Dear Brothers and Sisters,

I want to start my final monthly Il Leone article as Vice President of Northern California with a Huge “Grazie a Tutti.” For forty-one issues, I’ve sat at this desk and tried to put down in words things that I’ve thought were important to my fellow Italians, and all the eighteen Lodges in Northern California as well as their activities at the Lodges located from Klamath Falls, OR, to San Francisco, CA and then to Reno & Sparks, NV. I have attended 100th Year Lodge Anniversaries, Crab Feeds, Festa Primavera

As a lover of all that’s history, April brought a love of history to our lives and as we celebrated the day our lord rose from the Dead for the forgiveness of our sins, to losing his earthy leader of the catholic faith, just he next day. Well, we now have a new leader, the first American Pope, Pope Leo XIV

There have been 14 Popes named Leo in the history of the Catholic Church. Here is a list of them, in order, with brief details:

Pope Leo I (Leo the Great)-Papacy:

Roma Lodge celebrated its 95th Anniversary in May.  The lodge was established on May 25, 1930, at the Tulare Woman’s Club House with 115 charter members.  Now, 95 years later there

The date for the Humboldt Crabs Italian Heritage night has been set for Saturday July 26th at 7PM.  Please urge your Italian American friends and relatives to come to the baseball game wearing your Italian colors.  Tickets can be purchased in person at any time prior to the game at the Wildberries Market customer service window (top of the hill on G Street in Arcata) or online with your cell phone at:    crabstickets@gmail.com

     Weekly afternoon bocce

Spring Highlights from Petaluma Lodge

Spring has been a season of celebration, community, and connection for the Petaluma Sons and Daughters of Italy lodge. We were proud to represent our club at this year’s Petaluma Butter and Egg Days Parade, one of the town’s most cherished traditions. The streets were filled with festive energy, and our booth brought a slice of Italian joy to the heart of downtown.

Visitors of all ages stopped by to try their hand