About St. Anthony · Chicago, Illinois
St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church is a Roman Catholic parish in the Roseland–Pullman–Kensington neighborhoods of Chicago's Far South Side, founded in 1903 as an Italian national parish and now serving as a bilingual, territorial parish for the surrounding community. It belongs to Vicariate VI-D of the Archdiocese of Chicago and is pastored by Rev. Mark J. Krylowicz, who has served the parish for roughly 20 years. The parish is known for its home-based novena before the June 13 feast of St. Anthony, large mosaics depicting the saint's miracles inside the church, bilingual (English/Spanish) liturgy, and an active parish council structure with both English- and Spanish-speaking groups.
- Established
- 1903
- Patron
- St. Anthony of Padua
- Rector
- Rev. Mark J. Krylowicz
- Diocese
- Archdiocese of Chicago (Vicariate VI-D)
Why belong here
St. Anthony of Padua is a bilingual, territorial parish that welcomes both longtime Roseland/Pullman families and newer Hispanic parishioners into a single faith community, with weekday Mass celebrated bilingually and a separate Sunday Mass in Spanish. It is known for warm, hands-on pastoral leadership from a single long-tenured pastor, an unusually intimate home-based novena around the June 13 feast of St. Anthony (where a statue of the saint visits nine families' homes for an evening Mass and procession), an active St. Vincent de Paul Society, Hispanic and Guadalupanas councils, a Círculo de Oración, faith formation for children preparing for Confirmation, and Jubilee pilgrimages that bring parishioners across the archdiocese. For anyone seeking a parish with deep ethnic Catholic roots, a thriving bilingual liturgy, and a tangible sense of community, St. Anthony's offers exactly that.
Mass times at St. Anthony
Weekly Mass schedule
Adoration times
- First Friday of the month, 8:00 AM – 7:00 PM (Exposition in the church following the 2:00 PM Healing Mass, followed by 6:00 PM Spanish Mass)
History of St. Anthony of Padua Parish
St. Anthony of Padua was founded in 1903 as an Italian national parish in Chicago's Pullman/Roseland neighborhood, at the corner of Indiana Avenue and Kensington Avenue. It served for decades as the Italian anchor of a remarkable cluster of single-ethnic Catholic parishes that once defined the Far South Side — Lithuanian, German, Slovak, Irish, Dutch, French and Polish congregations all within a few blocks of one another. Through successive Archdiocese of Chicago consolidations, most of those parishes were merged into St. Anthony of Padua, and the parish was re-designated from a 'national' parish to a 'territorial' parish serving a geographic area. Holy Rosary Parish in Pullman was merged into St. Anthony in 2008. The parish school (St. Anthony of Padua School on Prairie Ave.) operated until 1998.
- Founded 1903 as Italian national parish
- Holy Name Society founded 1925 (per Pullman State Historic Site records)
- Re-designated territorial parish after absorbing neighboring ethnic parishes
- Holy Rosary (Pullman) merged into St. Anthony in 2008
- St. Anthony of Padua School (Prairie Ave.) closed 1998
Parish Leadership and Staff
The parish is pastored by Rev. Mark J. Krylowicz, who has served St. Anthony of Padua for approximately twenty years (since around 2005) and is described by parishioners as the steadying force that has kept the parish united through demographic change and the COVID-19 pandemic. Parish staff and lay leadership are organized into both English- and Spanish-speaking ministries and councils.
- Pastor: Rev. Mark J. Krylowicz
- Secretaries: Louise DallaBetta, Gaby Lopez
- Religious Education: Juanita Mendez
- Maintenance: Francisco Javier Cañas
- Special Projects: Jo Navarette, Yessenia Renteria, Sonia K. Williams
- Pastoral Council Chair: Gloria Montiel
- Finance Council Chair: Beverly Carli
- Hispanic Council: Eva Villagomez
- Tolton Society: James Jackson
- Altar & Rosary Society: Mamie Norfleet
- Sociedad/Guadalupanas: Silveria Carrillo
- Círculo de Oración: Efraín Lechuga
- St. Vincent de Paul Society: Elsa Ponce
Feast of St. Anthony: Novena, Mass and Festival
The centerpiece of parish life is the annual celebration of the Feast of St. Anthony of Padua on June 13. For about seventeen years, the parish has held a nine-day home-based novena: each evening, a 5-foot white statue of St. Anthony is processed from one host family's home to the next across the south suburbs (reaching as far as Crete, Steger and Calumet City), with outdoor Mass at 6:00 PM and a vigil kept at each home overnight. The novena culminates in a bilingual Mass on the Sunday before the feast, followed by an outdoor festival with Italian, Mexican and American food, music and games. After Mass, parishioners venerate a relic of St. Anthony and receive St. Anthony bread donated by a parishioner who owns a bakery, in exchange for almsgiving to the poor — a tradition that traces back to the Franciscan community of which St. Anthony was a member.
