Camillo Pace (

Paglieta Paglieta ( Abruzzese: ') is a ''comune'' (municipality) and town in the Province of Chieti in the Abruzzo region of Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. I ...

, 16 May 1862 -

Pescara Pescara (; nap, label= Abruzzese, Pescàrë; nap, label= Pescarese, Piscàrë) is the capital city of the Province of Pescara, in the Abruzzo region of Italy. It is the most populated city in Abruzzo, with 119,217 (2018) residents (and approxim ...

, 1948) was an Italian Protestant

pastor A pastor (abbreviated as "Pr" or "Ptr" , or "Ps" ) is the leader of a Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutheranism, Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy and ...

known for his work of evangelism and also for having made known, since 1930, the existence in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

of a

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

anti-Nazi resistance.

Biography

In 1879, Camillo enlisted in the

Guardia di Finanza The ''Guardia di Finanza'' (G. di F. or GdF) () (English: literal: ''Guard of Finance'', paraphrased: ''Financial Police'' or ''Financial Guard'') is an Italian law enforcement agency under the authority of the Minister of Economy and Finance. ...

. Upon his discharge from military service, he turned to

trade Trade involves the transfer of goods and services from one person or entity to another, often in exchange for money. Economists refer to a system or network that allows trade as a market. An early form of trade, barter, saw the direct excha ...

. His encounter with Protestantism and the

Plymouth Brethren The Plymouth Brethren or Assemblies of Brethren are a low church and non-conformist Christian movement whose history can be traced back to Dublin, Ireland, in the mid to late 1820s, where they originated from Anglicanism. The group emphasizes ...

took place in Pescara where he began studying

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

, which he furthered in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

and

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymouth ...

. From 1889, Pace began

evangelizing In Christianity, evangelism (or witnessing) is the act of preaching the gospel with the intention of sharing the message and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians who specialize in evangelism are often known as evangelists, whether they are in ...

Abruzzo Abruzzo (, , ; nap, label=Neapolitan language, Abruzzese Neapolitan, Abbrùzze , ''Abbrìzze'' or ''Abbrèzze'' ; nap, label=Sabino dialect, Aquilano, Abbrùzzu; #History, historically Abruzzi) is a Regions of Italy, region of Southern Italy wi ...

to Paglieta,

Gissi Gissi (Neapolitan language, Abruzzese: ) is a town and ''comune'' located in the Province of Chieti, Abruzzo, Italy. It is bordered by two tributaries of the Sinello River and is surrounded by vineyards and olive groves. History Gissi has been ...

Lanciano Lanciano (; nap, label= Abruzzese, Langiàne ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Chieti, part of the Abruzzo region of central Italy. It has 36,304 inhabitants as of 2011. The town is known for the first recorded Catholic Eucharistic ...

and Pescara. In 1925, he moved with his wife Lucia Pace form Pescara to

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...

, where he took part as leader of the "Istituto Comandi",Marcella Fanelli, ''Passeggiata lungo il XX secolo'', Edizioni GUB, Claudiana, Torino, 2001, pag. 270/271 a center founded in 1876 by Giuseppe Comandi as an

orphanage An orphanage is a Residential education, residential institution, total institution or group home, devoted to the Childcare, care of orphans and children who, for various reasons, cannot be cared for by their biological families. The parent ...

. In 1928, Pace published a

religious Religion is usually defined as a social system, social-cultural system of designated religious behaviour, behaviors and practices, morality, morals, beliefs, worldviews, religious text, texts, sacred site, sanctified places, prophecy, prophecie ...

treaty A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between actors in international law. It is usually made by and between sovereign states, but can include international organizations An international organization or international o ...

about

Augustine of Hippo Augustine of Hippo ( , ; la, Aurelius Augustinus Hipponensis; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430), also known as Saint Augustine, was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Af ...

. In 1930, along with

Gino Veronesi Gino may refer to: * Gino (given name) * Gino (surname) * ''Gino'' (film), a 1993 Australian film * '' Gino the Chicken'', Italian TV series See also * *Geno (disambiguation) * Gino's (disambiguation), various restaurants and fast-food chains ...

