Fioravanti Consoli

Fioravante Consoli was born on 4 July 1899 in Sacco (Salerno), a small town in Campania located on one of the hills of the upper valley of the Ripiti stream, in the Cilento. He was the third child of a modest family of farmers (Francesco Consoli, b. 1867, and Giuseppa D'Andrea). He attended a local elementary school -- with interruptions due to being required to work on the family farm during the difficult economic circumstances--and from an early age he distinguished himself for his resolute character. At the age of 10 he began to attend evening school, until in 1909, together with 9 other students out of a total of 22, he obtained the longed-for "third grade".

As one of the "boys of '99" he was called up for duty in the First World War. He joined up with the 94th infantry regiment, destined for Schio, Trentino, in the rear of the Austrian front. Toppi records that "While he was going to the front, his first connection with the evangelical faith took place, in fact on the train there was a man who was distributing New Testaments and he, driven by curiosity, wanted a copy" (Toppi, 1990). He was present at the defeat of Caporetto and the subsequent change of military leadership that led to the rise of General Diaz and the subsequent desperate resistance of the Italian soldiers on the Piave. In October 1918, with the Austrian army now in retreat, Consoli was among the first units to cross the border and enter enemy territory between Vittorio Veneto and San Donato del Piave. During the violent industrial turmoil of La Settimana Rossa ("Red Week"), his unit was drafted for the maintenance of public order in Rome. He spent the last year of his military service in Basilicata where he began to attend evangelical churches, probably Baptist, and to become passionate about the things of God. In fact, already in 1917, intrigued by the cry of a street vendor: "the book against priests", Consoli had come into contact with the Scriptures, buying a copy of the “New Testament” for £ 0.50. Later, during his period in Rome, he found himself one day walking among the stalls of Porta Portese, he bought for £ 1.60 an entire copy of the Word of God, The Bible, which "was for me a treasure that I read carefully without ever getting tired" (Consoli F. "My Memories" part 1, in Evangelici ADI Torre del Greco).

Toppi suggests that this bible was probably the second edition of Giovanni Luzzi's New Testament, published in Florence in 1914 by the “Società Fides et Amor”. Thousands of copies were sent by the Waldensian and other Protestant churches to the Italian newspapers, proposing that they would "add a New Testament to any periodical that was sent 'free' to the front, (...). More than 4000 copies had already begun to circulate through these means". A special edition for the military was prepared, elegantly bound, flexible, with the dedication on the front: 'To our soldiers of land and sea'. This publishing run of 3000 copies "sold like hot cakes "(2). Consoli had had a deep interest in reading since childhood (something not that common in the South, where there were high levels of illiteracy), a passion that he continued to cultivate until the last days of his life.

Reading the Bible created in him a desire to learn more. His search continued, but it was not until 1920 that, in Potenza, Basilicata, he "for the first time attended an evangelical meeting. Then moving to Matera, he attended a Baptist Church "(4).

The reasons for his transfer to Basilicata are not known, but it most likely related to work. After the 1915-1918 War there was a period of great unemployment and economic depression, even more serious than that which had always existed in the South. Many young people who had returned from the war needed to move, looking for employment. This was how Consoli first came into contact first with the Gospel, and then, again in Matera, with the Pentecostal community.

This had recently moved from the so-called Chiesa del Muro (the 'church of the Wall), a "dwelling" in the "Sasso Caveoso" made available by a believer who had emigrated to the United States, to a room purchased with great sacrifice by local and foreign members, located in "Sasso Baresano" and later known as "The Church of the Parrot", because it was located under a commercial aviary that specialized in selling parrots. Here the Pentecostal community of Matera, established as early as 1913, developed a structure and appointed two elders: Antonio Plasmati and Alessio Festa. Fioravante Consoli got his understanding of the Gospel from Alessio Festa, who also carried out an extensive work of evangelization in the province of Matera and in practice, after the stagnation of the period of persecution (1935-44), would continue his activity taking care of the community of Pisticci and diaspora, until shortly before his death in 1959. It was while listening to a sermon on Psalm 115 against idols, that "the Lord confirmed in his heart that that message was the truth". (Consoli F. "My Memories" part 1, in Evangelici ADI Torre del Greco)

When "Alessio Festa spoke to him about a living and true Jesus who could save his soul, for the first time [Consoli] felt something in his heart ... This humble servant of the Lord ... remained in contact with Consoli and was invited to go in Sacco to speak to others ... the Lord used him and a small group was formed "(5).

