St. Anthony, Monongahela
St. Anthony was established in 1904 as an Italian parish. The origin of the parish can be traced to the arrival of Italian immigrants to the area beginning in 1890. Starting in 1895, the pastor of the territorial parish of Transfiguration accommodated the local Italian community by inviting Italian speaking priests to their parish to celebrate Mass and hear confessions in Italian. However, the Italians wanted their own parish and petitioned the bishop for one. In May of 1904 the bishop assigned the responsibility of forming a mission in Monongahela to the pastor of Mother of Sorrows parish, Charleroi.
The first Mass of the new mission was celebrated in the Anton Building in May of 1904. Soon afterwards, work began on a church, which was dedicated on December 17, 1905. In January of 1908, the parish became independent with the appointment of a resident pastor.
The parish suffered two blows in 1913. On February 2, 1913, the church was destroyed in a fire. Two months later, the pastor returned to Italy and the parish reverted to a mission of Mother of Sorrows again.
While the church was being rebuilt, Mass was celebrated in a rented storeroom. On December 10, 1915, a new resident pastor was assigned to the parish. The first task of the new pastor was the rebuilding the church. In April of 1917, the new church was dedicated.
This church served the congregation for three decades. Eventually, the parish outgrew its facilities. On May 2, 1949, ground was broken for a new church. On November 13, 1949, the cornerstone was laid and on May 14, 1950 the church was dedicated. The old church was renovated into a parish hall and used as such until 1957 when it was converted to a convent. The church built in 1950 continues to serve the parish.
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| Second St. Anthony Church, 1933 | Interior of second church, 1933 | St. Anthony Church, 2002 | Interior of church, 2002 |
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