St. Anthony's Catholic Church (Des Moines, Iowa)
St. Anthony's Catholic Church is a Catholic parish church in the Diocese of Des Moines located on the south side of Des Moines, Iowa, United States. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2021. History

The first Italian immigrants arrived in Des Moines in the 1870s, with most arriving between 1880 and 1915. They followed the streetcar lines to areas south of the Raccoon River. Davenport Bishop Henry Cosgrove appointed the Rev. Francis Leonard to found St. Anthony's parish in 1898, but difficulties arose and the project came to an end. In 1906, Cosgrove assigned the Rev. Victor Romanelli to found the parish on Des Moines' south side. Romanelli was a native of Naples and had served parishes in New York and New Jersey. He acquired an old fire station where he resided and where the parish's first Mass was celebrated on August 19. Property was acquired on Columbus Avenue and a small brick church was built there. The Rev. Michael Flavin, the pastor of St. Ambrose Church opposed the establishment of the parish and incorrectly insisted it was established as an Italian ethnic parish because he did not want to lose the parish territory or income. The Des Moines Diocese was established in 1911 and St. Anthony's transferred to the new diocese. A second floor was added to the church building and the parish school was opened in 1912 with the Congregation of the Humility of Mary providing the faculty. By 1956 it was the largest school in the diocese. The present brick Romanesque Revival church was built in 1931 during the pastorate of the Rev. Cornelius Lalley (1928-1955). References

External links
 Parish website

Christian organizations established in 1906
20th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the United States
Roman Catholic churches in Des Moines, Iowa
Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in Iowa
National Register of Historic Places in Des Moines, Iowa
Romanesque Revival church buildings in Iowa