For a century, St. Anthony of Padua Parish has been a mainstay of Wilmington’s Little Italy, and the parish is ready to celebrate its birthday. It’s so big that the parish will take an entire year to properly mark the milestone.
It all begins on Oct. 6 with a Year of Jubilee Mass at 10:30 a.m. at the church, which is located at Ninth and Dupont streets. Father Jack Kolodziej, the provincial of the Wilmington-Philadelphia Province of the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales, will preside. The Oblates founded the parish and continue to provide pastoral care.
A reception will follow at the Fournier Hall lounge, 1824 Howland St. Reservations are requested by Sept. 27.
Anthony Albence, a parishioner and member of the centennial committee, said the jubilee Mass is the only one scheduled at the church that weekend. St. Anthony’s will have a single Mass on the second Sunday of most months for the next year as the celebration continues. The parish will celebrate the people that have been part of its legacy, such as the Italian Festival Committee, parish council, the Knights of Columbus, the sodality and Via Crucis.
The centennial committee hopes to have former parishioners return to reconnect with the Oblates and the parish.
“We’ll hopefully have a lot of concelebrants present from the Oblate community,” Albence said.
“Every month will be a different event,” said Judy White, a lifelong parishioner and the principal of St. Anthony of Padua School. She is also a member of the centennial committee.
The grade school will have a reunion in November, with former teachers and students invited to return. Padua Academy, the parish’s high school for girls, will be recognized during the year. In January, the parish will recognize the folks involved with Via Crucis, the annual performance of the Stations of the Cross. In May, St. Anthony’s will honor Mary and the Knights of Columbus.
“We’re trying to do something different each time as far as locations” for Mass, White said. They hope to have that May 2025 Mass in the courtyard between the church and the school.
Oblate Father J. Francis Tucker founded the parish. The first Mass at St. Anthony’s, according to Albence, was held on Christmas Eve in 1924. The parish will have midnight Mass this December “because that was the first Mass that was celebrated. It was prior to the current church being built,” Albence said. The first Mass at the church was on Palm Sunday in 1926, he said.
“There’s so many dates,” he said. “The anniversary stretches over so many years depending on what you tag it to.”
The parish was formally incorporated on Jan. 4, 1925, and ground was broken for the current church two months later.
Along with the anniversary celebrations, St. Anthony’s is in the midst of a capital campaign. Albence said it is focused on sustainability for the next century. The money is ticketed for upkeep of the physical plant and maintenance at the church. The parish includes the church, school and rectory. One of the projects that needs to be done is repaving of the property, he said.
The parish wants to build its Father Roberto Second Century Fund, named after the late Father Roberto Balducelli, the Oblate of St. Francis de Sales who ministered at the parish for nearly 70 years until his death in 2013. Proceeds from the sale in 2018 of St. Anthony in the Hills, a 137-acre day camp in Avondale, Pa., founded by Father Roberto, went to the fund.
In addition to contributions to the Father Roberto Second Century Fund, the campaign will support tuition assistance and help bolster the professional staff at St. Anthony of Padua School with an admissions and marketing staff. At Padua Academy, work will be done on the science lab and renovations to Father Roberto Hall. The plan is to make the hall more of a multipurpose room, Albence said.
“There really is something for everyone,” he said.
Father Roberto, who came to Wilmington from Italy largely due to the influence of Father Tucker, died more than a decade ago, but his legacy is indelible, and he remains a central figure to the parish. Photos of him are plentiful around the campus, and the students are amazed at what he was able to accomplish. White said the priest gave her a job when she was 13.
“Sometimes, I kind of feel bad for each pastor that has come after him,” she said. “Despite him being gone, it’s as if he’s still here.”
The newest pastor is Oblate Father Vincent Kumar. Albence said another Oblate will arrive soon as a parochial vicar. White said Father Kolodziej has assured her that the religious community is committed to the parish and the school.
She said Father Kumar has brought a new energy to the parish.
“Everybody is genuinely excited about having Father Vincent here,” she said.
Upon his arrival, he started meeting with parishioners, and he visited the grade school three times in the first week of classes. Albence and White said Father Kumar is eager to recognize all the people who help St. Anthony’s operate.
Albence said one of the nice things about the early part of the capital campaign is being able to reconnect with some families that are not as involved in St. Anthony’s as they used to be. During the celebration — anytime, really — the parish is happy to welcome anyone, whether they are there every week or only a few times a year.
“We’re here, and we’re not going anywhere,” Albence said.
