The Madison daily leader. [volume] (Madison, S.D.) 1890-current, 1894-08-23
ITALIAN CHURCH.
A HOUSE or WORSHIP CALLED
"cHuRcH or THE RAGPlckERs.n

IL Ii the QueeFest Place of the Kind I'm
New York and Probably In the Coun-
try-Thcre Sons a Daughters 81 italy
combine Religion and BUSINESS.
Not many New Workers have ever
heard OF the Church Of the Ragpick.
ers." In the n~eighborhood Of Roosevelt
street, where Ii is located, this il the
familiar name Of the Roman Catholic
church of st. Joachim, Of which Father
Vincini is the pastor. The members are
Italians exclusively inhabitants OF the
densely populated district roundabout,
and as some of them are r~agpickers and
have rented the lower half OF the church
for the storage OF their goods the nick.
name which designates the church as
the peculiar place of worship Of this
class came into use.
Years ago, when Roosevelt street was
not SO squalid and as overfiowing with
human beings as it is today, this church
belonged to a Methodist Episcopal CON.
gregation. There were merchants, solid
men Of down town New York, living
there, and the neighborhood was emf.
nently respectable.
Now the church stands with Q cheap
lodging house on one side and q typical
slum grocery store on the other. A nest
OF tough saloons are near by, mp and
down the street. Organized in 1883, the
Italian population Whereabouts grew Sc
rapidly within a radius of q mile that
the church has now one Of the largest
congregations in the city.
The building is Of brick and is dingy
and dirty. 1t is only by standing across
the street that You can see a small cross
on the roof, the only thing about the
edifice that suggests it's religious charac-
ter. Looking in on the first floor, y0u win
witness Q curious spectacle. The whole
depth and breadth Of the floor is filled
with rags. Rags loose, rags in piles and
rags In bales ready for shipping are all
about. Big ranes and chains for hoist
ing purposes run here and there. Half
buried in these piles OF rags are men,
women and children-the men and won.
en- busy asserting rags and the fat, brown
youngsters tumbling about in play or
GACER4AkS S6 LKAC Case GlAY UGs .g&4##H&#
1t is the biggest ragshop in this city.
1t Is wholesale and retail in the sense
that here the individual ragpickerd Of
the town dispose of their wares, which
are assorted and baled and sold for man.
ufacturing purposes. The pastor of st.
Joachim's rents this lower floor to the
company that conducts this rag business
az a ROOD aar&.T n~nl as-lAnl .~~-A "a -
for that the mission would suffer.
Italians are very practical about their
religion, when they care for it mt all, and
they are very slow at contributing to the
support OF the church and expect ii good
dealof religion for q very little money.
The church proper is on the floor over
the ragshop, and this in itself gives an
odd character TO the services at times.
On weekdays the men are at work tn the
basement when services are going on mp
stairs, and one can plainly hear them
Joining in the responses and chants dur
ing the celebration of the mass. While
q reporter was there the other day okaa
Of the ragpickers in the basement sang d
hymn to the Virgin while the services
were going on, and his voice was OF rare
sweetness and purity.
At certain hours of the day laborerE
will come In, set their picks and shOvels
in acorner, and then join in the devo-
tions. The peanut vendors and fruit
stand keepers in the neighborhood al
ways attend the services for a& least d
few minutes each day. Bootblacks
der In with boxes ON their backs and say
q few brief prayers, and the Italian pop
ulation generally comes and goes.
Six masses are said in st. Joachim's
church every Sunday, and from 1000
to 1880 persons attend every mass, 20
that some 5000 or more people wOr-
ship in the little church every week.
Father Morrill,, who established this
mission, and who conducted it Tor
years. has been sent to New England
to organize Italian churches there.
His place has been taken by o younger
priest, Father Vincini. The position cf
parish priest Of ST. Joachim's is that Of d
patriarch. Not only does he marry his
parishioners, baptize their children and
bury their dead, but Ii their constant
adviser In other matters. He settles
their disputes of all sorts, from business
differences to lovers quarre1s.
One trouble the priest has to contend
with is the name In which his charges
get married. Coming from Italy, where
civil marriages. are the proper thing, the
Italians believe that the same laws ohr
tain here. AS a result the Italian quar-
ter il filed with professional marriage
brokers and matchmakers.
They bring couples together for d fee,
then steer them TO the city hall, where
two men have for years done q steady
business securing aldermen TO marry
couples, IN getting certificates for them
and arranging all the details OF city hall
weddings. Father Vincini tries to Inn
press upoa his people that be will marry
them for nothing ait an, but they still
hock to the city hall. Some Of them buy
pictures Of the building and send them
to Italy 20 that their friends may see the
palace In which they were married.
New York World.