EMIGRANT, EMIGRATION. — In its proper sense, it is the abandonment of the national territory by one or more members of the community, who transfer to another territory with the intention of establishing their domicile there permanently or temporarily. As such, it presupposes a point of departure, the soil of the country of origin; a point of arrival, the territory outside the natural or political borders of the homeland; and several individuals who move from one to the other, taking the name of emigrants with respect to the first and immigrants with respect to the second. In a somewhat narrower and less proper sense, the term "emigration" is also given to the movement of individuals or groups who leave their country of origin to settle in another, but without the intention of definitively abandoning their homeland. In this case, they are called emigrants with respect to the country of origin and immigrants with respect to the country of destination.
(da J. Lecon, Memorie Ev. Parry 1949, p. 321)
ENTRY, JACQUES-ANDRÉ — Letter written to his confrere Fr. Montaigne, in August 1793, before appearing before the revolutionary tribunal — Paris, Library of the Seminary of St. Sulpice.
If considered in its individual aspect, emigration is the abandonment of the national territory by one or more members of the community, who transfer to another territory with the intention of establishing their domicile there permanently or temporarily. As such, it presupposes a point of departure, the soil of the country of origin; a point of arrival, the territory outside the natural or political borders of the homeland; and several individuals who move from one to the other, taking the name of emigrants with respect to the first and immigrants with respect to the second. In a somewhat narrower and less proper sense, the term "emigration" is also given to the movement of individuals or groups who leave their country of origin to settle in another, but without the intention of definitively abandoning their homeland. In this case, they are called emigrants with respect to the country of origin and immigrants with respect to the country of destination.
If, instead, it is considered in its entirety as a characteristic phenomenon of the demography of the civilized world in the past and present centuries, emigration is that vast demographic movement composed of individuals and families who, driven by private initiative and personal responsibility, move from one civilized and progressive country to another, usually sparsely populated.
These distinctive features clearly separate it from the forms of mass migrations that have occurred in history, such as the ancient barbarian invasions, in which a people, driven by the thirst for conquest and the desire for new lands, marched united under an embryonic political regime to conquer them, subjugating the peoples they encountered along the way and often laying waste to the lands around them. In these cases, the individualistic and peaceful character of modern emigration is entirely absent. For the same reason, it cannot be assimilated to forced population exchanges, imposed in some cases by bilateral treaties between two States seeking to resolve the issue of their respective ethnic minorities, nor to the expulsion of significant portions of inhabitants from certain territories, which occurred during the First World War and, to a greater extent, during and after the Second. Emigration is a free and spontaneous movement.
It can be internal, continental, extra-continental, or transoceanic, depending on the destination country toward which the migratory flow is directed; it can be temporary or permanent, depending on the intended duration of the stay. It will be internal if the migratory flow moves from one region to another within the borders of the State; continental if the destination country remains within the European continent; transoceanic if the migratory flow pours into lands beyond the ocean. It will be temporary, including seasonal migration, if the emigrant intends to leave the national soil for a more or less extended period, according to work opportunities and the obligations of a previously stipulated contract, after which they plan to return within the national borders; it will be permanent if the emigrant departs with the intention of never returning and of definitively establishing their domicile abroad. Continental migration, in large numbers, tends to be temporary or seasonal, while transoceanic migration is usually permanent. As part of internal migration, the flow of population from a country to territories under the political dominion of the country of origin, although located beyond the natural borders of the national soil, can be considered, such as overseas colonies regarded as an extension of the metropolis.
I. History
Contemporary emigration begins with the early 19th century and gradually increases in intensity until, toward the end of the century and the beginning of the new one, it reaches a percentage that has no parallel in any preceding period of history. It is a true exodus of thousands and thousands of individuals and families who, for various reasons, leave old Europe to transfer to the New World in search of freedom or better living conditions. For the early years of the 19th century, statistics are lacking to measure the human mass that the migratory flow conveyed and carried away. The statistics, initiated by the United States in 1820, although imperfect and insufficient, can give an idea of the number and origin of emigrants from 1820 to 1850. In this period, the majority of those arriving in the United States came from European countries, among which the British Isles and Germany prevailed, followed by France and the Scandinavian countries by a wide margin, totaling 2,109,000 individuals.By the mid-19th century, statistics provided by the countries of origin of the emigrants, now sufficiently improved, allow us to establish that, in the five-year period 1846–50, an average of 25,000 people left Europe each year. The preferred destination, given the origin of most emigrants and their linguistic and cultural affinity with the overseas populations, was the United States. Emigration to South and Central America remained scarce during the same period, due to the lack of security for settlers, who were poorly protected from indigenous raids, the lack of good and easy transportation routes, and the uncertainty of property titles, as well as other political, moral, and religious obstacles; emigration to Asia and Africa was negligible.
