ITALICA GENS. – Federation of the Italian clergy for the assistance of national communities residing in overseas countries, founded in 1909. The institution is a branch of the National Association for the Aid of Italian Missionaries, conceived in Florence in 1886 by St. Schiaparelli.
Protected by the support of illustrious personalities and by the Italian government, the Association took care of numerous Italian missions, founding hospitals and schools everywhere. Through its activity, foreign protection, which safeguarded Italian missionaries—especially in the Middle and Far East—was eliminated. The Association established itself in Egypt, Palestine, Transjordan, and in the Italian colonies, particularly in Libya and the Aegean Islands. Important centers, schools, and hospitals also arose through its initiatives in China, Greece, Morocco, Tunisia, and Albania. Severely damaged during the war of 1914–18, it reaffirmed itself energetically in the postwar period. Its conditions, especially in the former Italian colonies, appear more precarious after the Second World War, which deprived it of many institutions. Nevertheless, it already shows signs of recovery.
The Association has occasionally published an information bulletin (*Le missioni cattoliche*, 1887, pp. 1, 6, 1910–39). Angelo Penna