La Piana, George, 1879-1971

Catholic priest, professor of church history. Born in Italy. Ordained priest, 1900. Ph.D. University of Palermo, 1912. Came to United States in 1913. Began teaching at Harvard Divinity School in 1916. Morison Professor of Church History, Harvard Divinity School (1926-1948). La Piana was a leading figure in the modernist controversy in the Roman Catholic Church in the early 20th century.

From the description of Papers, 1878-1972 (inclusive). (Harvard University, Divinity School Library). WorldCat record id: 269367988

George La Piana (1878-1971) was born in Italy, and was ordained to the Catholic priesthood in 1900. He graduated from the Theological School of Monreale in 1900, the University of Geneva in 1908, and the University of Palermo in 1912. He emigrated to the United States in 1914, and joined the faculty of Harvard Divinity School in 1916 where he was the John H. Morison Professor of Church History from 1926 to 1948. He was a leading figure in the modernist controversy in the Catholic Church during the early twentieth century. His publications include a study of Byzantine liturgical theater, La Rappresentazion Sacre nella Letteratura Bizantine (1912); The Church of Rome at the End of the Second Century (1925); The Immigrant Groups in Rome During the First Three Centuries of the Empire (1927); and A Totalitarian Church in a Democratic State: The American Experience (1949).

From the guide to the Papers, 1878-1972., (Andover-Harvard Theological Library, Harvard Divinity School)