Figure 1.--Irish priest, John Patrick Carroll-Abbing founded the first Italian Boys' Town at Civitavecchia (near Rome) in 1945. It was called Boys' Republic. Here we see the boys in 1945 washing their dishes after lunch.

We do know that an Irish priest, John Patrick (1912-2001), founded Boys' Towns of Italy. Father Carroll-Abbing was born in Holdham (Ireland). As a young man he went to Rome in 1930 to study for priesthood. After becoming a priest he served in Italy. As a result of World war II, he saw the need to care for the many displaced and orphaned children. He was inspired by Edward Joseph Flanagan (1886-1948) in the United States who founded Boys' Town. Father Carroll-Abbing founded the first Italian Boys' Town at Civitavecchia (near Rome) in 1945. He took in both orphans and abandoned stree children. The Boys' Town of Civitavecchia was known as "Repubblica dei Ragazzi" (Boys' Republic). Boys studied and worked in the "Republic". Of course the problem of abandoned children did not just exist in Rome. The first Italian Boys' Town was followed by eight additional Boys' Towns during 1946-55.

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Created: 9:18 PM 10/20/2005
Last update: 9:18 PM 10/20/2005