In the second half of the 19th century, the migratory flow intensified, reaching an average of 321,000 departures per year in the five-year period 1851–55. The British Isles still held the lead, particularly Ireland, due to religious oppression and the severe economic crisis that afflicted II. The German flow proved more sustained, reaching a quarter of all departures in the five-year period 1856–60. At the same time, emigration from Mediterranean countries began, especially from Portugal and Italy, whose quotas would increase year by year with a very progressive pace. Spain participated to a small extent, while France's contribution decreased. In the following five-year periods, figures fluctuated between 249,000 and 346,000 departures annually, with a more notable participation from the Scandinavian countries and Italy, whose contribution reached 5% of the total. After a temporary decline, the pace of migration accelerated again around 1880 and the following years. Irish emigration resumed with an average of 80,000 departures per year; that of Great Britain, excluding Ireland, peaked at 320,000 expatriations in 1883; Germany rose again with over 200,000 departures in 1882; and Italy gained a fairly high percentage with its 200,000 departures in the year 1888.
In the last decade of the 19th century, European emigration as a whole tended to lose momentum, fluctuating between an average of 729,000 departures in the first five-year period and 620,000 in the second, while Italian emigration, at 27.5%, and Spanish emigration, at 3.4%, became increasingly pronounced, and that of Great Britain and Germany declined significantly. In the early years of the 20th century, the tide rose until it reached one million departures per year, to which Italy contributed 30.5% of all European emigration, and continued to increase in the period immediately preceding the First World War, reaching the very high average of 1,389,000 departures per year, with only a slight decline caused by the difficulties created by the war during its course. In this final period, Great Britain experienced a population outflow ranging from 453,000 in 1911 to 370,000 in 1913, and was surpassed by Italy, which sent abroad about half a million of its citizens each year through the channels of emigration, recording the highest number of departures compared to any other country from the beginning of the movement until the outbreak of the First World War.
The countries of destination for this immense flow of population, which moved rapidly from one continent to another, besides the United States, which held first place in the preferences of emigrants, were Canada, New Zealand, the Union of South Africa, and the countries of Latin America, particularly Argentina and Brazil, toward which a good share of Italian emigration was directed, with Argentina preferred over Brazil. The phase described so far can be defined as one of perfect individual freedom. The outflow of population, the channels it followed, and the choice of destination countries were left to the spontaneous interplay of natural forces of propulsion and attraction. In the older European countries, no one opposed the continuous outflow of surplus labor forces, whose subsistence was difficult to provide for with domestic resources; in the new, sparsely populated countries, there were as yet no interests that would have opposed their reception. The former gladly rid themselves of people who were a cause for concern because they were dissatisfied with their condition; the latter saw in European emigration the contribution of new forces capable of enabling their ascent toward economic and political autonomy.
The landscape began to change in the 20th century. The preponderance of emigrants from Mediterranean countries and Eastern Europe first induced the United States to enact restrictive laws to significantly curb the influx of populations deemed less desirable, and these were followed by various measures adopted by other immigrant-receiving countries. The First World War marked the end of emigration freedom and ushered in a period of protectionism under the influence of various causes, not always due to the will of states, but often such as to determine a political stance different from that held in the previous century in a necessary and insurmountable way. Emigration now tends to take on an organized form through bilateral agreements between states, which do not allow for the autonomous movement of masses.
To gauge in an approximate way the magnitude and importance of the migratory phenomenon, the following figures may serve as an indication. Between 1846 and 1932, according to the statistics of the countries of emigration, between 53 and 59 million people would have left their respective homelands. If to these already impressive figures are added the probable ones for the period between 1842 and 1843 and, with somewhat greater precision, those for 1844, 1845, and 1846, one will not be far from the truth in stating that, throughout the 19th century up to the Second World War, the migratory movement conveyed in its broad current a total of approximately 80 million people, at an average annual rate of 600,000 to 700,000. No period of mass migration can compare with that of the contemporary age.
If one were now to examine the causes that produced such a massive displacement of population, it would not be easy to pinpoint them with precision in each case. Religious persecutions, the desire for freedom, the density of the population and precarious living conditions in some countries, the lure of easy gains, the desire to improve one’s social and economic position, pressing needs for work, organized propaganda by large companies, news received from those who had already made their fortunes, and so on, all influenced minds in different ways to decide to break ties with their homeland and family and set out on the uncertain path to fortune. To attribute the vastness of the movement to one or another cause alone, as if one were to view it solely through the lens of economic hardship produced by population density, leads to conclusions that are often contradicted by a more careful analysis of the facts.
Moral and Legal Aspect. — The right to emigrate, to seek a new domain by breaking the legal bond that ties a man to the society in which he was born, has been debated since the dawn of modern international law. Even before Grotius addressed the subject and Vattel later devoted greater attention to it, Vitoria had already established certain principles and broadly outlined a solution to the problem. According to Vitoria, the earth with its goods was destined for the service of humankind, so that all men have a primordial right to make use of it for their own subsistence and self-improvement. The division of property does not destroy this exceptional destination of the natural resources of the earth, for it is not the land itself that is essential to man, but the use he makes of II. The man who is tied indissolubly to his native soil by the bonds of birth and property can achieve the same end, and in a more secure manner, within another collective body. He may therefore seek under other skies and among foreign nations the means to attain the purpose of his existence.
