Louisa Angelina Santospirito

Louisa Angelina Santospirito (née Virgona; ), known affectionately as Lena, was an Australian community worker who aided Italian immigrants in Australia during and after World War II. She served for fifteen years as president of the archbishop's committee, established by Melbourne Archbishop Daniel Mannix after Australia began interning Italian civilians in World War II. She was awarded the Star of Italian Solidarity in 1953.

Biography Louisa Angelina Virgona, known by the nickname Lena, was born on 4 April 1895 in Ballarat, Victoria. Her parents, Bartolo and Barolina Virgona, were Italian immigrants who had come to Australia from the town of Malfa, located on the island of Salina, in the Aeolian Islands. Her father Bartolo, arrived in 1890, establishing a business as a green grocer. His wife, Bartolina, and their eldest child Vincent arrived in 1892. Together, Antonio and Lena had three children: Gerard, Maria and Antonio.

As a volunteer, Lena worked closely with Father De Francesco

Assisting Italian immigrants By the time of Santospirito's birth, there were about 1500 Italians living in Victoria, Australia, many of whom had been lured by the discovery of gold. While quotas had been set in 1928 to limit the number of Italians who could enter the country, immigration continued throughout the early years of the 20th century.

In 1940, after entering World War II, the Australian government began interning Italian-born civilians who were not naturalized. In response, Archbishop Daniel Mannix established an archbishop's committee to serve the needs of Italians in the camps. The committee also provided relief for Italian prisoners of war being held in Australia. Santospirito was appointed president of the committee, and would serve in this role for the next fifteen years. She personally sponsored many individuals seeking to enter the country. Many of these new arrivals had been assisted by Lena Santospirito personally or benefitted from her charitable work.

Awards and recognition The Italian government awarded Santospirito the Italian Star of Solidarity on 31 July 1953.