Italian Heritage Month was capped off in spiritual style as Cardinal Francis Leo blessed Villa Charities' Italian Canadian Immigrant Tribute installation in Toronto. 

The Columbus Centre on the Villa Charities campus on Lawrence Avenue West was packed June 26 with dignitaries, politicians, media personalities and the greater Italian community where various  guest speakers shared the experiences of their families who came to Canada seeking a better life, with many stories sharing stark similarities with one another. 

“These are people who went somewhere and had no clue what they were going to find. They came to Canada with no money, many unable to speak English, and hardly any education. Could you imagine doing that today?” asked Marco DeVuono,  president and CEO of Villa Charities Inc. 

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Not long after the speeches, Leo provided a blessing over the Tribute installation, a commemorative public space honouring the Italian Canadian immigrant story featuring custom, commemorative plaques inscribed with the names of Italian-Canadian immigrants. There, as the event slowed down, DeVuono shared a moment with the Cardinal he said was the highlight of the festivities. 

“I brought him over to see the plaque we created for his family specifically, and when he saw it, I could see that he was truly moved. Seeing the commemoration with his parents' names, the years that they immigrated to Canada, and you could see he was reflecting on their journey. He was frozen there for a second, and that was incredible,” he said. 

The Tribute space also features a bronze cast art piece, Hope — a full-scale sculpture of a 1950s-era immigrant family created by Aldo Cundari.  Designed to thank and honour parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles who made a sacrifice in coming to Canada, the sculpture reflects the journey of Italian immigrants, many like Leo’s parents, Francesco Leo and Rosa Valente. 

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Villa Charities, a non-profit that has enriched lives through experiences and services honouring Italian culture and heritage for more than 50 years, inaugurated the Tribute installation in November of last year after years of careful planning for the best way to honour Italian-Canadian immigrants and their families. Since then, the area has become something of a landmark for the Italian community, both as a physical gathering space and as a cultural beacon. 

“ If you are ever in the area, especially at night, and you drive by on Lawrence Avenue, you’ll see the large Italian flag map in the middle of the wall surrounded by thousands of these individual plaques. The map is lit up in green, white and red, with the installation designed in a way so that each plaque flutters and becomes like a wave with the slightest breeze of wind,” DeVuono said. 

“We envisioned this to be almost a living and breathing monument to those folks who made this journey, which is something particularly inspiring. To me, it highlights the importance of the Tribute project as a whole.” 

As the event wound down, the CEO reflected on how Leo’s presence and blessing of the Villa’s installation would serve as a sign of renewed commitment toward the organization’s mission of funding and supporting its broad range of activities, services and facilities. 

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“Not only did His Eminence bring a lot more awareness to the project, but those who purchase a plaque for $1,000 get a $800 donation receipt with the proceeds going toward helping us continue our objectives of serving the community,” he said.

"Whether the two long-term care homes within the Villa Charities group, the three seniors apartment buildings that are subsidized or the large community centre that offers programs and services for all ages, the Tribute fundraising efforts will allow us to continue to support all of that good work in the spirit of Italian-Canadians.”