our lady gets a facelift
Legends of the Morgeti is a recent publication by local author Jerry Prager in which he details the history of organized crime in Guelph. Volume I covers the period from 1900-1922.
Among the interesting facts in this book is this statement about Church of Our Lady:
"... the Elders of Guelph's Church of Our Lady, an almost cathedral-like limestone edifice that overlooks the city, insisted that the Italians of the Ward enter through side doors and sit in side pews rather than enter through the front and sit with everyone else."
Guelph, April 2007
2 comments:
I believe I came across the facts of that account in two places, if memory serves it's in the OPIRG Faces of Guelph video (available at the library), it's also to be found in the history of the Italian Canadian Club published on the 25th anniversary of the creation of the club and is held in the Guelph Library archives.
It's also appears to be a Guelph street legend, because its something of an oral tradition.
To be fair I've never seen a church record to prove that, but then I didn't go looking for one. Someone like Gil Stelter would probably know for sure, or know where to find out quickly. That's why the book is called Legends.
Fascinating book Jerry. Looking forward to Volume II.
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