View source for St. Anthony of Padua Church (New Bedford, Massachusetts)

{{Infobox church
| name                 = St. Anthony of Padua Church
| fullname             =
| architect            = [[Joseph Venne]]  principal architect<br />[[Louis G. Destremps]] supervising architect 
| image                = St._Anthony_of_Padua_Church,_New_Bedford,_Massachusetts.jpg
| imagesize            =
| landscape            =
| caption              = 
| logo                 =
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| location             = 1350 Acushnet Avenue<br />[[New Bedford, Massachusetts]]
| country              = [[United States]]
| coordinates          = 
| denomination         = [[Catholic Church|Roman Catholic]]
| churchmanship        = 
| membership           =
| attendance           =
| website              = 
| former name          =
| founded date         = 1895
| founder              = Rev. Hormisdas Deslauiers  
| dedication           = 
| dedicated date       = 1912
| consecrated date     =
| cult                 =
| relics               =
| closed date          =
| demolished date      =
| parish               = 
| diocese              = [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Fall River|Fall River]]
| province             = [[List of the Catholic dioceses of the United States#Ecclesiastical province of Boston|Boston]]
| district             =
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| subdivision          = 
| archbishop           = 
| bishop               = Most Rev. Edgar M. da Cunha
| rector               =
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| pastor               = 
| organist             =
}}

'''St. Anthony of Padua''' is a Roman Catholic church in [[New Bedford, Massachusetts]], part of the [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Fall River|Diocese of Fall River]].

== History ==
St. Anthony of Padua was founded in 1895 to serve the needs of [[French Canadian American|French Canadian]] Catholics who lived in the North End of New Bedford. The new parish was under the care of first pastor, Fr. Hormisdas Deslauriers (1861–1916), an energetic leader who would have great influence on the parishes future development. The first mass was celebrated on Oct 6th 1895 at ‘’North Union Hall’’ on Bullard Street. Shortly thereafter a two-story wood-frame church was dedicated on March 8, 1896.

==Building==
The present [[Romanesque Revival architecture|Romanesque style]] church was begun in 1902 when the parish acquired plans from Canadian architect [[Joseph Venne]] of [[Montreal, Canada|Montreal]]. The cornerstone for the new building was laid in June 1904 and work began on shortly thereafter. On September 20, 1904, several construction workers were seriously injured and one killed when a 50-foot wall collapsed at the construction site.

After the accident the original contractor, Michael J. Houlihan of [[Providence, Rhode Island]],  withdrew from the project and noted Fall River architect [[Louis G. Destremps]] was brought in as supervising architect. The church exterior was completed in December 1905 and the lower church was available for masses by 1908. The upper portion of the church, though not yet ready for religious service was opened for public viewing on January 17, 1909. The period of 1909-1912 was largely taken up by extensive interior decoration and the installation of a large Casavant pipe organ. The finished church was formally dedicated on November 28, 1912.

The exterior is of red sandstone from [[East Longmeadow, Massachusetts]]. The spire is 256 feet high, [[List of tallest churches in the world|the second-tallest in New England]] after the [[Cathedral of St. Joseph (Hartford, Connecticut)|Cathedral of Saint Joseph]] in [[Hartford, Connecticut]]. The building is 241 feet long and 80 feet wide (135 feet wide at the transept). It seats 2,000 worshipers and several thousand more standing. The outline of the church can be seen for miles around and dominates the skyline of North New Bedford.

==The work of John Castagnoli (1908-1912)==
Much of the interior decoration was accomplished between 1908 and 1912 by Italian sculptor John Castagnoli (1863–1914), Castagnoli was born in [[Borgo Val di Taro]] Italy, near Parma, and studied in Florence. Other examples of his work can be found in various churches in Canada, a cathedral [[Berlin, New Hampshire]], Notre Dame Church and Blessed Sacrament Church, both in [[Fall River, Massachusetts]].

One of Castagnoli's most significant contributions was the design of 32 enormous angel statues some of which are 20 feet tall. These statues are located throughout the church. The faces of the angels come from parishioners of St. Anthony Church.

