Angri’s historic center tells the story of a priest who, starting from a humble backyard, dedicated his life to the education of the poorest and gave birth to a missionary movement that spread throughout the world.
Angri’s historic center preserves the places where the educational and spiritual work of St. Alphonsus Maria Fusco, who dedicated his life to the poorest and founded the Congregation of the Sisters of St. John the Baptist, took shape. The visit follows a short itinerary that joins the Baptistine convent, the original core of the congregation, and the birthplace of the saint, canonized in 2016. It was in these places that his vocation took shape, his commitment to the little ones and the start of a charity work that is now widespread in many countries.
The convent and “Mother House” of the Baptistine Sisters
Behind the Church of the Annunciation in Angri is the Convent of the Battistine Sisters, the heart of the congregation founded by Alfonso Maria Fusco together with Maddalena Caputo, later Mother Crocifissa, a young Angrese woman after whose memory the street where the convent stands is named, determined to consecrate her life to God. The meeting between the two made it possible to realize a project that had been maturing for some time: to offer shelter, education and support to the youngest and most fragile. With Magdalena and three companions they chose to start their community experience in a modest and almost dilapidated house, the so-called Scarcella house in the Ardinghi district. It was here, in 1878, that the “Little House of Providence,” a community dedicated to the reception and education of orphan girls, was born, which became the Mother House of the Baptist Institute of the Nazarene, later the Congregation of the Sisters of St. John the Baptist, in honor of the patron saint of Angri. The institute grew rapidly, becoming the spiritual and organizational center of a congregation now spread across five continents, dedicated to educational works, care for the elderly and sick, and parish ministry.
The Battistine complex is built around a cloister where several rooms overlook it, which also houses a kindergarten and elementary school. The cloister leads to the small chapel where the saint’s body, moved in 1928 and kept under the altar, is kept. The institute also houses a museum that provides an understanding of the development of Baptist work through Saint Fusco’s personal items, liturgical furnishings, documents, photographs and materials from the institute’s workshops. The ensemble of rooms renders the image of an ever-evolving home that has grown to meet the educational and welfare needs of the community. On display in the courtyard are a number of artworks donated to commemorate the figure of “Don Alfonso,” as he was called by the faithful, a sign of the cultural vitality revolving around the Motherhouse.
