Filippo 'Philippe' Grill

Filippo (Philippe) Grilli was born on 26 April 1861 in Prali, the Waldensian Valleys in Piemonte, the son of Jean Jacques and Susanna Peyrot, farmers, and brother of Waldensian pastor Giovanni Grilli (1865-1957).

After his secondary studies at the Latin School of Pomaretto and at the Waldensian College of Torre Pellice, he continued at the Waldensian Faculty of Theology in Florence, where he was taught by revivalist Paolo Geymonat.

After his conversion, the businessman Michele Nardi launched a wide ranging work of evangelization among Italians in the north east and mid west of the USA, especially in Chicago. He established a group, and appealed to Teofilo Gay -- who was touring the USA raising money for the Waldensian work in Italy. Visting Chicago, Gay was impressed with the churches which Nardi had commenced, and (having just rejoined the Waldensian church itself after an extensive period in the Methodist Episcopal Church in Italy) was in a position to help with his request for assistance. Nardi asked if the Italian work could send to Italy 'a young man full of the Holy Ghost', to which Gay replied that there was such a person (Filippo Grill) who had been in United States, and who would be capable of returning to take over the work. Grill was consecrated pastor on 7 September 1891. The Presbyterian Church (particularly the generous Henry Willing of the Fourth Presbyterian Church, with which Gay was no doubt working in terms of his own fundraising) offered to pay the salary of a minister for the Italian congregation. The location was found on West Ohio St, and Filippo Grill took over, with Nardi returning to evangelistic work, including the foundation of a third Italian Chicago mission in 1891. The Italian Presbyterian Church therefore became organised under Grill. Italian Presbyterian Church made up of several families from Prali and Italians from various backgrounds, including members of the Cereghino family. In 1892 he was placed by the Synod under the supervision of the Evangelization Committee. The superintendent of the Sunday school was Rosina Balzano, who was the wife of Luigi Francescon. For some time the Grillis and the Francescons would be near neighbours in Chicago's West Town. [1900 Census]

Grill formally affiliated Nardi's foundation with the Presbyterian Church. His First Italian Presbyterian Church, Chicago, meeting since late 1891, was formally constituted in April 1892 with about sixty members, over which Grill caused to be elected three elders and two deacons - including Francescon. By 1893 the community had 117 members and, within four years, despite many difficulties, bought land at 148 of West Taylor Street on which to build.

On 5 Aug 1895, Grilli married Albertina Bengston (aka 'Benson' in the USA) (b. 17 Mar 1866, Sweden, d. 1929, Chicago), with whom he would have five children (Giovanni, b. 1 May 1896; Caterina Susanna, b. 24 July 1897; Emma Maria Letizia, b. 11 Jan 1900-1978; Francesco 'Franz' Valdo, b. 18 Sept 1901; Carlotta 'Charlotte' Margherita, 20 Jan 1905-1986). Albertina 'Albertine' had arrived in the USA with her family in 1881.

Grilli was respected as a “pious and devout man”, active evangelistically, but struggling with the constant contestation of their efforts by Catholics and a congregation which was a self-tutored and occasionally turbulent. His active evangelism, for instance, made the church attractive to a 'methodist' group which had formed around the evangelism of Giuseppe Beretta. As Paul Palma notes, "This congregation of migrant Italians thereafter consistent of two distinct groups: one Reformed arm, the Waldensian-Presbyterians; and the other, Wesleyan, the converts of Beretta." On his return from an absence in 1903, he found that the superintending elders (Francescon and Giuseppe Beretta) had jettisoned Waldensian/ Presbyterian forms for darbyite-like spontaneous prayer meetings, which they claimed were more apostolic and biblical. In 1906, another former elder Giovanni Cereghino, separated out to form new congregation commonly referred to (due to the origins of many of the members) as the Chiesa dei Toscani (the "Church of the Tuscans"). Grill attempted to pour oil on troubled waters by permitting them the use of the West Taylor Street venue, but the baptistic and primitivist tendencies of many of his congregation members were too strong to be held within paedobaptist and traditional forms. These splits would prove foundational for the emergence of Italian pentecostalism.

In 1913 Grilli retired to private life. Albertina died in 1929. Filippo died in Chicago on 13 April 1939. They were buried together in the Rosehill Cemetery, Chicago.

Sources:

Ballesio, Gabriella, 'Filippo Grill', Dizionario Biografico dei Protestanti in Italia, online (accessed 30 August 2022).

Griglio, P., 'Filippo Grilli', La Luce, n. 20, 17 May 1939

Hutchinson, Mark, 'Nardi, Michele' [q.v.]

Erutti, Leonard, The Life and Mission of Peter Ottolini. St. Louis, 1963.

Tourn N., I valdesi in America, Turin, Unione tipografica, 1906.