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St. Anthony Parish

At the turn of the twentieth century, quite a number of French-speaking Catholics had settled around Lakeside Avenue and Howard Street and had to travel to St. Joseph’s on Allen Street for Sunday Mass.  The pastor of St. Joseph’s, Monsignor Jerome Cloarec, received permission in 1902 to buy land for the purpose of building a new church and rectory to better serve the Catholics living in the South End.  Bishop John S. Michaud blessed the cornerstone in June of that same year, and the church was completed in time for Christmas 1903.  Monsignor William Plamondon served as St. Anthony’s first pastor and remained until his death in 1940. 

The old St. Joseph’s church, built on North Prospect Street in 1850 and abandoned with the rise of the new church on Allen Street, contributed much to the building of St. Anthony’s.  All its bricks, the bell, and the four stained glass windows were transported from North Prospect Street to Pine and repurposed into the church we see today.  The bell dates back to 1856, and the windows—which are the oldest stained glass windows in Burlington—were first installed at St. Joseph’s in 1878.

The green sprawl of lawn and trees directly behind St. Anthony’s used to be the site of St. Anthony School, which first opened its doors to children in the fall of 1931.  The Sisters of the Presentation of Mary staffed the school.  As enrollment grew, especially in the 1950’s, the need for more Sisters and more space increased, and a new convent was built across from the church on Flynn Avenue.  The Sisters lived there from 1960 until the school’s closing in 1971.  Their former convent is now the Howard Center for Human Services.

St. Anthony’s Parish Hall was built in 1953 as a Parish center.  Inside is a spacious gym with rooms in the basement available for various Parish activities.  The hall has become the regular site for the Thrift Shop, and it still serves as a great location for sports practice, classes, and social gatherings.

Christ the King Parish

With wonderful foresight of Burlington's future development, land was acquired about 1927 for a new parish in the southern end of Burlington.  On December 17, 1939, there took place the dedication of the new church, followed by the first Mass to be celebrated in it.  Both church and school were attended from the cathedral until official establishment of the new parish on September 2, 1940, with Reverend Charles A. Towne as first resident pastor.  The first rectory, purchased in 1940, was replaced by a new recotry, boarding on the parish property purchased in June 1944.  The church and school were built in one unit.  The school staffed by Sisters of Mercy, opened in January 1940.  An increase in enrollment made it necessary to expand the school in 1960.  Extra classroom space, as well as a gym/auditorium with kitchen facilities made the parish and school a self-contained entity encouraging parish and school activities.

The school, through the years, has enjoyed a reputation for academic excellence thanks to the enlightened and competent leadership of the Principals and well-qualified staff.

Both parishes have been well-served with dedicated and zealous Priests.  With the deaths of Father Donald Bruneau, Pastor of St. Anthony in 1994 and of Monsignor John Fradet, pastor of Christ the King in 1998, the Diocese combined both parishes.  In the spirit of the year of the Jubilee 2000, "A year of favor from the Lord", parishioners have chosen the challenge of becoming, both spiritually and geographically, one worshipping community.  In response to this strongly-expressed desire, parishioners have been diligently working to bring this dream to fruition.