David Kelley says he was raised in an Italian household in New Haven that preserved “Italian food, traditions and the Catholic faith.”
Most of his Italian relatives were parishioners of their neighborhood St. Michael Church, located in Wooster Square in New Haven. The church, which holds the distinction as the oldest Italian Catholic church and parish in the state of Connecticut, was established in 1889 by immigrants from Italy. It is now part of Blessed Michael McGivney Parish.
Early on, parishioners established several Italian societies at St. Michael Church to honor their homeland, foster their traditions, provide aid to one another and spread their devotion of the saints. One of those organizations was St. Trofimena Society, established in 1908 after a group of residents emigrated from the village of Minori, Italy, to America and settled in New Haven.
St. Trofimena, the patron saint of Minori, situated along the Amalfi Coast, holds a special place in the hearts of its townspeople. The young woman moved from Sicily to Minori following persecution and martyrdom by her father. After she was mortally wounded by him around 640 A.D., her relics have been preserved in a basilica in Minori that bears her name. Over the years, many miracles have been attributed to intercessions by St. Trofimena.
Kelley, a lifelong parishioner of St. Michael Church, is breathing new life into its St. Trofimena Society, one of several longstanding Italian societies, with his cousin, Richard “Rich” Biondi.
“We are trying to preserve our Italian-American heritage,” Kelley says. “We are honoring the patronage of Minori descent and those who have a devotion to St. Trofimena.”
At St. Michael Church, St. Trofimena Society is bringing a “positive energy” to the parish where he grew up, Biondi says. “There has been a rekindling of interest in tying the ethnicity to the faith.”
Shortly after the original establishment of St. Trofimena Society, a statue of the saint was made in Italy and shipped to St. Michael Church. The statue had been a fixture in local festivals and was paraded along the streets of Wooster Square. St. Trofimena is celebrated by the Catholic Church on Nov. 5 and 27, and July 13.
Today, this original statue is among several other statues and relics displayed in St. Andrew Chapel, a room created in 1951 within St. Michael Church to venerate saints, a longstanding Catholic tradition from the earliest centuries.
This past Sunday, July 14, St. Trofimena’s statue was moved to the altar in St. Michael Church to celebrate the saint on one of her special days. Father Joseph MacNeill, a parochial vicar in the parish, was the presider of a Mass in Italian. It was followed by breakfast organized by members of St. Trofimena Society.
Also on Sunday, about 10 new members joined St. Trofimena Society, which has grown to some 80 men and women this year. Society members are already building a foundation for 2025. They hope to bring back a St. Trofimena Society dinner, organize a procession with the statue along New Haven streets, develop a newsletter and set regular meeting dates.
“We would like to encourage families with a connection to St. Trofimena to get involved,” Kelley says. “It’s where our roots all came from and we want to keep a presence in Wooster Square. St. Michael’s Church is the connection.”
(For more information about St. Trofimena Society at St. Michael Church, part of Blessed Michael McGivney Parish in New Haven, send an email to rdbiondi@snet.net.)
Story by Karen A. Avitabile
Photos by Aaron Joseph
The Catholic Transcript
