In the early 1900’s there were many Catholic churches in Fort Wayne to serve different nationalities in the city, but none for the Italian people. That led to a language barrier that precluded the people of Italian descent from going to confession and receiving the Sacraments. In 1913, Mr. Loreto Starace, a lawyer and lay apostle, appealed to Bishop Herman J. Alerding, who promptly appointed Father Loreto Monastero to the task of starting an Italian Catholic Church.