September 10, 2022 a cerimony has been held in the church of Lizzano in the Municipality of Lizzano Pistoiese by the Bishop of Pistoia Msgr. Fausto Tardelli and by the Parish Priest Don Adam Taiszewski in honor of Msgr. Napoleone Toccafondi, Parish Priest of Lizzano and Signana, and Msgr. John Murphy, Chaplain at the White House a Holy Mass. The Holy Mass has been followed by speeches of the Authorities who will be present, the blessing of a memorial plaque and the naming of a street in the town.
The event is planned as a commemoration of the friendship between the two priests and, more symbolically, the friendship between the Italian and American people. During the Second World War, Sergeant John Murphy, who was with the Tenth Mountain Division of the American Army advancing towards the Gothic line, settled with his troops in the village of Lizzano Pistoiese in January 1944.
There he made friends not only with the local people but in particular with the parish priest Don Frati. Back in the United States, John Murphy got a degree in theology and became a priest and chaplain at the White House. A personal friend of the then Cardinal Wojtyla, Msgr. Murphy, who was often at the Vatican in Rome, returned to Lizzano where he met Don Frati’s successor, Msgr. Napoleone Toccafondi, and a new profound friendship was born.
In 1988, upon Msgr. Toccafondi’s initiative, a great celebration was organized for the veterans of the US liberation troops with the creation of murals that have become famous that recall the dramatic events of the winter of 1945, and which culminated the following year with an invitation to Washington for Msgr. Toccafondi, who was received at the White House.
This event, sponsored by the Tuscan American Association, is intended to maintain the strong bonds of solidarity and friendship that had been created between American soldiers and the Italian population during the Second World War.
September 10, 2022 a cerimony has been held in the church of Lizzano in the Municipality of Lizzano Pistoiese by the Bishop of Pistoia Msgr. Fausto Tardelli and by the Parish Priest Don Adam Taiszewski in honor of Msgr. Napoleone Toccafondi, Parish Priest of Lizzano and Signana, and Msgr. John Murphy, Chaplain at the White House a Holy Mass. The Holy Mass has been followed by speeches of the Authorities who will be present, the blessing of a memorial plaque and the naming of a street in the town.
The event is planned as a commemoration of the friendship between the two priests and, more symbolically, the friendship between the Italian and American people. During the Second World War, Sergeant John Murphy, who was with the Tenth Mountain Division of the American Army advancing towards the Gothic line, settled with his troops in the village of Lizzano Pistoiese in January 1944. There he made friends not only with the local people but in particular with the parish priest Don Frati. Back in the United States, John Murphy got a degree in theology and became a priest and chaplain at the White House. A personal friend of the then Cardinal Wojtyla, Msgr. Murphy, who was often at the Vatican in Rome, returned to Lizzano where he met Don Frati’s successor, Msgr. Napoleone Toccafondi, and a new profound friendship was born. In 1988, upon Msgr. Toccafondi’s initiative, a great celebration was organized for the veterans of the US liberation troops with the creation of murals that have become famous that recall the dramatic events of the winter of 1945, and which culminated the following year with an invitation to Washington for Msgr. Toccafondi, who was received at the White House.
This event, sponsored by the Tuscan American Association, is intended to maintain the strong bonds of solidarity and friendship that had been created between American soldiers and the Italian population during the Second World War.
