St. Anthony of Padua (Archdiocese of Philadelphia (Latin Church))
| St. Anthony of Padua | |
 | |
| Dedication: | St. Anthony of Padua |
| Type/Classification: | Territorial Parish |
| Non-Parochial: | No |
| Operated By: | Diocesan clergy |
| Venerated Saints: | None specified |
| Diocese: | Archdiocese of Philadelphia |
| Deanery: | Montgomery County East Deanery |
| Address: | 259 Forest Ave., Ambler, Pennsylvania 19002-5903 |
| City: | Ambler, PA |
| Subdivision: | Pennsylvania |
| Country: | United States |
| County: | Montgomery County |
| Website: | Website |
| Founded: | 1886 |
| School: | No |
| Email: | None specified |
| AI Confidence: | 7/10 |
| Review Level: | 0/5 |
St. Anthony of Padua is a territorial parish of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, located in Ambler, Pennsylvania, within Montgomery County. Dedicated to Saint Anthony of Padua, the thirteenth-century Franciscan friar and Doctor of the Church renowned for his preaching and devotion to the poor, the parish serves the Ambler community roughly sixteen miles north of Philadelphia.
Founded in 1886 in what was then known as the Wissahickon area before the borough of Ambler was incorporated, the parish traces its origins to the missionary work of Father Henry Stommel, a German-born priest credited with founding or assisting in the establishment of several parishes in southeastern Pennsylvania.[1] The parish has grown considerably from its founding congregation of about thirty families to a substantially larger community in the twenty-first century.
Today St. Anthony of Padua offers religious education, youth ministry, and preschool programs, and participates in shared educational ministry with neighboring parishes of the deanery.
History
St. Anthony of Padua Parish was established in 1886 to serve Catholic families in the area then called Wissahickon, two years before the township was incorporated and took the name of Ambler, in honor of Mary Ambler, a Quaker woman remembered for aiding survivors of an 1856 train accident nearby.[2] The founding congregation numbered only about thirty families, just two of whom lived in Ambler itself, and was shepherded by Father Henry Stommel, who is credited with founding or assisting the establishment of nine churches across southeastern Pennsylvania.[3]
The cornerstone of the original parish church was laid on April 26, 1886, and the building was dedicated on September 21 of that same year.[4] That church, with subsequent renovations and expansions, served the parish for more than a century until the pre-dawn hours of Christmas Eve 2000, when a fire broke out and heavily damaged the building. Combined fire, smoke, water, and mildew damage made repair impractical, and the parish elected to demolish the structure and build anew.[5]
A new St. Anthony Church, incorporating antique stained glass and other architectural elements salvaged from the nineteenth-century church, was dedicated in 2004.[6] The parish marked its 125th anniversary in 2011, at which time it counted approximately 1,750 registered families.[7]
Special features
- Preschool and childcare program operated by the parish at its Education Center on Forest Avenue
- Religious education program for grades K–8, held on Sundays during the school year
- Shared educational ministry with Our Lady of Mercy Regional Catholic School, together with Saint Alphonsus Parish (Maple Glen) and Saint Catherine of Siena Parish (Horsham)[8]
- Hispanic Apostolate ministry serving the local Spanish-speaking Catholic community
Relics
According to established Catholic tradition, the main altar of the parish church contains deposited relics, as is customary in dedicated Catholic churches. Specific details regarding the saints associated with these relics are not publicly documented in available sources.
Architecture and Art
Exterior features
The present church, dedicated in 2004, replaced the parish's original nineteenth-century building following a fire that destroyed it on Christmas Eve 2000.[9] The design incorporates architectural elements salvaged from the original church into the new structure.[10]
Interior features
The church was designed with two adjoining worship spaces—a main nave seating 750 and an adjacent Mary Chapel—separated by a large operable glass wall system that allows the two spaces to function independently for most of the year or to be combined into a single large space for high-attendance liturgies such as Christmas and Easter.[11] The design employs a black anodized aluminum frame that sets off golden oak finishes used throughout both worship spaces, complementing the curvilinear lines of the glasswork.[12]
Stained Glass Windows
The 2004 church incorporates antique stained glass windows salvaged from the original nineteenth-century church that was destroyed by fire in 2000, preserving a visual link to the parish's earlier history within the new building.[13]
Statues and Sculptures
Specific details on statuary within the church are not publicly documented in available sources.
