Holy Rosary
Catholic Church

Served by the Scalabrinian
missionaries since 1890

911 E. Missouri Avenue, Kansas City, Missouri

<< The Founding and Early Years of the Parish || The 1920's to the 1940's || Fr. Donanzan's Successors >>

(This material originally appeared in 1991 in the 100th Anniversary of Holy Rosary Parish booklet. The article was researched and written by Angelo Bongino.)

The 1920's to the 1940's

Fr. Santipolo would have marveled at the ways Fr. Luigi Franchinotti brought the parish out of the pioneering times into modern times during his pastorship, 1921—1942. Fr. Luigi, a former chaplain in the Italian army, 1916—1919, led the parish through precarious times—the Depression, Prohibition and the Pendergast era.

Fr. Franchinotti was to return to Holy Rosary in the summer of 1960 for the Golden Anniversary of the priesthood. Bishop John P. Cody officiated the event. Old-times who attended that event would remember that Father's Silver Anniversary as a priest was also celebrated at the church on May 23, 1935. The late Bishop Lillis and twenty-five other priests from the Diocese took part. A sermon in both English and Italian was presented by Fr. Phillip Farrell.

Fr. Franchinotti began his years of service to Holy Rosary by building a large basement auditorium under the school, installing a central heating plant in the church facilities and redecorating the rectory. He established the Italian Choral Club in conjunction with the Kansas City conservatory of Music. He was the inspiration for Joe LaBella I in forming the Intersocial Committee of St. Francis of Assisi in 1926 on the 700th anniversary of the Saint's birth. The club soon began a fund raiser that netted the church a $6,500 organ. Fr. Luigi found the Holy Name Society. During his time the Rosary Club came about and so did the parish's first Boy and Girl Scout troops. The number of lodges peaked during that period as well. But the church was now old, the parish without a multi-purpose youth center and a fresh spirit for a new era was needed. That came in the person of Fr. Luigi Donanzan.

Holy Rosary Church celebrates its Golden Jubilee

Fr. Santipolo could not have envisioned the Golden Jubilee celebration for the church that he founded. It took place on Sunday, October 25, 1942. Pontifical Mass was celebrated at 11:00 a.m. by His Excellency, Edwin V. O'Hara, Bishop of Kansas City. As 2:00 p.m. a solemn outdoor procession with the statue of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary took place through neighborhood streets. At 4:00 p.m. the laying of the cornerstone of the new school addition, plus the rededication of the school and renovated rectory occured. That evening a ceremonial dinner was held at the continental Hotel with guest, Bishop O'Hara, city mayor John B. Gage and other church and city dignitaries. Significantly, that year ushered in the changing of the parish guard. Fr. Franchinotti left that year and Fr. Luigi Donanzan became the pastor after being his associate for about two years. Organizing, building remodeling, fund raising and the propagation of a grass-roots spiritualism form the children to the oldest churchgoer were among Fr. Donanzan's strengths.

He and his assistant, Fr. Giulio Gragnani, were indeed a dynamic duo for the times. Fr. Donanzan as the rallying force behind the construction of the Don Bocso Center. By the time he left the parish in 1947, half exhausted from his duties, he had seen to it that the church had a new interior, a new altar, a new facade and a new baptistery. He purchased a home nearby and turned it into a convent for the Sisters of St. Joseph, teachers at the school. And he was instrumental in founding the Holy Rosary Credit Union in 1943.

One of Fr. Donanzan's dreams for the parish failed. Head envisioned a sub-division of the moderately priced new homes for parishioners where the Guinotte Manor project now stands. The Holy Rosary Plaza, as it was designated, made it to the drawing board. Parishioners had already selected lots but obstinate local resistance turned the dream into a colossal failure. Except in the memories of scores of parishioners, that dream has vanished, forever.

Fr. Donanzan was a spirited fund-raiser. He sought and received many donations for his projects. One of the key sources for funds was the annual summer carnival that he instituted in 1941. It was held on the school playground, south of the school, which was once a hill of clay. Father saw to it that it was turned into a viable multi-purpose lot.

Carnivals featured games and rides for children and games of chance for adults. Sausage and hot dogs were charcoled and sold on the spot. Pizza and beer were sold, too. Spaghetti dinners were served in the open-air Venetian Gardens on the east side of the site. Thousands gathered for the the two-week event and mingled with old friends, while Italian music serenaded them from the sound system.

A notable feature was the raffling of a new car in the post-war years. A key ingredient to the whole show was the popularity. contest on the final night of each affair. Young boys and girls vied for the titles. Dressed in royal garb, they were crowned accordingly. Queen of the first carnival in 1941 was Miss Liboria Moscato, sister Fr. Angelo Moscato. Junior queen was Joan Distefano, and the king, Savaltor Sorrentino.

Fr. Donanzan was indeed a war-time pastor, having spanned the whole of World War II. He was chaplain to Italian POWs held near the city. He spoke on Americanism on local radio on behalf of the Department of Justice, and at one time had his own radio program, "The Italian Catholic Hour", on local radio as well. he saw to it that a marble memorial with the names of the parish war dead was put up on the east wall to the rear of the church where it still stands.

The first parishioner killed in the line of duty during that conflict was Joseph Gurera in an artillery explosion at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, December 30, 1941. He was buried from Holy Rosary on January 6, 1942.

VJ Day in the Parish

What had to have been the largest public display of joy in Kansas City on VJ Day, August 12, 1945, took place Fr. Donanzan's parish. Joe and Al LaSala brought the news to Father. he started a Mass of thanksgiving at 4:30 a.m. The church bells rang the whole morning. Frank Lava then led a group around the neighborhood, gathering marchers as they went. Some came out in hair curlers, banging pot lids with wooden ladles to the beat of the Don Bosco Swing Band. Marchers paraded to the Kansas City Star building for verification of the historic news. Some went on the Liberty Memorial to celebrate. Later, 300 of them gathered at the church in tome to pose for a Star photographer for the evening edition.

Such was communal spirit Fr. Donanzan left behind. It was the basis for a golden era that would last for three decades. In the hands of several successors, the beat lived on.