The Italian Mennonite Church celebrated its 75th anniversary July 19-21 with an international gathering at new and old churches in Palermo.
Representatives attended from Albania, Austria, Portugal and the United States. The Mennonite conferences in Italy and Albania were developed through mission efforts of Virginia Mennonite Missions, and former workers were in attendance.
After World War II, an Italian woman named Franca Ceraulo saw an address on a relief package sent by Mennonites and began corresponding with people in Virginia about Anabaptist beliefs. The Virginia Board of Missions and Charities established a mission in 1949 when Lewis Martin and Jason Weaver visited the city to baptize Ceraulo. The first Mennonite church in Italy was established that year.
Anniversary activities included a celebration of a new congregation in Palermo, Shalom Evangelical Mennonite Christian Community.
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