Consoli's home town of Sacco was the first centre in Campania where the Pentecostal message took root. It was not until 1923 that the communities of Ogliara di Salerno and Ercole di Caserta were established. The nascent Pentecostal community of Sacco was initially visited by both Festa, and Ettore Strappaveccia and Angelina Paretti from Rome, and some others who came to encourage believers in the faith. "One particular evening and precisely on 26 June 1921, the Lord poured out a special blessing on the small group by baptizing several with the Holy Spirit, including the same brother Consoli and one of his sisters named Grace" (6). This 'reviving' took place in the context of rigorous opposition from local Catholics, particularly "the priests who excommunicated and tore up the Bibles". (Consoli F. "My Memories" part 1, in Evangelici ADI Torre del Greco)

With this empowerment, Fioravante, who from the beginning had taken care of the group, officially became its overseer, manifesting a ministry of the Word suitable for the edification of the believers. Unfortunately, the economic conditions of the area were dire, and like so many others Consoli was forced to leave Sacco. In 1921 he obtained leave from work, returned to Sacco and was married to Teresa Accetta, who would become his lifelong partner in ministry and family. In "July 1923 he emigrated to the United States for work reasons, but this experience also contributed to his spiritual growth" (7).

Sailing from Napoli on the SS America, on 20 July 1923, Fioravante and his older brother Alessandro arrived on 1 August, listing themselves as labourers. In the five years of his stay in the United States, Consoli pursued both secular and spiritual activities, drawing advice and guidance from the more experienced leaders of the Chicago Assemblea Cristiana (where he attended), such as Luigi Francescon and Giacomo Lombardi. He returned to Italy in April 1928, finding that the Sacco community had increased in number and progressed spiritually. Two years later, again for work reasons, he was forced to move with his family to Casagiove, a town a few kilometres from Caserta, leaving Domenico Monaco as overseer in the community of Sacco. He continued to take care of believers until after World War II, when in practice the community of Sacco was affected by a vast movement of emigration to a very small number of believers. The majority of members, including Monaco in 1967, moved to Piedimonte Matese (Caserta), where they set up a community cared for for many years by Monaco himself.

In Casagiove di Caserta, Consoli began evangelistic work, founding a group which in following years was integrated with the community of Caserta. After the transfer of Aurelio Pagano to Naples, Consoli became its pastor. The result of this extensive work was that Consoli in later years was considered the "founder" of communities at Cardito, Caivano, Castel di Sasso, S. Maria a Vico, Afragola, Casoria, Frattamaggiore, Marcianise, and Riardo.

In that period and throughout the time of the persecution (1935-1944), the Consoli family kept their home open to all passing believers and also hosted for long periods, regardless of repression by the fascist police, as many as they could, seeking to support the community's members and lead its clandestine meetings. Teresa Nigido, a deaconess of the Community of Rome, repeatedly visited to encourage and assist the community.

In the immediate postwar period, Consoli understood the need to attach his poor, scattered churches to an organizational structure which would give them access to aid. He was elected to the Comitato Missionario Ricostruzione ed Assistenza per l’Italia Centro-Meridionale (the Missionary Reconstruction and Assistance Committee for Central and Southern Italy). Out of this emerged a constitution which resulted in the Assemblee di Dio in Italia (ADI, or the "Assemblies of God in Italy"), a recognition of "the urgent need to regularize the legal position" of the Pentecostal Movement.

In 1947 Consoli was reconfirmed in his position as a member of the ADI's Zone Committee of central-southern Italy and thus continuously re-elected until in 1954 when, "given the considerable number of communities in Campania and the need for more effective collaboration in the unity of the Spirit", the constitution of a regional council was decided. This would later become the Campania Area Committee. Fioravante Consoli, despite the commitments in these wider church bodies - he remained in the Committee until 1961 - carried out his ministry reorganizing the Community of Caserta. It was due to his vision and interest that a place of worship was purchased in 1968 on Corso Trieste, the most prominent street in the city. His ministry of building churches and groups in the area kept him very busy, alongside which he continued to maintain the work of evangelization, particularly in the province of Caserta.

One of his missions, which had national and international resonance, was the evangelistic work carried out in Riardo (Caserta) where a brother Rozzi, coming from the Italian Pentecostal church of New Castle, PA. (USA), had returned after many years to evangelize relatives and friends. A small group of evangelical sympathizers was formed. Consoli stepped in to help, only to encounter opposition from the police, who continued to enforce the Fascist era regulation encapsulated in the circolare Buffarini Guidi (issued 9 April 1935). Consoli was first warned by the police, and then the local community's meeting place was closed down. On 7 November 1952, while Consoli presided over a meeting in Antonio Masiello's house out in the countryside, he and eight other people present were arrested and reported to the judicial authorities.

