Saint Anthony's Feast 2011

SAINT ANTHONY’S FEAST: TRADITION, FAITH & COMMUNITY

Fast Feast Facts

• Saint Anthony’s Feast is the largest Italian Religious Festival in New England.

• Celebrated annually since 1919 on the weekend of the last Sunday of August

• Located on Endicott, Thacher, and North Margin Streets in Boston’s North End

• All entertainment is free and open to the public

• Donations are accepted at the Chapel of Saint Anthony and Saint Lucy.

• The Grand Procession of Saint Anthony begins at 12:00 Noon and lasts for over TEN hours

• Visitors will have to pay at vendor stands and piazza.

• Hours of Operation: Friday & Monday: 5PM – 11:00 PM – Saturday & Sunday NOON – 11:30PM

Honors. Awards and Special Recognitions

Saint Anthony Society was a proud recipient of the North End Against Drugs 2003 N.E.A.D. Outstanding Organization Award in recognition of years of moral and financial support.

Saint John School, the only parochial grammar school in the North End presented Saint Anthony Society with the 2005 Saint John School Legacy Award. 

In 2007, the North End Athletic Association presented an engraved Gardner Chair to Saint Anthony Society in recognition of over 40 years of continued support to the North End Little League and sponsorship of The San Antonio Red Sox.

In 1984, Mayor Raymond L. Flynn renamed part of Endicott Street at the “Via Di San Antonio” in celebration of the 65th Anniversary of the Feast.

Saint Anthony’s Feast was the highlight on the Washington Mall in our Nation’s Capitol during the 1988 Festival of American Folklife. This week long celebration hosted by the Smithsonian Institute and the National Park Service replicated the North End Feast on the Mall with band concerts, parades and the traditional procession of Saint Anthony.

The Massachusetts Cultural Council hosted the Saint Anthony’s Feast at the 1989 Massachusetts Cultural Festival in Holyoke, Massachusetts. A mass was said in Saint Anthony’s honor followed by the procession of Saint Anthony complete with marching bands.

In 2009, in celebration of the 90th Anniversary, the Blessed Relics of Saint Anthony were brought to the Feast from Padua, Italy by Arch-Bishop Francesco Gioa, Pontifical Delegate to the Basilica di Sant’ Antonio. Thousands flocked to be blessed by Saint Anthony’s holy remains and a beautiful Mass was held in his honor at Saint Leonard Church.

Though the years Saint Anthony’s Feast has been featured in countless news articles, magazines, periodicals, and other publications - National Geographic called Saint Anthony’s Feast the “FEAST OF ALL FEASTS” and the magazine of Italian Food, Wine & Travel stated that Saint Anthony’s Feast is “…A SPECTACLE NOT TO BE MISSED.”