It follows that the state, by virtue of its sovereign right, does not have the absolute power to oppose emigration. However, the exercise of this right by the citizen is naturally restricted by the common good, the care of which is entrusted to the supreme power of the state, which, through its laws, may impose conditions—as it does with any exercise of personal freedom in the social sphere—so that the emigratory outflow does not prejudice the more general interests of the community. The country of origin consequently has the right to make emigration subject to the prior fulfillment of certain social obligations, such as, for example, military service, and may adopt more stringent measures if necessary, in the event of an impending conflict or to curb an exodus of population that, by its scale, would be detrimental to the efficiency of its own life. The more universal interest of the social body then prevails over the interest and right of the individual who wishes to emigrate.
Determining the obligations of the country of immigration is somewhat more difficult, since it has no positive legal duties toward the immigrant, who is almost outside its social fabric. Yet, if we bear in mind the principle laid down by Pius XII on the essential destination of the goods of the earth for the service of the human race, the State has no right to consider its own subjects as the exclusive beneficiaries of the resources of its territory or to reserve their enjoyment to them alone. If, therefore, it possesses available space where natural resources lying idle could be developed by the labor of other hands, it has a strict duty of justice to permit these people to settle there and obtain the means of subsistence. Nevertheless, even in this regard, we must not lose sight of the other principle also established by Pius XII concerning the protection of the common good; hence it must be admitted that the country of immigration also has the right to impose restrictions on the entry of foreigners, subjecting their admission to particular conditions so that their influx may not prejudice public order and security. Such restrictions, however, must always be based on a real exigency of the common good and not dictated by national selfishness or other ethnic prejudices.
Undoubtedly not all varieties of the human species can be blended together without grave moral and social inconveniences resulting. By paying attention to the greater or lesser assimilability of human stocks, a State may establish discriminations; yet these cannot go so far as to condemn entire populations to a life of misery, since every man has the right to derive the means of subsistence from the earth, whatever group he belongs to. Some restrictive laws existing in certain countries of immigration, such as, for example, in the United States, must be considered unjust, not because they establish quotas, which are legitimate in certain circumstances, but because the quota system tends to exclude peoples who are most in need of allowing their demographic surplus to flow out, for unfounded reasons or religious antagonism.
The working conditions of the immigrant in the adopted country are subject to the general moral and legal norms that regulate this matter (v. LABOR; WAGE). There is, however, a particular aspect to be noted, highlighted by Pius XII in his radio message of June 16, 1941. Commemorating the fiftieth anniversary of *Rerum Novarum*, the Pope observed how there are regions abandoned to the vegetative whims of nature, where labor could usefully be transferred, and how it is often inevitable that some families, emigrating, seek a new homeland elsewhere. In this case, the right of the family to living space must be respected. Where this occurs—he adds—the emigration will attain its natural end, which experience often confirms, namely, the more favorable distribution of men over the earth’s surface, shortening the distances between agricultural colonies and the lands that God created and prepared for the use of all.
A brief mention must also be made here of the moral and legal aspects of the assimilation and naturalization of the immigrant. While it must be affirmed that the receiving State has the right to work toward the slow absorption of the foreigner established within its territory into its social and political fabric so as to achieve amalgamation with the native population and ensure unity, it must at the same time be categorically excluded that this process can be forced by oppressive measures. Assimilation must rather be left to the spontaneous play of man’s natural virtues, which sooner or later produce an associative effect if prudently aided by the stimulating action of public authority; naturalization, on the other hand, being an act of the individual’s free will through which he spiritually adheres to the new political community, can never be imposed by coercive means. The legislations on this matter are not in agreement, some being based on the principle of *jus soli*, others on that of *jus sanguinis*, and still others on a mixed system. It would be desirable to achieve a certain uniformity in this regard so as to avoid the serious inconvenience of dual citizenship.
The immigrant, whether naturalized or not, enjoys within the country that has received him the right to use his original language within his family and among his compatriots and to practice his religion freely in places of worship of his own choosing. These are universal human rights, commonly recognized even by international positive law for ethnic minorities, and they cannot in any way be denied to those who have emigrated, nor can the reason that they delay assimilation be invoked against them.
III. SOCIAL ASSESSMENT
Judgments on the social value of emigration are discordant because of the different aspects under which it is considered and the emphasis placed on some elements to the exclusion of others, which, however, should not be neglected in an objective evaluation of the fact.Opponents of emigration, generally of a nationalistic tendency, particularly emphasize the evils it causes to the country. First of all, emigration would deprive the nation of a precious resource, which, if kept within the borders of the homeland, could strengthen its efficiency. The emigrant is lost forever, not only as a numerical element but as a man endowed with intelligence, will, and physical and spiritual energy, and with him is lost his offspring, who, born in a foreign land, retains only a faint bond with the country of origin. Moreover, emigration usually takes away the individuals best endowed, in the full vigor of their strength and at the peak of their productivity, who apply their energies in foreign lands without any direct benefit accruing to the nation that gave them birth, sustenance, and education. The remittances they send do not compensate for the expenses incurred for their upbringing, education, and intellectual and professional training. Nor is it accurate to say that emigration expands national culture or purifies the social organism by ridding it of dangerous theories, thus freeing itself of less worthy individuals. In reality, the emigrant, especially in the second generation, is absorbed above all into the culture of the adopted country, and only at further expense can the nation of origin keep the flame of its own culture alive by opening and maintaining schools and institutes for his assistance.