On 23 January 1953, Consoli and the other eight defendants appeared before the Pretore di Teano [the local magistrate's court at Teano], defended by Protestant lawyer, Giacomo Rosapepe. The magistrate acquitted them all because the facts related in the charges did not constitute a crime. The Public Prosecutor appealed the judicial decision to the Court of Cassation [the supreme court of appeal in Italy at the time] claiming that the rules on 'admitted cults of the 1929-30 law' still had to be considered valid and therefore police authorization was required for religious meetings, including private ones.

It became a test of the new Constitution, and the adequacy of the hangover laws from the Fascist regime which were still being used in local settings to oppress Pentecostals and other non-majority religious communities. Both the defense attorney and the magistrate rightly believed that the Article 19 of the Republican Constitution, which explicitly guaranteed freedom of worship, had automatically abrogated any previous provision. The appeal went to the Supreme Court of Cassation and was discussed on 3 November 1953. The judges of the Supreme College, rejecting the appeal of the Public Prosecutors office, confirmed the decision of the Praetor of Teano.

It was a decision with national and enduring impact. A decision of the Supreme Court in Italy had the force of law, a fact that for the first time saw significant attention in the Italian media as to the consequences for religious freedom. In Toppi's words, 'Brother Consoli was unknowingly the tool that God used to unhinge a wall of abuses that had hit the movement despite the guarantees of the Constitution of the Republic.'

A little known fact became apparent at the end of the trial. One of the judges of the Court of Cassation approached Fioravante Consoli and told him that he had pleaded the cause of the Pentecostals, not only for a reason of justice, but also because he had been nursed as a child by a Pentecostal believer who was a maid in his family home. She had basically raised him and had been with the family until her death. The judge then concluded by saying, "If all Pentecostals are like her, they must have the freedom to worship God according to their conscience, as I have never known a more honest, more lovable, more patient person than her." Though this woman's name is unknown to this day, the story became symbolic to Pentecostals of their power as the 'leaven in the lump' of Italian society. Here was a humble woman carrying out an important but overlooked task known only to God: her humble and faithful Christian witness would one day affect the freedom of all non-Catholic believers in Italy.

In 1952, his brother Consoli collaborated with the Iannelli brothers, who, after accepting the Gospel in America, also returned to their hometown, Sant’Andrea del Pizzone (Caserta), and cared for that small community for years. In the 1970s Consoli also took an interest in the situation of young African Christians living in Caserta, some of whom were enrolled in the Army NCO School. Among other things, he organized special worship meetings in the church of Caserta.

As he aged, with his strength failing him, Consoli asked to be replaced in the leadership of the Community of Caserta, which he had led in the midst of a range difficulties for about half a century, always insisting on sound doctrine and in the practical consistency of testimony of the gospel. What was seen by some as inflexibility, and by others as 'frankness and resoluteness' (Toppi), sometimes caused him to become unpopular, but in the midst of this Consoli "remained calm, always demonstrating that there can be no love without truth". (Toppi) Increasingly his infirmity meant he had to be accompanied by family members to gatherings, which he enjoyed as evidence of the fact that "the seed often scattered amidst tears and suffering, at the right time, had produced abundant fruit for the glory of Christ." (Toppi) He was among the last the pentecostal founding generation to die, passing away on 17 February 1987.

He left behind a family active in the faith, many of whom were in full time ministry. At the time of writing, the pastor of the church in Caserta was Consoli's nephew, Silvano Masullo.

Sources:

Ancestry.com

Evangelici ADI Torre del Greco. Consoli Fioravanti (1899-1987), http://www.evangeliciaditorredelgreco.it/wp/i-pionieri/consoli-fioravanti/, accessed 26 Feb 2022.

Luzzi, G., Dall’alba al tramonto (Firenze: Società “Fides et Amor” editrice, 1934), p. 95.

Toppi, F., 'Fioravante Consoli', Cristiani Oggi no. 5 (1990).

Toppi, F., Intervista a Udia Consoli Masullo, Casoria (Na) 1990, Arch.ADI Prot.n. 16502;

Rinaldi, G., 'Italian Pentecostalism in Italy in the post War period, Part 1: From the origins to 1955', in M. Hutchinson and M. Benedetti, Brill Global History of Italian Protestantism, vol. 2, Leiden: Brill, (forthcoming)