Help requested from this amazing group.

LindaVacha1

Hi,

With the help of Mary Ann Caroniti, I recently learned the name of my gr gr gr uncle who was a priest in Sicily, Antonino Cangemi b. abt 1807.

(His father was Rosario Cangemi, mother Antonina Belligno, and his brothers were Vincenzo b 1803, Benedetto b 1805 and Giuseppe b 1810. Rosario and his sons were born in Militello Rosmarino, Messina Sicily)

I am trying to locate the church where Fr. Antonino Cangemi served and was wondering if anyone has any suggestions as to how I can find out more information on this priest. I found his name in a Sicilian History book that said, "Fr. Antonino Cangemi of the convent of S. Anna", but could not find any additional information. Unfortunatley, I do not speak Italian and utilize google translate.

Thank you in advance for any help you can give.

Linda Cangemi Vacha

joseph99929

Tracking down a priest using conventional genealogical records is quite tough because unlike ordinary people, they did not marry nor have children! There should be records of his ordination at the Archivio Diocesano di Patti, though I have no experience researching this kind of documentation, so I can't provide much guidance there.

I have to say, although this mention of a Father Antonino Cangemi could be your relative, the surname is very common, so there's no guarantee that this is the correct individual. That said, I do believe this is the church/convent referred to in that document: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sant%27Anna_la_Misericordia

I have to say, the only way I know of to track your Antonino Cangemi down with certainty would be to find a death record with the parents' names mentioned, so that you know have the right one. It won't paint a full picture of his life, but at least you can know where he was serving when he died. This is much, much easier said than done because, as you probably know, most of these records are unindexed and he could really have gone anywhere in Sicily! That said, there's a good chance he died in the same town he was born, so definitely do take a look if you have not done so already.

I did take the liberty of checking the death index for Palermo city from 1846-1895 to see if an Antonino Cangemi son of Rosario is listed, but there were none.

LindaVacha1

Hi Joseph,

Thank you so much for your guidance. I never would have thought to check for ordination records.

There is a plaque in Chiesa del Rosario, located in Militello Rosmarino on 14 Via Vittorio which apparently is a memorial to Rosario Cangemi and Antonina Belligno. Antonino is listed as their son on that plaque. I was lucky enough to find marriage records for Giuseppe (my gr gr grandfather) which also listed Rosario and Antonina as his parents.

I am hopeful that there is only one priest with the that name, but as you said, it is a common name. I have searched many death records in Patti, but so far have not found one.

Thank you again for your guidance and for locating the church/convent where he may have served.

My search of this priest continues.

Linda