Moreover, as statistics can demonstrate, emigration, far from purifying the social organism, deprives it of its youngest, most active, and most enterprising members. Those who venture into an often unknown future are not the weak, the sick, the incapable, or those intellectually and physically handicapped. Emigration, therefore, operates a reverse selection, carrying away the able-bodied and leaving behind the unfit. To the drawbacks described is added its inadequacy to resolve the problem of excessive population density in relation to land resources, since a prolific people, despite migratory outflow, will always face the same scarcity of materials and the same demographic disproportion. It must also be borne in mind that emigration often disrupts family life, long separating the father—who is not always able to restore domestic unity.
Weighing these further reasons, derived from national prestige, emigration is judged a social evil, which may be accepted out of dire necessity but cannot be approved as an ordinary means of solving a nation’s vital problems.
At the opposite extreme stand its advocates, for whom the previously mentioned arguments in favor of freedom of movement weigh heavily. It cannot, however, be denied that some truth resides in the objections raised by opponents. In general, it must be noted that numbers are a source of strength when they can be usefully employed in productive labor; when, instead, they are condemned to inactivity due to the lack of opportunities to deploy their energies—energies whose potential is thwarted by the country’s economic conditions—they represent not a value but a burden, which may become a source of general unrest, lowering the standard of living and giving rise to restless movements among the dissatisfied masses.
The numerical reckoning of economic losses suffered by the country of origin betrays a mercantilist mentality. Even from an economic standpoint, moreover, a person’s worth is not measured by cost but by utility—that is, by what he can produce under given conditions. If, therefore, a nation has a surplus of people relative to its needs, such a surplus cannot be considered an economic good as long as those conditions persist.
In the overall assessment of the advantages and disadvantages of emigration, perhaps the former outweigh the latter. After so many years of experience, the conclusions reached by the International Congress of Public Charity, held in Brussels in 1856, may still be considered broadly valid:
1) The growth of population cannot but be checked by legal provisions;
2) The evils of pauperism arising from population growth can be effectively—albeit indirectly—mitigated through emigration;
3) Consequently, emigrants must be granted full freedom and every possible protection;
4) Governments, associations, and private individuals must combine their efforts to secure all the benefits that emigration can yield.
The positive evaluation becomes rather uncertain, however, when emigration is considered in its moral aspects, for it is undeniable that transplantation to a new environment often proves fatal to those who attempt it, nor can it be denied that the departure—especially of the head of a household—can disrupt and overwhelm the family unit. There is also the grim experience of the easy acquisition of new habits, vices, and diseases in the emigrant’s place of origin. After weighing the pros and cons, all evidence advises great caution in pronouncing on the social and moral value of emigration.
IV. International Aspect
More than in the past, when the regime of extensive freedom prevailed—particularly after the First World War and even more so after the Second—emigration has become an international problem that cannot be resolved except through collective measures establishing an organic plan for the proper distribution of populations across the earth and regulating migratory flows by directing them toward outlets where labor is in demand.Changed economic conditions in countries of destination, heightened demands by workers abroad for fair treatment, and the ever-increasing regulation of production by the state preclude any large-scale free emigration and permit only that which is qualified according to local economic needs. On the other hand, the endemic distress in which some overpopulated nations find themselves in relation to employment opportunities creates a problem that is not merely domestic but also international, engaging all nations in its solution to prevent demographic pressure, with its attendant unrest, from becoming a bad counselor and driving toward violent expansion. It is necessary to find outlets for these dissatisfied masses, mitigating as far as possible the need to emigrate while simultaneously increasing the possibilities for immigration—and this cannot be achieved without collective collaboration.
The international character of emigration is further evident in the close economic interdependence of nations, determined by the unequal distribution of wealth. Economically, nations cannot live in isolation but depend on one another and complement each other. Those richest in resources and raw materials cannot disregard the poorer, depressed economies, to which they must lend aid in raising the general standard of living—a goal often unattainable without a regulated outflow of their demographic surplus.
Nor are the other aspects of emigration less international in scope, such as social protection, equal treatment between nationals and foreigners, citizenship, and racial and national discrimination—each presenting a practical problem in which both countries of immigration and emigration have an equal stake. The intimate connection with other international phenomena, such as the circulation of capital and goods, further extends the need for regulation on a collective basis, through which the problem can be addressed comprehensively.
