Marking 100 years of celebrating Santa Marina from Italy to Inwood

A century ago, a group of immigrants who settled in Inwood from Filandari, a small town in the Calabria region of Italy — the toe of the country’s boot-shaped peninsula — aimed to share their devotion for their patron saint, Santa Marina Vergine, with their families in the United States.

“The saint was their image that gave them religious strength, moral support and unity to survive their hardships here in America,” said Hewlett resident Maria Artusa Blank, a keeper of records who noted that 2021 is the centennial year of the Santa Marina Society of Inwood and its annual celebratory Mass.

“Back in Filandari, Italy, the saint supported families in their hardships as well as through two world wars,” Blank said. “The villagers prayed to Saint Marina to save the tiny village from many wars, illnesses, depressions, bombings and for everyone’s safety.”

Giuseppe Cimato, Pasquale Cimato, Salvatore Cuppari, Giuseppe Grillo, Vincenzo Mangone and Marino Artusa, established the Santa Marina Society of Inwood in 1921.

It consisted of any Italian who wanted to join, and most were from the Five Towns and Far Rockaway. The men also had a replica statue Santa Marina Vergine crafted in Italy, identical to the one in their hometown.

“It’s a connection to our grandparents and parents and their lives in Filandari,” explained Maria Curra, an Inwood native who now lives in Coral Springs, Fla., but returns every year for the Mass. “A time to reflect and honor Saint Marina for the blessing bestowed upon so many. A time to reconnect with all of those in Filandari and New York.”

Because the majority of society members lived in Inwood, the celebration and feast traditionally took place at Our Lady of Good Counsel Church. Nearly 100 men belonged to the society.

The celebration consisted of the novenas — special prayers or services — and a Saturday Mass followed by a traditional procession, and a feast.

For seven years the feast was successful and the event continuously grew, but after a terrible fireworks accident in the early 1930s, the society was forced to disband.

In 1962, roughly 30 years later, Frank Curra, another immigrant from Filandari, decided to hold a Mass in honor of Santa Marina, which spearheaded the group’s revitalization, and the society reformed the following year.

Its annual celebration was muted by the coronavirus pandemic last year, with just an outdoor procession. This year it has returned, with the novena to Santa Marina scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday, after the Herald went to press, at 8 p.m., at Our Lady of Good Counsel, and the indoor Mass at the church on Saturday, at 10 a.m., followed by the procession.

Because of the continuing pandemic, the feast — which features amusement rides, food and music — will not be held.
The Mass and procession typically attract more than 500 people, according to society members. “The celebration of the novena and Mass is good for all of us to remember faith and tradition,” said Lynbrook resident Nick Curra, who is not related to Maria, but is Frank Curra’s nephew.

“Santa Marina is our safety net,” said Maria Cristina Bocci, Frank’s great-granddaughter. “When we are in times of despair, sick or in need of comfort, we turn to Santa Marina to pray for us, look after us and hold us through. [We] believe we have seen a miracle with a simple ‘Santa Marina prega per noi’ (Santa Marina pray for us).’”

Initially, after the society was revived, officials at Our Lady of Good Counsel would not allow the group to hold the feast on church grounds, so the Mass and procession were held at the church, but the feast took place at different locations for a number of years, ranging from the Pfc. John J. Olivieri Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1582 headquarters, in Inwood, to the Five Towns Community Center, in Lawrence, to Lawrence High School, in Cedarhurst.

The society enjoyed a renaissance as new members joined, but it ruled that members had to be from Filandari or descendants of the town’s residents. After several years, the church agreed to hold the feast on church grounds, and it usually took place in the parking lot across the street from the church, on Wanser Avenue.

Today the society has roughly 40 members, and for several years the officers have been President Salvatore Cimato, Vice President Marino Curra and Secretary/Treasurer Giovanni Curra. (Marino and Giovanni are not related, but Giovanni is Nick’s son.)

Proceeds of the event benefit Our Lady of Good Counsel, local charities and other worthy causes.

“Even though the feast is a great celebration for the community, consisting of food, live music, games and rides,” Francesca Cimato-Perna explained, “for most descendants of Filandari, the celebration is all about our faith and devotion to Santa Marina, making the novenas, the Mass on Saturday and the procession the most important part. It’s what brings us back together: the celebration of this great martyr that bonds the people of Filandari.”

Francesca Cimato-Perna and Frank Cimato contributed to this story.