==Joseph Venne==
[[Joseph Venne]] was an important Canadian architect of the late 19th early 20th century who designed many important buildings in his native country and was active in the establishment of the first Institute of architects in Canada. He also designed three large and important catholic churches in the United States. The first of these is St. Anthony, New Bedford. He would later design the [[Notre Dame Catholic Church (Southbridge, Massachusetts)|Notre Dame Church]] of [[Southbridge, Massachusetts]], also for a French congregation. Notre Dame is listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]]. He also designed a church in [[Adams, Massachusetts]].

==The 1952 renovation by Guido Nicheri==
In 1952 an extensive renovation of the church was conducted under the direction of Italian architect and artist [[Guido Nincheri]] who was living in Rhode Island at the time. The original pulpit, which had been designed by Castagnoli was replaced with one designed by Nincheri and built by the
Del Bono Arte Del Marno company of Italy. Nincheri also added several stained glass windows and paintings of each of the four evangelists.

==The 1990s and Fr. Edmond Levesque==
By 1990 the once grand church had fallen on hard times. In 1991 Bishop Daniel A. Cronin appointed Fr. Edmond R. Levesque pastor of the beleaguered church telling him at the time that unless Father Levesque could reverse the pattern of decline, that St. Anthony Church would have to be closed. Over the next several years Fr. Levesque, with the aid of his housekeeper Patricia DeAndrade, was able to restore the church to its former grandeur and revitalize the parish community.<ref>http://www.adoremus.org/1199-Fixit.html Fr. Fix-it, the story of how Fr. Edmond R. Levesque and Patricia DeAndrade singlehandedly saved St. Anthony Church, New Bedford</ref>

==Casavant organ==
[[File:StAnthonyNewBedfordInterior.jpg|thumb|left|350px|St. Anthony Church, New Bedford, Massachusetts<br />interior, notice the 1912 Casavant pipe organ]]

St. Anthony of Padua church is home to a large 4 manual pipe organ built in 1912 by [[Casavant Frères]] of [[Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec]], as their Opus 489. The organ enjoys an especially favorable placement in the church being installed in the unusual second balcony some 70 feet above the floor. It was dedicated on September 12, 1912. Famous Belgian organist [[Gaston Dethier]] performed the dedicatory recital.

This instrument remains essentially intact, and was partially restored in 2005 by Daniel Lemieux & Associates. In recent years the church has sponsored a series of recitals on this instrument and it has been used for the commercial recording ''Pipes and Angels''.<ref>http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_7179/is_200807/ai_n32288684/ Pipes and Angels compact disc review</ref>

==School==
In September 1896 its parish school, which was a [[K-8 school]] at the end of its life, opened. Its final school building opened in September 1924. It closed in 2007.<ref name=Rodrigues>{{cite web|author=Rodrigues, Linda Andrade|url=https://www.southcoasttoday.com/article/20070602/special/706020317|title=Closing of century-old school is sad loss to community|newspaper=[[South Coast Today]]|date=2007-06-02|accessdate=2020-06-26}}</ref>

Its student enrollment count went from 1,060 in 1924 to 1,406 in 1931, its peak, and then 116 in its final year.<ref name=Rodrigues/>

== References ==
{{Reflist}}
{{commonscat|Saint Anthony of Padua Church (New Bedford, Massachusetts)}}
== External links ==
* [http://www.saintanthonynewbedford.com/ St. Anthony - Website]
* [http://www.saintanthonynewbedford.com/gallery/virtual-tour Virtual Tour of St. Anthony Church]
* [http://www.fallriverdiocese.org/ Diocese of Fall River]
{{New Bedford, Massachusetts}}
{{Roman Catholic Diocese of Fall River|state=collapsed}}
{{coord|41|39|43.24|N|70|55|41.08|W|display=title}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Anthony Church, New Bedford, Massachusetts}}
[[Category:French-Canadian culture in Massachusetts]]
[[Category:Roman Catholic churches in Massachusetts]]
[[Category:Romanesque Revival church buildings in Massachusetts]]
[[Category:Roman Catholic churches completed in 1912]]
[[Category:Churches in New Bedford, Massachusetts|Anthony]]
[[Category:1912 establishments in Massachusetts]]
[[Category:20th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the United States]]