St. Anthony's Church, Woonsocket, RI, was established as an Italian parish on November 14, 1924 by the late Bishop William A. Hickey, D.D. At the time, most of the Italian families in the Woonsocket area were members of St. Charles Church in Woonsocket. The basement of that church was utilized for worship until St. Anthony's Church was built.
After the long and difficult task of raising sufficient funds for the new church, the ground breaking ceremony was held in December, 1926. With the cornerstone laid on December 18, 1927, construction on the new church was completed shortly before Easter of 1928. St. Anthony's Church was dedicated on September 30, 1928 by Bishop Hickey.
Over the years, St. Anthony's Church has been led by the following pastors:
1924 - 1927 1927 - 1933 1933 - 1937 1937 - 1944 1944 - 1954 1954 - 1970 1970 - 1985 1985 - 1991 1991 - 1992 1992 - 1996 1996 - 2000 2000 - Present | Rev. Emilio Greco Rev. Beni DiMascolo Rev. Carmelo Moriello Rev. Mariano LaGiglia Rev. Francesco Bruno Rev. Andrew Farina Rev. Joseph L. Santurri Rev. John J. Rainone Rev. Msgr. Robert C. Evans Rev. Douglas J. Spina, Ph.D. Rev. Francis P. Kayatta, J.C.L. Rev. Msgr. Ronald Simeone, J.C.L. |
Over the lifetime of St. Anthony's several capital campaigns have been initiated to improve our parish facilities. The following are the two latest campaigns completed by our parish.