Two gatherings this May in Italy — one in the shadow of the Rome Italy Temple and the other in Verona — highlighted Latter-day Saints’ and local communities’ commitment to family history as a spiritual, emotional and unifying pursuit.
From expert-led seminars to missionary reflections, participants in both the National Conference of FamilySearch Service Missionaries and the public event “Family History Research in the Digital Age — Explore the Past with a Click" explored how genealogy is far more than names and dates; it’s about memory, belonging and faith.
42,000 hours of service
The service missionary conference May 12-16 brought together 72 volunteers from across Italy who have collectively devoted over 42,000 hours from April 2024 to May 2025 to helping others discover their roots.
They index documents, translate records, support users online and assist visitors in FamilySearch Centers — all in the spirit of connection and service, reported the Church’s Italy Newsroom.
Family history research in the digital age
A week after the Rome conference, the Church hosted a public genealogy event in Verona. Drawing speakers and attendees from five Italian regions, the May 24 gathering showed how digital tools are transforming the way families connect with their past.
Professors and archivists shared tools, such as the Cisei Online Archive and the Ancestors Portal, and demonstrated how FamilySearch software can help people build and manage their family trees, reported the Church’s Italy Newsroom.
Ezio Resinelli, a speaker at the event said, “It is not enough to just have the name, we want to honor our ancestors, strengthen the spiritual bonds and leave a spiritual legacy.”
For Resinelli, genealogy is not simply historical research — it’s sacred work.
“FamilySearch is your container of family history as well as genealogical data and research,” he said, adding: “It’s not just research. Family history is something that touches us inside.”
Matteo Borelli, professor of genealogy and family history at the University of Bologna, offered interfaith insights during his remarks: “Genealogy is actually a very important foundation for the three great monotheistic religions: Christians, Jews and Muslims. In reality, it is a great union between religions.”
In a world often divided by belief, family history, he said, has the power to unite.
The psychology of belonging
Cristian Mannino, country experience manager for FamilySearch, closed the Verona event by framing genealogy as not just an academic or religious exercise, but an emotional one.
“When we talk about genealogy, family history, we are actually also talking about the psychology of belonging and important connections that lead and help us to have a greater psycho-emotional balance,” Mannino said.
He explained that in an age of isolation and disconnection, the act of learning where one is from — and honoring those who came before — can help one feel whole again.
“Family history belongs to all of us,” Mannino emphasized. “It is about acting as a neighbor within our family history. So not about asking ourselves who is a neighbor, but about acting as a neighbor, as the good Samaritan did within our family history.”
He urged individuals to keep their own personal history.
“Each of us is a unique and unrepeatable being who has a story that deserves to be preserved and told,” he said.
A story of resilience and survival
At one session, a guest recounted how war had decimated their house — along with their photo albums and scrapbooks. But because they had uploaded stories and images to FamilySearch, those memories survived.
“Family history is a story of resilience and a story of survival,” Mannino said. “Let’s preserve our memories.”
From scanning records in local archives to mentoring newcomers in digital platforms, their efforts are preserving not only documents — but dignity and identity.
Mannino said that it is a vital work, connecting generations and drawing people closer to God and one another.
Mannino invited, “Let’s preserve our memories.”
