untitled

Reprinted with permission as a public service by the Landmark Society of the Niagara Frontier, now the Preservation Buffalo Niagara

Houses of Worship: A Guide to the Religious Architecture of Buffalo, New York
By James Napora
Table of Contents

St. Anthony's Roman Catholic Church - Table of Contents

St. Anthony's Roman Catholic Church - 1891
Court St. at S. Elmwood (SW)
Architect: Michael Sheehan
Founded 18 November, 1888

During the 1870s large numbers of Italian immigrants began to settle in the city, arriving here in search of work in the industries that sprang up as a result of the city's positioning as the terminus of the Erie Canal. The locations of such employment opportunities resulted in a heavy concentration of Italians in the waterfront area and along the Erie Canal. Consequently, the Lower West side became home to a large majority of these people.

Seeking a place where they could worship in their native tongue, in 1883, a number of Italian immigrants approached Bishop Stephen Ryan, intent upon his organizing a church to serve them. He granted the group permission to use the chapel of St. Joseph's Cathedral on Franklin Street until which time the appropriate arrangements for a permanent parish could be undertaken. On 18 November, 1888 the Bishop appointed Rev. James Quigley to head a committee to raise funds for an Italian church.

During the same period, Bishop John Baptist Scalabrini of the northern Italian city of Piacenza had become concerned about the religious well being of the large number of Italians migrating to North America. He was concerned that those leaving Italy would forget their faith due to the absence of Italian priests in their new homes. Consequently, with the assistance of the Italian government, he organized a group of missionaries to work amongst the immigrants to North America. with the arrival in Buffalo of Rev. Antonio Gibelli, of the Missionary Fathers of St. Charles Borromeo, the Scalabrinians, tangible work began amongst the Italians.

Through his efforts, the Italian community organized to found the Saint Anthony of Padua Church Society on 10 July, 1891, making the Church of St. Anthony a reality. He next secured the site on Court street, finding it to be most centrally located amongst the city's current Italian population. The following month, on 2 August Bishop Ryan placed the cornerstone for the church building. Four months later, on 20 December, 1891 the congregation celebrated their first mass in the first Italian Catholic church in Western New York.

The parish quickly became the social and the of the city's 20,000 plus Italian population. In 1891 the parish established the first Italian language school in the United States. The 374 students were drawn from the Italian population on the West Side. educational center

Architectural changes: In 1904, as the size of the congregation had grown tremendously, it became necessary to enlarge the church. At that time, the school space on the first floor of the building was relocated and the dividing floor removed to allow the sanctuary to occupy the entire building.

On the exterior, the steeple, originally an octagonal cupola topped by a bronze dome, was relocated from the center of the building to its current location at the northwest corner.

Although the congregation once again used the building for worship on 23 October,1904, it was not until October,1906 that the interior work was complete. At that time Cesari Antozzi, an ecclesiastical decorator, completed the painting of the walls and ceiling and the marble work of the altar. The parish restored the interior of the church for its centennial in 1991.

The Romanesque style building is constructed of brick with details of Ohio sandstone. A stone base marks the line between the original school portion of the building and the second floor sanctuary. It is well noted for its Italian Renaissance interior detailing and its collection of religious statuary.