Attempts have not been lacking to pursue this path, but they have remained fruitless. The lack of a felt international solidarity, the absence of awareness of the interdependence among economies, the failure to recognize the necessity of addressing the issue of emigration in all its aspects, and exaggerated nationalism have prevented appreciable results on the international plane. The only official international body to have carried out positive work, including in the field of emigration, has been the International Labour Organization, which has promoted the conclusion of numerous international conventions providing for the protection of emigrants’ economic, health, and moral interests. Alongside efforts to prevent and suppress unemployment, it has also concerned itself with the international coordination of labor. This body survived the Second World War, emerging even strengthened by its excellent structure, and may, in conjunction with the United Nations Organization, prove useful for effective coordination in the future.
The phenomenon of emigration created, alongside other problems, that of religious assistance to emigrants in the last century. The first emigrants, transferred from regions with a strong Catholic tradition to regions that had only recently ceased to be mission lands, or were monopolized by Protestants, without adequate instruction, far from their local clergy—often misunderstood, faced with poverty, exploitation, and the greed for wealth—frequently ended up falling into the hands of Protestants, or more often still, into religious indifference or practical atheism. It was the direct or indirect experience of these painful realities that, in the last century, moved some great souls to organize an apostolate for emigrants, particularly for Italian emigrants.
This movement is especially linked to three names: G. B. SCALABRINI, Geremia BONONCILI, and St. FRANCESCA CABRINI, as well as various male and female religious congregations, some of which were founded with this specific purpose.
A letter from the Pope to the archbishops of Naples, Genoa, and Palermo regarding assistance to emigrants at embarkation ports dates to 1883. Committees were formed, but little could be accomplished. The first to effectively address the issue of religious assistance to emigrants was the Servant of God Mons. G. B. SCALABRINI, Bishop of Piacenza. At the request of the Sacred Congregation of Propaganda Fide, to which he had presented the problem, he drafted a plan approved by Leo XIII on June 26, 1887. This plan included what would later become the *Pia Società dei Missionari di S. Carlo per l'assistenza agli emigranti italiani* (November 28, 1887), later known as the Scalabrinian Missionaries.
A year later, he sent Mother Cabrini to send her religious sisters to America to assist emigrants, instead of to China, and on May 19, he himself handed the crucifix to the foundress and the first sisters about to depart. The same prelate also turned in 1900 to Mother Clelia Merloni, foundress of the *Suore Missionarie Zelatrici del S. Cuore*, and in October of the same year, a first group of these sisters departed for São Paulo (Brazil). He then founded a congregation of missionary sisters—divided into two branches—with the same purpose as his missionaries (the Scalabrinian Sisters).
Another apostle of assistance to Italian emigrants was the Bishop of Cremona, Mons. G. BONONCILI, a great friend of Scalabrini. He addressed the issue of emigration in a 1896 pastoral letter, *L'emigrazione*. In January 1900, he also sent an appeal on the subject to the *Associazione nazionale di soccorso ai missionari italiani* (founded by Senator Schiapparelli).
At that time, the *Opera di assistenza degli emigranti italiani* was established to provide material and spiritual assistance to emigrants in the places where they went to work; by 1901, it had 20 secretariats. It continued to develop after the 1914–18 war under the direction of the priest of the Bononcini Opera, who began publishing their own periodical, *La Patria*, in 1914. The Opera ceased operations in 1928.
With a similar religious and patriotic purpose, *Italia gen.* was founded in 1909 by the *Associazione nazionale per i Missionari italiani*, which opened secretariats in Italy, the Levant, and America, and provided grants to similar institutions.
Outside of properly constituted congregations, priests were sent directly from Italy to overseas European regions inhabited by Italian communities. To this end, a *Collegio dei sacerdoti per l'emigrazione italiana* was founded in Rome on March 13, 1914, and opened on January 6, 1920. By then, the Sacred Congregation of the Consistory—whose special section for the spiritual care of emigrants had been established by Pius X with a *motu proprio* of August 13, 1912 (AAS, 4 [1912], pp. 526–27)—had already taken over, with the decree *Magni semper* of December 30, 1918 (AAS, 1 [1919], pp. 39–43), all matters concerning religious assistance to emigrants, along with the entire movement of priests who, for any reason, intended to emigrate from Europe—even temporarily—to America or the Philippine Islands. The same Congregation appointed a prelate for Italian emigration, tasked primarily with maintaining relations with Italian authorities, and also appointed him rector of the aforementioned College (Notification of the Sacred Congregation of the Consistory, October 23, 1920, and May 26, 1921).
VI. CURRENT STATUS
The Sacred Congregation of the Consistory (Section for Emigration) oversees and directs all specific activities aimed at assisting emigrants in general, and Italian emigrants in particular. Therefore, all religious congregations and priests engaged in assisting emigrants report to this Congregation.The *Pia Società dei Missionari di S. Carlo*, the congregation most specifically dedicated to this type of apostolate, has been under the direct supervision of the Sacred Congregation of the Consistory since 1926. It has 87 houses, including 39 in the northern United States and 27 residences in Brazil with churches, schools, and colleges; in these regions, their ministry is directed toward already established Italian communities now integrated into the respective national communities (Italian-Americans).
