“Apostle” Maria Makes Her 120th Rounds

Rheta DeBenedet slid a tray of assorted desserts past a plate of cannolis while instructing the guests filing into the common room to skip straight to the food –– unless of course they wanted coffee. They would have to wait their turn to snag an Americano.

She described the tasks –– the cooking, the cleaning, the baking –– as part of the job of her presidency of the Santa Maria Maddalena Ladies’ Guild. She executed the part gracefully alongside the members of the women’s division as well as the men’s branch, dubbed simply the Santa Maria Maddalena Society of New Haven, on Sunday as part of the 120th Annual Old World Traditional Procession and Santa Mary Magdalene’s annual Feast Day.

Like the event, the society is in its 120th year.

Following a liturgical mass at St. Michael’s Church in Wooster Square, DeBenedet processed alongside nearly 100 others –– many of whom were descendants of Italian immigrants, others of whom were members of the society or guild and some of whom DeBenedet has known since childhood –– through the historic area to congregate at the group’s building at 121 Wooster St.

While the dozens of walkers waited outside the building, DeBenedet hurried in to find coffee warmers. After 25 years as president, she has grown accustomed to the routine.

“They’re a good group of guys and a good group of women,” said DeBenedet as she marched down Wooster Street behind a statue of Mary Magdalene held up by four men. Flanking the patron Saint of Atrani –– the Italian city from which many of the society’s members trace their ancestry –– were two flags, one American and one Italian.

Sunday’s celebration commemorates the historic group, initially established as a Mutual Aid Society in New Haven by Italian immigrants of Atrani in 1898. In its early days, the group offered guidance concerning legal affairs, employment and housing among other crucial services to immigrants from the city on the Amalfi Coast.

Throughout the years, the society has morphed into a more community oriented group dedicated to worthwhile causes regardless of ethnic background, like St. Jude’s Hospital and The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

According to Anthony Vitolo, the vice president of the all-male society, the celebration rooted itself in the traditions of the group.

“We honor our deceased members who were immigrants,” said Vitolo of Sunday’s festivities. And in that way, he cherishes his heritage and reminds the younger generation of their roots –– ones which flourished in Wooster Square.

Female Saint’s Unknowns

While traditions remain pivotal for the group, they have naturally progressed with the growth of its adopted city of New Haven and the Catholic Church at large. The sermon delivered by Deacon Ernest Scrivani in St. Michael’s Church highlighted Magdalene’s biblical importance. He questioned the typical notion that Magdalene had been a prostitute, citing a lack of information concerning the female saint in the gospel.

In 2016, Pope Francis upheld Mary Magdalene as ​“apostle of the apostles.” Vitolo said many people look at her as an apostle, a title which would distinguish her as the only female among the other traditionally thought-of apostles. 

“That meant a lot to us because as with so many things in life, women were looked down on,” said DeBenedet during the procession. She moved alongside her husband Harry and son Michael, weaving through old friends like Carmella Camera as she walked past Tony & Lucille’s Little Italy Restaurant on Wooster Street. Camera has been a member of the guild for more than 45 years.

She and DeBenedet are two of 15 members of the women’s guild, contrasting the 166 members of the male society. They represent a dwindling group that, in DeBenedet’s own words, no longer has ​“the things [it] used to have.” The president pointed to decreasing membership and infrequent, biannual meetings.

“Sooner or later,” said DeBenedet, ​“things do change.”