, Pace became the Director of the "Ebenezer", a newspaper printed by the Istituto Comandi which, despite its Plymouth Brethren roots, published articles open to most important social and human activities and gave voice to the

anti-Nazi resistance Resistance movements during World War II occurred in every occupied country by a variety of means, ranging from non-cooperation to propaganda, hiding crashed pilots and even to outright warfare and the recapturing of towns. In many countries, r ...

in Germany. Before his

Religious conversion Religious conversion is the adoption of a set of beliefs identified with one particular religious denomination to the exclusion of others. Thus "religious conversion" would describe the abandoning of adherence to one denomination and affiliatin ...

, Pace had belonged to a

Masonic Lodge A Masonic lodge, often termed a private lodge or constituent lodge, is the basic organisational unit of Freemasonry. It is also commonly used as a term for a building in which such a unit meets. Every new lodge must be warranted or chartered ...

. This was held against him by the Italian Fascists, as were his alleged

sermon A sermon is a religious discourse or oration by a preacher, usually a member of clergy. Sermons address a scriptural, theological, or moral topic, usually expounding on a type of belief, law, or behavior within both past and present contexts. El ...

s opposing the war. In 1939, he was charged with being

anti-fascist Anti-fascism is a political movement in opposition to fascist ideologies, groups and individuals. Beginning in European countries in the 1920s, it was at its most significant shortly before and during World War II, where the Axis powers were ...

and was subsequently deported to

Calabria , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

in 1942.Marcella Fanelli, ''Passeggiata lungo il XX secolo'', Edizioni GUB, Claudiana, Torino, 2001, pag. 432 He accepted the persecution without rebelling, believing that to be the will of

God In monotheism, monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator deity, creator, and principal object of Faith#Religious views, faith.Richard Swinburne, Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Ted Honderich, Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Ox ...

. At the end of the war he returned to Pescara. Camillo had five children. His descendants include

Aurelio Pace Aurelio may refer to: People Politicians * Aurelio D. Gonzales Jr. (born 1964), congressman in the Philippines *Aurélio de Lira Tavares (1905–1998), President of Brazil *Aurelio Martínez, Honduran politician *Aurelio Mosquera (1883–1939), Pr ...

, a member of the

Partito d'Azione The Action Party ( it, Partito d'Azione, PdA) was a liberal-socialist political party in Italy. The party was anti-fascist and republican. Its prominent leaders were Carlo Rosselli, Ferruccio Parri, Emilio Lussu and Ugo La Malfa. Other prominen ...

in Florence, an historian of

Unesco The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

and father of founder of the "Filtranisme", the artist Joseph Pace, and Mario VonvillerMarcella Fanelli, ''Passeggiata lungo il XX secolo'', Edizioni GUB, Claudiana, Torino, 2001, pag. 359 of the Plymouth Brethren in

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

. Camillo Pace died in 1948 in Pescara, then 86, in the house of his son Aurelio Pace, who fought as an Italian Officer with the British Eighth Army in Italy in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

References

Books

* Camillo Pace, ''San'Agostino, Vescovo d'Ippona, Dottore della Chiesa'', Casa Edistrice Sonzogno,

Milano Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city has ...

, 1928.

Bibliography

* 2001 – Marcella Fanelli: ''Passeggiata lungo il XX secolo'', Edizioni GUB, Claudiana, Torino, Italy * 2007 – Giorgio Spini: ''Italia di Mussolini e Protestanti'', Torino, Claudiana, Italy * 2008 – Joseph Pace Filtranisme, di Marcello Paris, Equitazione&Ambiente Arte, Roma, Italia

External links

Lux Biblica
Recensione al libro di G: Spini, Italia di Mussolini e Protestanti

Sant'Agostino, Vescovo di Ippona, Dottore della Chiesa

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pace, Camillo 1862 births 1948 deaths Italian Plymouth Brethren People from the Province of Chieti