Antonio Demo
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Father Antonio Demo (born on April 23, 1870 in Lazzaretto di Bassano, Italy - 1936 in New York City) was a New York City priest and civic activist. He studied at seminaries in Italy and emigrated to the United States in 1896. He initially did missionary work in Boston and then served as assistant pastor of Our Lady of Pompei Church on Bleecker and Carmine Streets in Manhattan. In 1900 he was appointed as apastor of the church, which served what was then a largely Italian-American community.
In 1923 Father Demo learned that the church would have to be demolished to allow extension of the Sixth Avenue. Father Demo organized a campaign to buy another property and to build a new church, rectory, and parochial school. The new church opened in 1928.
In 1935 Father Demo became Pompei's pastor emeritus and superintendent of its parochial school. He died in 1936 in New York, and thousands of parishioners and friends, including Mayor Fiorello La Guardia, paid their respects.
In 1941, the intersection of Bleecker Street and Sixth Avenue was named Father Demo Square.[1]
Father Demo square is more than NYC's only true piazza. It's a place I like to call home. You see, I live just around the corner from Ole Deems. Today I had a lovely lunch in the square next to a black man wearing leather pants. Try doing that in Central Park. For an authentic NYC experience, spend a few minutes in Father Demo plaza. And don't thank me. Thank the Father.
