1 Hi! My name is Pat La Manna! Thank you for taking your time to read my interpretation of “Faith, Love and Hope”, which has given me a joyful and peaceful life. Briefly, the following is the beginning of my life story!! I was born in Italy on 10 June 1932, to Vincenzo and Angela La Manna. My father and mother were humble people, whose priority was to provide food for the family. My parents and grandparents were small farmers, growing food crops for consumption by the family, but too small for commercial purposes. In our village, only a few people owned huge acreages of land, which they leased to other farmers. At harvest time, the products were divided 50% to each. Because there was no irrigation or pesticide control, most years the crops would fail to produce sufficient quality and quantity. As a result, there was a continuous problem of providing sufficient food. My father was a very practical man – a natural provider. He could see there was little potential to provide a better future for his family, so he decided to emigrate to Australia to look for opportunities. He made three trips - the first in 1922, leaving my mother and my brother behind, and the last in 1936, leaving my mother and four children. I was then four years of age. A short time later, the Second World War began. As a result, we lost contact for five years, during which time there was no financial assistance, or any other kind of help. The war was around us, and my native village was bombarded at 3 am on 23 May 1943. Eleven bombs were dropped over the village, where three thousand people resided. It was the weekend for the yearly celebration of St Pasquale, the Patron Saint of the village named Bellantone. Huge numbers of homes were destroyed but, fortunately, no one was hurt or killed. It was truly a miracle! I was eleven years of age, but I will never forget the frightening experience!