’The Catechism will save society, without the catechism there is no salvation’: processes of secularization and Catholic educational practices in an Italian diocese (1905-1914)

Compulsory public education in Italy came into being almost simultaneously with the process of national unification. From the outset, the liberal ruling class was faced with the old-established educational tradition of the church, and historians of education have explored the process of the secularization of education. This article sheds light on how decisions of the hierarchy and the pope, especially during the early twentieth century, were translated into practical pastoral action, noteworthy in some cases for a surprising modernity in the means used. The article focuses on the dioceses of northern Italy and in particular that of Bergamo, a populous agricultural centre then undergoing rapid industrialization. Using diocesan archive materials and the press of the period, it focuses on new forms of pastoral work, particularly those directed at teaching the catechism by means of societies for children and young people, catechism competitions and slide shows. The results obtained using this approach challenge the perception of Catholicism as intransigent on this issue.