Salvatore di Pietro, (15 June 1830 – 23 August 1898) was an Italian

Bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is c ...

in the

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. He served as the first

Vicar Apostolic A vicar (; Latin: ''vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pre ...

Belize Belize (; bzj, Bileez) is a Caribbean and Central American country on the northeastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a wate ...

from 1893-1898. He is widely regarded as the most important figure in consolidating the Catholic presence in Belize in the second half of the 19th century.

Missionary to Central America

Salvatore di Pietro was born in

Palermo, Italy Palermo ( , ; scn, Palermu , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital of both the autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The city is noted for its ...

, on 15 June 1830. He entered the

Society of Jesus , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

(Jesuits) in October 1845 and was ordained a priest on 2 June 1859. He arrived in

British Honduras British Honduras was a British Crown colony on the east coast of Central America, south of Mexico, from 1783 to 1964, then a self-governing colony, renamed Belize in June 1973,

(now known as "Belize") on 22 March 1869. On May 12 he suffered an attack of

yellow fever Yellow fever is a viral disease of typically short duration. In most cases, symptoms include fever, chills, loss of appetite, nausea, muscle pains – particularly in the back – and headaches. Symptoms typically improve within five days. ...

. His superiors transferred him to Guatemala, where he preached missions to the

Garifuna The Garifuna people ( or ; pl. Garínagu in Garifuna) are a people of mixed free African and indigenous American ancestry that originated in the Caribbean island of Saint Vincent and speak Garifuna, an Arawakan language, and Vincentian ...

. He was appointed head of the missions in northern Guatemala, but along with 80 other Jesuits fled the country in September 1871 when the Liberals gained control and persecuted the Catholic Church.Woods, Charles M. Sr, et al. ''Years of Grace: The History of Roman Catholic Evangelization in Belize: 1524-2014''. (Belize: Roman Catholic Diocese of Belize City-Belmopan, 2015). In 1872 president Jose Maria Medina invited him to Spanish Honduras to found a college in the capital Comayagua. He began by preaching missions in

Omoa Omoa is a town, with a population of 7,020 (2013 census), and a municipality in the Department of Cortés in Honduras. Omoa is located on a small bay of the same name 18 km west of Puerto Cortés on the Caribbean Sea coast. Geography O ...

and San Pedro Sula. However, the Liberals took control of Spanish Honduras also and he returned to Belize.

Mission superior

In 1851 Jesuits had been placed in charge of the

Catholic mission Missionary work of the Catholic Church has often been undertaken outside the geographically defined parishes and dioceses by religious orders who have people and material resources to spare, and some of which specialized in missions. Eventually, p ...

in Belize, with George Avvaro serving as first Superior in 1853. In September 1872 di Pietro was appointed to replace the aging Avvaro. But in October 1874 di Pietro needed relief and John Pittar was made Superior. Di Pietro became pastor in Corozal in the north of Belize until June 1876 when, weak from sickness, he was sent to

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Co ...

to recover his strength. He served as secretary to the Bishop of Panama. By October 1878 Pittar was having serious health problems and di Pietro returned to be Superior, remaining so until his death in 1898. The Superior resided at Holy Redeemer parish in Belize Town. From his close association with Henry Fowler, the first Catholic colonial administrator (1877-1886), keeper of the government records and producer of the ''Honduras Almanack'', di Pietro wrote accounts to acquaint his Superiors in

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with Belize and to attract assistance of funds and manpower. Under di Pietro's watch, Cassian Gillett founded at Holy Redeemer St. John's College, which would educate many future leaders for Belize and neighboring republics. Also, di Pietro was the impetus for bringing to Belize three congregations of religious sisters. The

Sisters of Mercy The Sisters of Mercy is a religious institute of Catholic women founded in 1831 in Dublin, Ireland, by Catherine McAuley. As of 2019, the institute had about 6200 sisters worldwide, organized into a number of independent congregations. They a ...

were the first to arrive. After his visit to the motherhouse in New Orleans in 1892, the Sisters of Mercy began arriving in Belize. On the event

Pope Leo XIII Pope Leo XIII ( it, Leone XIII; born Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2 March 1810 – 20 July 1903) was the head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 to his death in July 1903. Living until the age of 93, he was the second-old ...

sent a special blessing for this first establishment of congregation in the tropics. Next the Holy Family Sisters arrived in 1898. These

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ensl ...

sisters, founded by

Henriette DeLille Henriette Díaz DeLille, SSF (March 11, 1813 – November 16, 1862) was a Louisiana Creole of color and Catholic nun from New Orleans. Her father was a white man from France, her mother was a "quadroon", and her grandfather came from Spain. She ...

