 At this time , the priests who were part of St. Peter were doing the best they could to keep the faith alive in their congregation . The priests were smart men who had attended school in Italy prior to their immigration , but most were unable to speak fluent English . At a time when immigrants were desperately trying to fit into the American life and be as American as possible , going to a church where the congregation was Italian was not the most desirable choice . Therefore , many Catholic Italians began going to churches and many others changed their religion altogether . Many of these Italians were becoming Protestant . The priests were poorly paid and most lived on about twenty @-@ five cents per day . They had no permanent housing : many slept in the church itself , and preferred the altar floor because it was the only place in the church that had carpeting . It was also common for the priests to say Mass several churches on the same day . These circuits trips were sometimes as much as twenty @-@ five miles away . 
