Roseto Borough encourages you to submit your historical facts and photos to help us accurately archive the past and capture current events. Please e-mail your submissions to info@rosetoborough.org or mail us at Post Office Box 361, Roseto, PA 18013.

We apologize in advance if any historical statements are not completely accurate and we ask for your patience as we research and update this site.

Information obtained from:
HISTORY OF ROSETO, PA. By Ralph Basso
THE TWO ROSETOS By Carla Bianco
THE POWER OF CLAN By Stewart Wolf and John G. Bruhn
THE ROSETO STORY By John G. Bruhn and Stewart Wolf
BOROUGH OF ROSETO 75TH Diamond Jubilee Book
DON’T FORGET TO READ “QUEEN OF THE BIG TIME”
by ADRIANA TRIGIANI
And “ROSETANS” by Ann Marie Ruggiero

Father Pasquale Denisco

1st Catholic Church
The only Catholic Church was in Easton and a petition for a mission church was not approved until 1896. A majority of the Rosetans was of the Catholic faith and they felt a need for their own church, so in 1893 the church members built a church of wood.

Current Catholic Church
In 1923 they built the stone church in its present location.

Father Denisco
In 1897 Roseto had its first permanent resident Catholic priest, Father Pasquale De Nisco. He was responsible for instructing and preparing for citizenship hundreds of people, both Catholic and Protestant. He was convinced that Roseto could not progress without an educated citizenry and urged parents to send their children to school. He was the force behind Roseto’s becoming an independent borough. A protector of workers’ rights, he organized a branch of the American Federation of Labor. Through the strike directed by the Catholic priest, the daily pay rose from $.85 to $1.50. Father DeNisco was a strong leader, not just a spiritual leader but a leader who directed all the activities of Roseto and pushed Roseto into the future. When he died in 1911 Catholics and Protestants, as well as many prominent officers of Northampton County attended his funeral.
 

Procession

The highlight of each year is the civil and religious celebration held by Our Lady of Mt Carmel Catholic Church. The tradition of the celebration was a carry-over from Roseto Valfortore in Italy.

 
In July of 1895 Rosetans held their first spiritual celebration to honor the Blessed Mother of Jesus. The "Big Time" attracted people from as far as Canada and many relatives and friends came to take part in the celebration. The carnival grounds were filled with sideshows, rides, high-wire trapeze acts, a man shot out of a cannon and ended with a big display of fireworks. Italian foods were sold in large quantities and the celebration garnered large amounts of money to support Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Catholic Church. Since then it has become a 3-day civil festival known as "The Big Time," a 2-day spiritual celebration with a Saturday night crowning of the festival queen and a parade down Garibaldi Avenue, culminating with the crowning of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel and a religious procession Sunday afternoon in her honor. All the proceeds now benefit Our Lady of Mt. Carmel elementary school.

New Kingdom Hall

Kingdom Hall
The Jehovah’s Witnesses, discontented Presbyterians who converted to the Jehovah’s Witnesses religion, built the Kingdom Hall on Garibaldi Avenue in 1926, and the religious teaching was promoted by their leaders Donato Tedesco, Domenico Finelli, and Pasquale Ninno. They were members of the Presbyterian Church who decided to change their spiritual beliefs. The original building on Garibaldi Avenue has been converted to a residence.

New Kingdom Hall
A new and larger Kingdom Hall is located on Rt. 512 in Washington Township