Other Artwork
No further devotional artwork is publicly documented in available sources.
Image gallery
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Media
No media found for this saint.
Related parishes
- St. Agatha-St. James (Archdiocese of Philadelphia)
- St. Agnes (Archdiocese of Philadelphia, West Chester)
- St. Agnes (Archdiocese of Philadelphia, Sellersville)
- St. Agnes-St. John Nepomucene (Slovak) (Archdiocese of Philadelphia)
- St. Albert the Great (Archdiocese of Philadelphia)
- St. Aloysius (Archdiocese of Philadelphia)
- St. Alphonsus (Archdiocese of Philadelphia)
- St. Ambrose (Archdiocese of Philadelphia)
- St. Anastasia (Archdiocese of Philadelphia)
- St. Andrew (Archdiocese of Philadelphia, Newtown)
- St. Andrew (Archdiocese of Philadelphia, Drexel Hill)
- St. Andrew (Lithuanian) (Archdiocese of Philadelphia)
- St. Ann (Archdiocese of Philadelphia)
- St. Anne (Archdiocese of Philadelphia)
- Annunciation B.V.M. (Archdiocese of Philadelphia, Havertown)
- Annunciation B.V.M. (Archdiocese of Philadelphia, Philadelphia)
- St. Anselm (Archdiocese of Philadelphia)
- Assumption B.V.M. (Archdiocese of Philadelphia, Feasterville)
- Assumption B.V.M. (Archdiocese of Philadelphia, West Grove)
- St. Athanasius (Archdiocese of Philadelphia)
- St. Augustine (Archdiocese of Philadelphia)
- St. Barbara (Archdiocese of Philadelphia)
- St. Barnabas (Archdiocese of Philadelphia)
- St. Bartholomew (Archdiocese of Philadelphia)
- St. Basil the Great (Archdiocese of Philadelphia)
External links
Social media
| Official Social Media |
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References
- ↑ "St. Anthony Parish in Ambler marks 125 years". CatholicPhilly. https://catholicphilly.com/2011/06/news/st-anthony-parish-in-ambler-marks-125-years/.
- ↑ "St. Anthony Parish in Ambler marks 125 years". CatholicPhilly. https://catholicphilly.com/2011/06/news/st-anthony-parish-in-ambler-marks-125-years/.
- ↑ "St. Anthony Parish in Ambler marks 125 years". CatholicPhilly. https://catholicphilly.com/2011/06/news/st-anthony-parish-in-ambler-marks-125-years/.
- ↑ "St. Anthony Parish in Ambler marks 125 years". CatholicPhilly. https://catholicphilly.com/2011/06/news/st-anthony-parish-in-ambler-marks-125-years/.
- ↑ "St. Anthony Parish in Ambler marks 125 years". CatholicPhilly. https://catholicphilly.com/2011/06/news/st-anthony-parish-in-ambler-marks-125-years/.
- ↑ "St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church". Society of Architectural Historians, SAH Archipedia. https://sah-archipedia.org/buildings/SD-01-107-0098.
- ↑ "St. Anthony Parish in Ambler marks 125 years". CatholicPhilly. https://catholicphilly.com/2011/06/news/st-anthony-parish-in-ambler-marks-125-years/.
- ↑ "Welcome to OLM". Our Lady of Mercy Regional Catholic School. https://www.olmrcs.com/welcome/.
- ↑ "St. Anthony Parish in Ambler marks 125 years". CatholicPhilly. https://catholicphilly.com/2011/06/news/st-anthony-parish-in-ambler-marks-125-years/.
- ↑ "St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church". Society of Architectural Historians, SAH Archipedia. https://sah-archipedia.org/buildings/SD-01-107-0098.
- ↑ "St. Anthony of Padua Parish". NanaWall Systems. https://www.nanawall.com/projects/st-anthony-of-padua-parish.
- ↑ "St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church". Society of Architectural Historians, SAH Archipedia. https://sah-archipedia.org/buildings/SD-01-107-0098.
- ↑ "St. Anthony Parish in Ambler marks 125 years". CatholicPhilly. https://catholicphilly.com/2011/06/news/st-anthony-parish-in-ambler-marks-125-years/.