St. Anthony's Church

The Church of St. Anthony is a Roman Catholic parish church under the authority of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York, located at 1496 Commonwealth Avenue, Van Nest, Bronx, New York City, near the corner of Mansion Street and Commonwealth Avenue.ParishThe parish was established for Italians in 1908 by the Rev. Henry De Vivo. It is often referred to as St. Anthony, Van Nest, to distinguish it from St. Anthony of Padua's Church in neighboring Morrisania, Bronx. De Vivo left the parish with a debt of $70,000 and was succeeded by the Rev. Pasquale Maltese in March 1912. In 1913, there were 149 baptisms, 29 marriages, 237 confirmations, 12,000 communions, and 300 in the Sunday-school. Rev. Antonio Burriesci was the assistant. That year the pastor, Rev. Pasquale Maltese, had reduced the parish debt of $70,000 to $63,000. The congregation numbers about 350 families, 100 being English-speaking.BuildingsThe present church building completed in 1909 at a cost of $75,000. "It is a brick building in the Roman style with a seating capacity of 500."PastorsRev. Henry De Vivo (1908-1912)Rev. Pasquale Maltese (1912-?)Rev. Louis Anderson (as Administrator )St. Anthony's SchoolThe school building was used as the filming location for the film Doubt (2008), written and directed by John Patrick Shanley, an alumnus of the school. The school closed permanently on June 18, 2013.