Recently, they have opened houses in three Argentine dioceses. Furthermore, their apostolate extends to assisting Italian emigrants in the strict sense of the term, both during the journey, upon arrival, and during their temporary stay abroad. If the stay becomes permanent, the problem of integration into the Catholic life of the country then arises. For the past 14 years, they have extended their ministry to nearby Europe (6 residences in France, 3 in Belgium, and 3 in Switzerland). Other religious congregations, both male and female, collaborate in assisting emigrants, particularly the Franciscans (Minors and Capuchins), the Jesuits, the Salesians, the Society of the Catholic Apostolate, the Oblates of the Virgin Mary, the Guanellians, and the Company of St. Paul; among the female congregations are the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (of Cabrini), the *Suore Missionarie Zelatrici del S. Cuore*, the Daughters of Charity, the *Poverelle del Palazzo*, the *Preziosine di Monza*, the Sisters of St. Joseph, and the Salesian Sisters.
In addition to religious and nuns, other secular priests work among emigrants; these priests report directly to the Sacred Congregation of the Consistory. They are placed under a superior for each nation or group of nations, appointed by the Congregation itself.
Religious assistance specific to emigrants must, to some extent, follow the more or less rapid process of the emigrant's assimilation into the host country and naturally takes different approaches depending on whether the emigration is temporary or permanent. Where assimilation is rapid and emigration is permanent, the only means of ensuring spiritual assistance is to proportionally increase the number of priests by bringing them from the countries of origin. This is what has been done and continues to be done. In Argentina, there are about thirty Italian priests who have gone to the dioceses of Buenos Aires, La Plata, Rosario, Mercedes, Santa Fe, Bahía Blanca, Mendoza, Tucumán, and Catamarca.
When true colonization of vast uncultivated territories takes place, the criterion instead is to send groups of homogeneous emigrants accompanied by a priest of the same nationality. This has been done in Argentina and Venezuela.
In Europe, on the other hand, emigration is more often of a temporary and individual nature. Given the dispersal of emigrants, it is more difficult to provide them with assistance. Efforts have been made to compensate for this by organizing so-called flying missions. Each country has been divided into zones, and one or more Italian missionaries have been entrusted with the care of all emigrants residing in each zone. These missionaries, in close contact with the bishops, periodically visit the emigrants to provide them with spiritual assistance and encourage them to attend local churches and clergy.
In 1948, there were 13 such missionaries in Belgium, 28 in France, 18 in Switzerland, 1 in Sweden, 2 in Luxembourg, 1 in Holland, 2 in England, and 1 in Romania, not counting the religious who were transferred from one country to another by their respective superiors. Recently, for instance, a group of Italian Capuchins from the United States moved to Australia to assist Italian emigrants.
In their work in France and Belgium, the Italian missionaries are assisted by the local ordinaries and by the ACLI (q.v.) and ONARMO (q.v.) organizations. In France, an episcopal commission was established for this purpose, presided over by the Archbishop of Sens. In Belgium, each bishop has appointed his own delegate for immigrants; these delegates also report to a national delegate, who coordinates various initiatives in agreement with the superior missionary.
The organs of the European missions are 8 local bulletins. Furthermore, since 1947, a special Migration Office has been operating within the Secretariat of State of His Holiness, which deals with stateless persons and Catholic initiatives that arise in various nations in favor of emigrants.
Emilia — a flourishing agriculture, which employs 3/5 of the population and provides Italy, among other things, with the highest quotas of wheat, sugar beets, hemp, tomatoes, etc., as well as a rich production of wine and fruit; this is complemented by no less flourishing livestock farming (cattle and pigs) with related activities. Modest, but not negligible, are the mineral resources (sulfur, perlite). Alongside the food industries (dairy products, cured meats, sugar refineries), which hold dominant importance, the textile, mechanical, and chemical industries have developed especially in Emilia. The geographical position favors intense traffic and thus active trade, which benefits from an excellent road and rail network (severely damaged by the recent war).
Provinces (and population present on January 1, 1949, in the capital)
| Province | Area in sq. km. | Population (Jan. 1, 1949, in thousands) |
|---------------|-----------------|------------------------------------------|
| Piemonte | 2,586 | 2,596 |
| Basilicata | | |
New simplifying structural forms in architecture clearly prepare the way for that style, as seen in the so-called Palace of Theodoric, also in Ravenna (8th century), and in many round bell towers of that area, dating from the 6th to the 9th century.
Although Lombard Romanesque architecture developed rapidly, Emilia soon produced highly representative expressions of sacred architecture, beginning with the Modena Cathedral (early 11th century) and culminating in the Ferrara Cathedral, the grandest of the series, which in its upper part (12th century) assumed ogival features. Civil architecture of that period is also represented with typical forms, such as the two daring towers of the Asinelli and Garisenda (12th century) in Bologna. Sculpture, serving architecture, reached a marvelous development in the 12th century in Modena through the work of Wiligelmus; in Ferrara with Niccolò and his successor Guglielmo, and then in Parma with Benedetto Antelami and his school (around 1150 to the mid-13th century), attaining European importance.
