Arthur Lenti – “The founding and early expansion of the salesian work in the San Francisco area from Archival Documents” in “Journal of Salesian Studies”

Recently the Central Salesian Archives released the files of the Rua rectorate on some 1,750 microfiches. This boon has made archival research in that rectorate possible even for students residing away from the Central Archives.

As the Salesian Province of St. Andrew (U.S. West) prepares to celebrate the centenary of the Salesian work in San Francisco, I took the opportunity to peruse the newly released documents pertaining to that founding. I immediately realized their interest and their value, and decided to bring this material to my confreres’ attention. Since a critical edition of the documents (mostly correspondence) was not possible from microfiche reproduction (for example, one cannot provide physical descriptions of the papers), I decided merely to transcribe and translate the papers carefully, providing such historical and biographical comments as seemed appropriate.

INDEX

• Foreword
• Introduction
• San Francisco (1895-1897)
  • I. First Steps
  • II. Form of Agreement
  • III. Gathering the Team for the Mission Under Father Raphael Piperni’s Leadership
  • IV. Father Piperni’s Account of the Trip from Turin to San Francisco
  • V. First Experiences in San Francisco
• Conclusion
• Appendix

Reference time period: 1895 – 1897

Reference institution:
Institute of Salesian Studies