St.Anthony's Church(Paharganj)
A couple of minutes walk from New Delhi railway station will take one to Paharganj Church Complex, which includes a Church,a Convent,two Schools – one for boys and another for girls – and an Orphanage for girls.The Paharganj Church is the third Church that came up in Delhi after St. Mary’s Church,Old Delhi and Sacred Heart Cathedral.
The beginning of the Paharganj mission could be traced back to 1917 when Rev.Fr.James started visiting this area.In 1931,Rev.Fr.Loius Turcheschi with the help of a kind Benefactrees acquired about 5,500 square yards of land.Within a span of two years,he constructed a small school building and small quarters to start a vernacular school.Archbishop Bernacchiani of Agra archdiocese asked sister Benigna and sister Antonia of Clarist Franciscan Missionaries of the Blessed Sacrament(CFMSS)to come.The catholic of Paharganj attented mass in the chapel built by sister Benigna and this practice continued till the year 1949 when present church building was completed.
Rev.Fr.R.P.Angelo ,an Irish Capuchin,started the construction of the present church in 1947.The church design was far ahead of the times,suited to the modern liturgical exigencies. It is a circular building with no pillars between, an ideal structure for the celebration of mass, with the priest facing the people, a custom that was introduced about twenty years later! Most Rev.Sylvester Mulligan OFM cap, the first Archbishop of Delhi blessed the church on February 03, 1949.And this is how the Paharganj, St.Anthony’s parish came in existence.
ST.ANTHONY'S CHURCH 