, came to manage the school in the

settlement of

Dangriga Dangriga, formerly known as Stann Creek Town, is a town in southern Belize, located on the Caribbean coast at the mouth of the North Stann Creek River. It is the capital of Belize's Stann Creek District. Dangriga is served by the Dangriga Airpo ...

. The third religious community of sisters to arrive in Belize were the

Carmelites , image = , caption = Coat of arms of the Carmelites , abbreviation = OCarm , formation = Late 12th century , founder = Early hermits of Mount Carmel , founding_location = Mount Ca ...

. The Church in the northern districts was well-established and Bishop di Pietro was anxious about the education of the children there. In 1899, four sisters of the Third Order of Mount Carmel in New Orleans came to serve in

Orange Walk Orange marches are a series of parades by members of the Orange Order and other Protestant fraternal societies, held during the summer months in various Commonwealth nations, most notably Ulster. The parades typically build up to 12 July ce ...

Prefect Apostolic, Vicar, and first Bishop for Belize

In 1879 the direct route by steamship from

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

to Belize ended, complicating travel for the Vicar Apostolic in Jamaica to reach Belize. In the absence of the Vicar, the mission superior di Pietro administered Confirmation within the Colony. In his visit to Rome in 1888, di Pietro proposed that because of the great distance between Jamaica and Belize (750 miles), the

Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples A congregation is a large gathering of people, often for the purpose of worship. Congregation may also refer to: * Church (congregation), a Christian organization meeting in a particular place for worship *Congregation (Roman Curia), an administr ...

in Rome make Belize a Prefecture independent of Jamaica. Those in Rome concurred and he was made

Prefect Apostolic An apostolic prefect or prefect apostolic is a priest who heads what is known as an apostolic prefecture, a 'pre-diocesan' missionary jurisdiction where the Catholic Church is not yet sufficiently developed to have it made a diocese. Although it ...

on 10 June 1888. Then on 14 January 1893 the Roman authorities appointed di Pietro titular Bishop of Eurea and Vicar-Apostolic of British Honduras. The consecration took place in Belize on 16 April 1893 with Bishop Thomas A. Becker of

Savannah, Georgia Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia and is the county seat of Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the British colonial capital of the Province of Georgia and later t ...

, as consecrator, assisted by Bishop

Jeremiah O'Sullivan Jeremiah O'Sullivan (February 6, 1842 – August 10, 1896) was an Irish-born clergyman of the Roman Catholic Church who served as Bishop of Mobile from 1885 until his death in 1896. Biography Jeremiah O'Sullivan was born in Kanturk, County Cork, ...

of Mobile, Alabama, and Bishop Thomas Heslin of Natchez, Mississippi. In the following year responsibility for the Belize mission was transferred from the English Province to the

Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...

Province of Jesuits. The mission which began in 1852 with no church, few Catholics, and 2 priests after 40 years numbered 20,000 Catholics among a population of 31,000 inhabitants, in 6 town churches – Belize Town, Corozal,

, Stann Creek, Punta Gorda, and

El Cayo San Ignacio and Santa Elena are towns in western Belize. San Ignacio serves as the cultural-economic hub of Cayo District. It got its start from mahogany and chicle production during British colonisation. Over time it attracted people from the ...

– and 39 outstation chapels. Bishop di Pietro died from a heart condition on 23 August 1898 and was succeeded by Bishop Frederick C. Hopkins, S.J.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:di Pietro, Salvatore 1830 births 1898 deaths 19th-century Italian Jesuits Italian Roman Catholic missionaries 19th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Belize Jesuit bishops Roman Catholic missionaries in Belize Italian Roman Catholic titular bishops Jesuits in Belize Roman Catholic missionaries in Honduras Roman Catholic missionaries in Guatemala Italian expatriates in Belize Italian expatriates in Honduras Italian expatriates in Guatemala Jesuit missionaries Italian expatriate bishops Roman Catholic bishops of Belize City–Belmopan