Emilia — Romantic Pieve of Sasso (12th century).
In painting, after the splendid Byzantine mosaic flourishing in Ravenna, there followed a long period of stagnation, until in Bologna the art of illumination developed towards the end of the 13th century, with a certain freedom of movement.
The subsequent Gothic period boasts a joyful architecture with local materials and characteristics, in Bologna (churches of S. Francesco, S. Domenico, and S. Petronio), in Pienza (S. Francesco and S. Sisto), in Cesena (Cathedral); in Pisa as well as in civil architecture in Bologna (Palaces of the Municipality, of the Notaries, of King Enzo), in Piacenza (Palazzo Cigala and Palazzo della Ragione), while feudal towers and fortresses sprang up everywhere, of which it suffices to mention the famous Castello Estense in Ferrara and the manors of Gara and Castellarquato. Fourteenth-century sculpture in Emilia appears indebted to neighboring regions, as evidenced by the exquisite marble altarpiece by the Venetians Dalle Masegne in S. Francesco in Bologna; but in this city notable painters were also active, such as Vitale, Andrea, Lippo Dalmasio, and Simone dei Crocifissi; in Rimini, a group of fresco painters gathered around the most famous of them, Giovanni Baronzio, partly within the Giottesque orbit; in Modena, the delicate Baronzio, under the influence of the Sienese, and the acute yellow of Castello Tura, foreshadowing 15th-century typologies and tonalities. Among the manifestations of decorative art in the late Gothic period, Bolognese illuminations stand out, particularly those of Niccolò di Giacomo, the goldsmith work of Jacopo Roseto, also from Bologna, and the wooden carvings of Giovanni di Baiso, who left us a true masterpiece in pure geometric and vegetal motifs with the choir stalls of S. Domenico in Ferrara.
The breath of the Renaissance reached the Emilian lands with some delay compared to central Italy; however, new architectural and decorative forms first appeared in Bologna, the city closest to Florence, championed by architects such as Pagno di Lapo Portigiani and Fioravante. Around the end of the 15th century, through the work of the Bramantesque Biagio Rossetti, Ferrara took on its serene Estense appearance with the so-called "Addizione Erculea" and a marvelous series of palaces and churches, while the masculine Romanesque imprint of Leon Battista Alberti is evident in the sturdy bell tower of that cathedral. In Romagna, in Rimini, the S. Francesco, known as the Tempio Malatestiano, bears his mark. During the 16th century, civil architecture flourished especially in Bologna, represented by the palaces of Andrea Marchesi, known as
The Formigine, by Antonio Morandi, known as il Terribilia, by Bartolomeo Triacchini, and by the brilliant Pellegrino Pellegrini or Tibaldi, who was to establish himself especially in Milan and in Spain. In Ferrara, the Rossellian tradition continued until around the 17th century, in classical forms, with Girolamo da Carpi and Alberto Schiatti; in Parma, the churches of Bernardino Zaccagni emerged; in Piacenza, those of Alessio Tramello and the unfinished Palazzo Farnese by Jacopo Barozzi da Vignola, an architect of universal fame. Fourteenth-century sculpture flourished especially through the skill of foreign masters. In Bologna, the great modeller and narrative sculptor Niccolò da Bari, known as dell’Arca, dominated; in Ferrara, the Donatellians Niccolò and Giovanni Baroncelli from Florence and the Paduan Domenico di Paris worked, while in Modena the local sculptor Guido Mazzoni asserted himself with a spirit of traditional populism, in polychrome terracotta. From him derived, also in Modena, the graceful 16th-century Antonio Begarelli; in Ferrara, Alfonso Lombardi, very active in Bologna, infused autocratic tendencies with Tuscan forms. Nudity had always been a feature of ancient sculpture, and its use in architecture found wonderful development in the 12th century in Modena, with Niccolò and his successor Guglielmo, and then in Parma; likewise, civil architecture in Bologna (Palazzo del Municipio, dei Notai, di Re Enzo), in Piacenza (Palazzo del Governatore and Palazzo della Ragione), while feudal towers and fortresses sprang up everywhere, of which it will suffice to mention the famous Castello Estense in Ferrara and the strongholds of Garda and Castell’Arquato. Thirteenth-century sculpture appears in Emilia as tributary to the regions nearby, as attested by the exquisite marble altarpiece by the Venetians Dalle Masegne in San Francesco in Bologna; but in this city notable painters were at work, such as Vitale, Andrea, Lippo Dalmasio, Simone dei Crocifissi; in Rimini, a group of fresco painters gathered around the best-known of them, Giovanni Baronzio, partly within the Giottesque orbit; in Modena, the delicate Baronzio, under the influence of the Sienese, and the acute Giacomo Tura, foreshadowing fourteenth-century typologies and tonalities. Among the manifestations of decorative art, in the late Gothic period, Bolognese illumination stands out, especially that of Niccolò di Giacomo; the goldsmith work of Jacopo Roseto, also from Bologna, and the ebony carvings of Giovanni di Baiso, who left us a true masterpiece in the purely geometric and vegetal motifs of the stalls of the choir of San Domenico in Ferrara.
