Missioni cattoliche ed emigrazione italiana in Francia nel secondo dopoguerra (1946-53)

The essay examined the Catholic missions among Italian emigrants to France after World War II. Based on the documentation of the Archive of Constantine Babini, director of the missions for migrants in Europe from 1928 to 1948, the article deals with the development of the migration issue in the activity of the Holy See and, specifically, of the missionaries. Originating largely from Southern Italy, Italian emigration to France experiences the impact with the growing secularization process of French society. Babini's action is directed above all in contact with the most representative personality of theological renewal, to relaunch a "popular" Catholicism through the religious practice of his countries of origin and to counter the fall of religious sentiment. The missionaries' work proves functional to a reconstruction of the Italian national identity, while highlighting the role of the Church as a crucial actor of a new social order.