Entry 42: Your Daughter and Sister, Girolama - La Vostra Figlia e Sorella, Girolama

Location: Calabria

Date: 1957

Continuing the theme of Catholic sacraments …

Girolama’s father Salvatore, and her eldest brother Giovanni, had both been living and working in Western Australia for several years. Since 1951, her dad had relied on letters from Italy to hear the latest news about his family, catching only brief glimpses of his children through infrequent photographs that were occasionally enclosed in the envelope - like the the one below.

L to R: Girolama Moschilla, Giuseppina Moschilla, Teresina Valentino (1957)

Girolama enjoyed writing; she willingly filled the back of the photo with a brief message, but there wasn’t much space to include the extra things she would have liked to have said:

Giuseppina was going to receive her First Communion and the whole family was excited about the occasion, especially Giuseppina herself. After completing grade 5, she graduated from primary school, achieving an academic dux award called the ‘Borsa di Studio’, which included prize money. Concetta used some of these funds to reward her youngest daughter with a new, white dress.

On the day of the First Communion, Concetta and her seven children were well organised; they left home early, factoring in the forty-five minutes it would take to walk to the Santa Maria di Portosalvo parish. The dirt track into town passed by their neighbour’s house, and here they were greeted by the Valentino family - Cummari Teresina was going to join them and attend church too. Her brother Melu, keen to take a photograph, was also patiently waiting with his camera ready. After some quick preparations to set up the shot – moving to stand in front of the bamboo fence, positioning Giuseppina in the middle, Teresina handing her bag to Girolama to hold - the girls linked arms and faced the photographer. They stood still. Subtle smiles were set – and with a “click”, the off-centre photo was taken.

Conscious of not arriving late for mass, Concetta gathered her children and along with Cummari Teresina, resumed the journey towards the church.

Girolama's message written on the back of the photo