The breath of the Renaissance reached the Emilian lands with some delay compared to central Italy; however, the new architectural and decorative forms first appeared in Bologna, the city closest to Florence, championed by architects such as Pagno di Lapo Portigiani and Fioravante. Aristotele Fioravanti. Towards the end of the 15th century, through the work of the Bramantesque Biagio Rossetti, the serene face of Este Ferrara was determined, with the so-called Addizione Erculea and a marvellous series of palaces and churches, while the masculine, Romanesque imprint of Leon Battista Alberti is evident in the sturdy bell tower of that cathedral, and in Romagna, in Rimini, in the church of San Francesco, known as the Tempio Malatestiano. During the 16th century, civil architecture developed especially in Bologna, represented by the palaces of Andrea Marchesi, of
with an intimate classical balance, and it will suffice to mention Bartolomeo Provaglia, Giovanni Battista Bergonzoni, Carlo Francesco Dotti, Alfonso Torregiani, Antonio Bibbiena (theatrical and scenographic architect), the greatest representative of a dynasty appreciated throughout Europe; the Ferrarese Giovanni Battista Aleotti, known as l’Argenta, and the already neoclassicising Faentine Giuseppe Pistocchi. The Modenese were the most fervent followers of Borromini, namely the theatre architect Guarino Guarini, who left his most significant works in Turin, and in Imola Cosimo Morelli lived for a long time, the measured author of the Palazzo Braschi in Rome. The greatest Emilian sculptor of the 17th century is to be considered the Bolognese Alessandro Algardi, who, even as an architect, worthily rivalled Bernini in Rome, lending the Baroque forms a dignified measure. Also in Bologna, Giovanni Battista Barberini, Camillo and Giuseppe Mazzuoli, Angelo Piò distinguished themselves, and in Ferrara, Andrea Ferreri of Bolognese training. Above all in painting, the city of San Petronio was to impose itself in those centuries upon the attention of the artistic world with the eclectic school of the Carracci, a valid figurative instrument
exoticising tendencies of the Fermiani manufacture in Faenza, the wrought-iron works of the Modenese 18th-century artist Giovanbattista Malagoli; the engraved prints of the Carracci and their school and those popular ones of Giuseppe Maria Mitelli, also from Bologna.
V. RIFORMA CATTOLICA
From the Catholic Reformation there emerged the noblest masters of the region: besides the Bolognese Guido Reni, Domenichino, Albani, Guido Cagnacci, Andrea Donducci, known as il Mastelletta, Carlo Cignani, Guercino of Cento, the Parmese Lanfranco and Badalocchio, and the Modenese Schedoni, Cavedoni and Lana, the Ferrarese Carlo Bononi. And in the following century, the uninhibited genius of Giuseppe Maria Crespi, known as lo Spagnolo, shone in Bologna, and the talents of Marcantonio Franceschini and the typographers Ubaldo and Gaetano Gandolfi asserted themselves, while the Piacentine Giovanni Paolo Panini anticipated pleasantly the Venetian view painters. In the decorative arts, mention should be made of the Bolognese furniture and hangings of exuberant cheerfulness, the maiolica
EMILIA - Aerial view of the cathedral of Ferrara (†13-13-1300).
exoticising tendencies of the Fermiani manufacture in Faenza, the wrought-iron works of the Modenese 18th-century artist Giovanbattista Malagoli; the engraved prints of the Carracci and their school and those popular ones of Giuseppe Maria Mitelli, also from Bologna.
During the 19th century, there were no lack of artists of remarkable flair and stylistic ability, but without connection among themselves, often emigrating to other regions or abroad, so that no Emilian group or school figures in the history of this period. Architecture is honourably represented by the Bolognese neoclassicist Giuseppe Nadi, by the Modenese Luigi Poletti and by Antonio Sarti of Budrio, active with success in Rome under Gregory XVI and Pius IX, as well as by the neo-cinquecentist Giuseppe Mengoni of Fontanelice. Fine followers of Canova’s style emerged in Bologna, namely Giacomo De Maria and Adamo Tadolini. In painting, during the neoclassical period, the portraitists Gaspare Landi of Piacenza and Lodovico Lipparini of Bologna stood out, and then, at the time of Roman purism, the Faentine Tommaso Minardi and the Modenese Adeodato Malatesta. In the second half of the century, among the major Romantic painters, not only Italians, were Antonio Fontanesi of Reggio Emilia, one of the most gifted and original Macchiaioli, Silvestro Lega of Modigliana. The delicate orientalist Alberto Pasini of Busseto; the lyrical interpreter of Apennine landscapes, the Bolognese Luigi Bertelli, and in Bologna, the robust composer and solitary draughtsman Luigi Serra and the decadent luminist Mario De Maria; the Ferrarese Gaetano Previati and Giovanni Boldini carried their fertile activity into the present century, the former a theorist of Divisionism but with a dreamy mystical temperament, and the latter an impetuous commentator on Parisian high society.