The parish was founded by a priest named Sanguinetti who had come from Italy with the approval of John Hughes, the Archbishop of New York, to help provide the services of the Catholic faith to his countrymen who had emigrated to the United States.
With no clergy available to serve these immigrants in their native language, many had stopped practicing the faith or had begun to join other denominations.
The congregation initially worshiped at the former site of the Church of St. Vincent de Paul built in 1841 on Canal Street, which Sanguinetti leased from that parish.
He lasted in that ministry for only about a year, however, as he returned to his homeland, feeling overwhelmed and disheartened from the various obstacles which arose for the parish.

The Italian community did not wish to lose the work Sanguinetti had begun.
Hughes' successor, John McCloskey, appealed for help to Pamfilo of Magliano, the Minister Provincial of the Franciscan friars then based at St. Bonaventure College in Allegheny, New York.
Father Pamfilo agreed to take responsibility for this ministry.
He assigned Friar Leo Pacilio, a native of Naples, to this task.
The parish was thus re-established in 1866 at what had been built in 1839 at 149 Sullivan Street as the Sullivan Street Methodist Episcopal Church, which had relocated to become the Washington Square United Methodist Church.
The parish was served by the Franciscan friars, who continue to administer it.
The church was solemnly dedicated on April 10, 1866, by McCloskey, by then the first cardinal of New York.

Between 1886 and 1888, the parish funded the building of a new church on Sullivan Street, designed by Arthur Crooks in the Romanesque Revival style.
The friars had originally taken up residence with the first church structure, but by this period a separate friary was built for them on Thompson Street directly behind the church.
This came to also serve as provincial headquarters for their Minister Provincial.

The Houston Street facade of the building was originally blocked by tenement buildings, which were demolished when Houston Street was widened in the early 1930s, exposing the plain facade.
 The church now uses this space as a garden.
 From 1902 to 2005 the parish operated a school (K-8) on Mac Dougal Street.
The parish was founded by a priest named Sanguinetti who had come from Italy with the approval of John Hughes, the Archbishop of New York, to help provide the services of the Catholic faith to his countrymen who had emigrated to the United States. With no clergy available to serve these immigrants in their native language, many had stopped practicing the faith or had begun to join other denominations. The congregation initially worshiped at the former site of the Church of St. Vincent de Paul built in 1841 on Canal Street, which Sanguinetti leased from that parish. He lasted in that ministry for only about a year, however, as he returned to his homeland, feeling overwhelmed and disheartened from the various obstacles which arose for the parish.
The Italian community did not wish to lose the work Sanguinetti had begun. Hughes' successor, John McCloskey, appealed for help to Pamfilo of Magliano, the Minister Provincial of the Franciscan friars then based at St. Bonaventure College in Allegheny, New York. Father Pamfilo agreed to take responsibility for this ministry. He assigned Friar Leo Pacilio, a native of Naples, to this task. The parish was thus re-established in 1866 at what had been built in 1839 at 149 Sullivan Street as the Sullivan Street Methodist Episcopal Church, which had relocated to become the Washington Square United Methodist Church. The parish was served by the Franciscan friars, who continue to administer it. The church was solemnly dedicated on April 10, 1866, by McCloskey, by then the first cardinal of New York.
Between 1886 and 1888, the parish funded the building of a new church on Sullivan Street, designed by Arthur Crooks in the Romanesque Revival style. The friars had originally taken up residence with the first church structure, but by this period a separate friary was built for them on Thompson Street directly behind the church. This came to also serve as provincial headquarters for their Minister Provincial.
The Houston Street facade of the building was originally blocked by tenement buildings, which were demolished when Houston Street was widened in the early 1930s, exposing the plain facade.  The church now uses this space as a garden.  From 1902 to 2005 the parish operated a school (K-8) on Mac Dougal Street.
St. Anthony of Padua Church (Manhattan)