 on held first place in the statistics of arrivals. At the same time, the State of São Paulo began to supply financial help to immigrants and to facilitate their entry thus attracting half of the foreigners who were migrating to Brazil. In the decade between 1875 and 1885, about twenty or thirty thousand foreigners entered Brazil each year. In 1886 there were 33,486 6 EMIGRATION TO BRAZIL immigrants, but in 1887 the year that, for all practical purposes marks the end of slavery, they climbed to 130,056 units, while in 1888, the year when slavery was totally abolished, they increased still further to 133,253. In 1891, the quota of 200,000 units was exceeded. Some fourteen percent of all immigrants arrived in Brazil between 1887 and 1891. In 1895, 165,000 foreigners entered, but thereafter the trend lev- eled off to a yearly average of about 60,000 until 1914, when it reached again very high levels in the years 1910-1913. In fact, it climbed up to 190,000 in 1913. In 1908, the first Japanese entered. WWI brought about a drastic decrease. After the war, the increase was remarkable, especially in the twenties, reaching the highest level with 118,686 in 1926. In this period, restrictions began to be enacted both on the part of the countries of origin, and of Brazil, where a na- tionalistic spirit began to take hold opposing entry to Japanese, and to Portuguese especially. The great economic crisis, the disorders, and the revolution of 1930, brought about a policy of strong limitation to immigration; still the goal of containing unemployment failed. In 1945, at the end of the WWII, restrictions were somewhat relaxed, but the system of “fixed quotas”, decreed by the Federal Constitution in 1937, remained in force; that is, only two percent of the sum total of immigrants of each country of origin were admitted to Brazil from 1884 to 1933. The main reason for this restriction was that of limiting Japanese immigration, which was actually the only one to fill the quota assigned to it, while the flow from the other large countries spontaneously decreased. Al- together, the immigrants were 18,140 in 1946, and 34,691 in 1950. The countries that contributed greater numbers of immigrants to Brazil were Italy, Portugal, Spain, Germany and Japan. Of the 4,685,366 immigrants, Italians are in first place with 1,505,585, equal to 32 percent. Except for 1881, between 1877 and 1903, Italy consis- tently provided the largest yearly contingent, often higher than half of the total. In 1903 the Italian government prohibited the recruiting of migrants for the coffee plantations in São Paulo on account of the miser- able conditions in which they were to work.

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