A Brief Parish History

St. Anthony parish first took shape in 1906, when the first Masses were said in Mahan’s Hall in Follansbee. By 1911, Fr. Madert, our first priest, had built a small church on Jefferson Street, which Bishop Donahue consecrated on May 7, 1911.

The following year, St. Anthony was designated as a mission of St. John’s in Wellsburg. Finally in 1917, St. Anthony was made a parish and given its first pastor, Fr. Henry Parascandola. By 1940 the parish had grown to the point that a new church was needed.

In September 1941, Archbishop John Swint laid the cornerstone of St. Anthony Church, which was consecrated in 1942. Several priests and many years later, St. Anthony continues to be a beacon of the Catholic Faith in the northern panhandle.

We rejoice daily in the gifts that God has given us, and we pray that our mission may continue for years to come!