- Nine-day home-based novena with traveling St. Anthony statue
- Evening outdoor Mass at 6:00 PM and overnight vigil at host homes
- Bilingual feast-day Mass on the Sunday before June 13
- Veneration of a relic of St. Anthony
- Distribution of St. Anthony bread for almsgiving to the poor
- Outdoor parish festival with Italian, Mexican and American food
Parish Ministries and Organizations
The parish runs an unusually broad slate of councils and societies reflecting its Italian, English- and Spanish-speaking heritage. Devotional and service groups include the Altar & Rosary Society, the Sociedad de Guadalupanas, a Círculo de Oración, the Hispanic Council, the Tolton Society, and the St. Vincent de Paul Society. Liturgical lay ministries include lectors, commentators and Eucharistic ministers, and lay leadership is organized through a Pastoral Council and Finance Council.
- Altar & Rosary Society
- Sociedad de Guadalupanas
- Círculo de Oración
- Hispanic Council
- Tolton Society
- St. Vincent de Paul Society
- Lectors, Commentators and Eucharistic Ministers
- Pastoral Council and Finance Council
Faith Formation and Religious Education
Faith formation at St. Anthony of Padua is led by Director of Religious Education Juanita Mendez. The program prepares children and youth for the sacraments — most notably Confirmation — and was a particular focus during the Jubilee of Hope in 2025, when Father Mark Krylowicz took religious education students on pilgrimages to jubilee churches in each vicariate of the Archdiocese of Chicago.
- Director of Religious Education: Juanita Mendez
- Confirmation preparation
- Jubilee of Hope vicariate pilgrimages for religious-ed students (2025)
Jubilees and Pilgrimages
St. Anthony of Padua has been a destination parish for archdiocesan Jubilee pilgrimages and has organized its own. In 2016, during the Jubilee of Mercy, the church was designated a Jubilee pilgrimage church and hosted groups such as St. Jane de Chantal, who walked through the Holy Door, prayed the Divine Mercy chaplet and toured the church. In 2025, the parish embraced the Jubilee of Hope, displaying a large sanctuary medallion made from pieces of paper with parishioners' written prayers and petitions, and Father Mark led confirmation students on pilgrimages to jubilee churches in each vicariate.
- Jubilee of Mercy pilgrimage church (2016)
- Jubilee of Hope parish-wide participation (2025)
- Sanctuary medallion of parishioner prayers and petitions
- Confirmation pilgrimages to Holy Door churches in each vicariate
Visiting St. Anthony of Padua
The church building stands at the corner of Indiana Avenue and Kensington Avenue in Chicago's Roseland neighborhood, while the rectory and parish office are at 11533 S. Prairie Avenue. From the Bishop Ford Expressway (I-94), drivers exit west to Prairie Avenue (300 E) and turn south (left) one block. The parish phone is (773) 468-1200, with parish email [email protected]. The parish is part of Vicariate VI-D of the Archdiocese of Chicago.
- Church: corner of Indiana Ave. and Kensington Ave.
- Rectory/Parish Office: 11533 S. Prairie Ave., Chicago, IL 60628
- Phone: (773) 468-1200
- Email: [email protected]
- Vicariate: VI-D, Archdiocese of Chicago
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Rev. Mark J. Krylowiczcirca 2005–present (20 years as of 2025)
Pastor's tenure spans roughly twenty years; under his leadership the parish was re-designated a territorial parish, the home-based novena of the St. Anthony statue began, and the parish joined the Jubilee of Mercy (2016) and Jubilee of Hope (2025).