Dear Parishoners,

St. Anthony’s has always stood proud as a neighborhood church, - a church which mirrored and housed a people of faith – the Catholic Faithful. These witnesses of Jesus Christ built a small wooden church in the midst and shadow of their homes. As the neighborhood expanded, so did their church. No longer able to sustain the growing families, a new structure arose...a structure of stone and glass, of souls in hope for love of God...a people who lovingly provided a school, sodalities,and fraternities, a people who gave sons and daughters to the priesthood and convents, a people who invested time, talent and treasure to lift up the neighborhood church with all they
had and who they were.

We are the beneficiaries, we have inherited their places, we kneel at their pews, we are inspired by the work of their hands that have carved images for contemplation, for aiding our spiritual growth, for the celebration of our rituals that have changed and yet forever remain the same.

The day has arrived however that this proud and beautiful place has reached an age in which the legacy needs us. We who have inherited now must rebuild, renew and assist in maintenance to again solidify this holy place for the next generation. We feel the absence of our Tower, we see the wear of kneelers worn by generations of prayer, we hear the fragility in sound from an organ that needs renewal and from the ill-balanced heating system that has us wonder how long
it can provide.

It’s time…a time for renewal, yes – but more – a time we hear the call of being needed in a special way. A time to say Yes, I am a Believer – a time for upgrades and a time for repairing and rebuilding. How? It can only come from you. You and I must recommit ourselves in a campaign that will solidify our church for the future…a future unborn but by God’s providence evolving and growing…by God’s grace a place stilled in love and song, in Sacred Scripture and Sacraments…a place that will forever be St. Anthony of Padua Church.

To that end, I invite you to learn about our needs for the future, so that our church and community can remain the beacon of hope in Jesus Christ.

Sincerely,

St. Anthony of Padua church in 1903, at its permanent location at Belmont and Silver Streets. The parish hall in the basement became the first St. Anthony School in 1904. Click here for more early parish history.