THE REVERE ADVOCATE – FRIDAY, JUNE 19, 2026 Page 5 mass in the Italian language was celebrated in Revere by an Italian Catholic priest on August 27,1905. First Saint Anthony’s Red Brick Church circa 1981 First Saint Anthony’s Chapel Revere Street and Elmwood Street circa 1905 As the Italian population in Revere grew and Italian immigrant neighborhoods began to form, particularly in the Revere Street area, Italian commerce began to emerge providing a wide variety of Italian oriented goods and services. The fi rst generation of Italian immigrants to Revere faced and overcame many obstacles in their struggle to adjust to life in their new location. The one most diffi cult problem was the lack of an Italian-speaking church. By 190 the need for an Italian Catholic priest to provide for the religious needs of the Italian community grew so great that the Italian residents of Revere banded together and petitioned the then Archbishop of Boston, John Williams, for a priest who could speak their language. In response to the petition from Revere’s Italian Catholics, Archbishop Williams in 190 authorized the establishment of a mission church in Revere specifi cally to care for the religious needs of Revere’s Italian Catholics. The Archbishop designated a priest from the Sacred Heart Church in Boston’s North End to come to Revere to establish a mission for Revere’s Italian immigrants’ and to help establish an Italian-speaking church. By 1905 land was secured on Revere Street to build an Italian-speaking church under the name of Saint Anthony of Padua. In the spring of 1905 ground was broken for the building of the basement of the new red brick church on Revere Street, the present site of the Friendly Gardens Senior Citizen Housing building. During the construction of the new church a temporary chapel was established in a home located on the corner of Revere Street and Elmwood Street where the first On April 1,1906 the basement of the fi rst Italian Church in Revere was completed, consecrated and an Italian language Mass was celebrated before a throng of Revere’s Italian Catholics. In August of 1910 Cardinal Williams installed Father Ernesto Rovai, a young priest, educated at the theological seminary near Florence Italy, as pastor of Saint Anthony’s church. Being the only Italian Catholic church outside of Boston, Saint Anthony’s was designated as an “Italian National Church” established for the purpose of attending to the spiritual welfare of Italian immigrants and their families. As pastor of the “Italian National Church”, Father Rovai was obligated to respond to the religious needs of Italian Catholics living in Revere as well as the nearby communities of Chelsea, Malden, Medford, Everett, Lynn, Saugus and Winthrop. Gerry D’Ambrosio Attorney-at-Law Is Your Estate in Order? Do you have an update Will, Health Care Proxy or Power of Attorney? If Not, Please Call for a Free Consultation. 14 Proctor Avenue, Revere (781) 284-5657 The large influx of Italians into Revere and the inadequate facilities of the original Basilica | SEE Page 6 View of Saint Anthony’s Church
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