SCRANTON – The Cathedral of Saint Peter was filled to capacity earlier this month as generations of Italian Americans gathered to celebrate their faith and heritage.
The annual Mass in Italian, which has been part of La Festa Italiana since its beginning 50 years ago, was held on Sunday, Sept. 6, 2026.
Father David Cappelloni, La Festa chaplain and Pastor of Saint John Paul II Parish in Dunmore, served as the principal celebrant of the Mass. The Most Rev. Joseph C. Bambera, Bishop of Scranton, was in attendance and delivered the homily.
“It is pretty obvious to me this morning from this gathering, that our ancestors didn’t simply bring to this country recipes and traditions … they brought faith,” Bishop Bambera said. “That is why this Cathedral is packed this morning to standing room only.”
The Bishop emphasized it is that faith that sustained them and brought them hope.
“They built community. They shared from their bounty and even from their poverty. And they served,” he said. “They served – as the Lord whom they worshiped – gave them example.”
For La Festa Italiana President and Chairman Chris DiMattio, that combination of faith and heritage is precisely why the Mass remains so important.
“It is a way to bring family tradition and faith together and to celebrate with music and prayer. It’s wonderful,” DiMattio said.
DiMattio said continuing to celebrate the Mass largely in Italian is also important for preserving the Italian heritage for future generations.
“Once you lose the language, you lose the culture,” he added. “So, we’re so happy that we continue to do most of the Mass in Italian. That keeps our culture alive.”
Father Cappelloni said the whole four-day La Festa Italiana event in downtown Scranton, which features dozens of food vendors and bringing in more than 100,000 people, would not be complete without the Cathedral liturgy.
“We couldn’t have La Festa without the Mass,” he said, noting that faith was as much a part of the Italian immigrant experience as food, language and other traditions.
For some people, the weekend serves as a homecoming.
Rick DiLiberto, second vice president of UNICO National, traveled from Delaware with his wife, and met up with his daughter who now lives in Florida.
“It’s important for us to be together,” he said.
A Hazleton native, DiLiberto said the Mass remains integral to Italian American history and tradition.
As he participated in the Sign of Peace during Mass, DiLiberto reflected on its importance.
“In today’s world, that is really what we need, which is finding commonalities and similarities rather than differences,” he said.