As special endeavor of the 150th anniversary of the Province of St. Thomas of Villanova in 2024-2025, we are pleased to introduce Pages from Our History. Here you’ll find articles about some of our many friars, more detailed than the brief necrology sketches we feature elsewhere.
You’ll learn about Augustinian parishes in a bygone Philadelphia; the work of the Augustinians in Cuba at the turn of the 20th century; the remarkable story of an Austrian nobleman-turned-Augustinian novice; and three English immigrant brothers who all joined the Order but, sadly, all died early deaths.
Special thanks to Fr. Michael Di Gregorio, O.S.A. for researching these stories and providing them to us!
We hope you will enjoy these Pages from Our History.
In the community cemetery located on the campus of Villanova University, where nearly 200 Augustinians are laid to rest, there is the grave of a friar who is unique among...
When Father Lorenzo Andolfi arrived in New York City on November 1, 1926 to join the Italian Augustinian Mission of Philadelphia, he was, unlike many friars who had come before...
Originally printed in La Ripresa dell’Ordine, Gli Agostiniani tra 1850-1920, Congresso dell’Istituto Storico Agostiniano, Roma 15-19 ottobre 2012 I. When Father John Possidius O’Dwyer died on May 24, 1850, the...
The thirteen years which Father Aurelio Marini spent as pastor of Buon Consiglio Parish in Philadelphia, came to a difficult end on May 3, 1933, and marked, as well, the...
1898-1906[1] Originally printed in La Ripresa dell’Ordine, Gli Agostiniani tra 1850-1920, Congresso dell’Istituto Storico Agostiniano, Roma 15-19 ottobre 2012 This paper treats of the arrival of the American Augustinians and...
1796-1900 Originally printed in Le Soppressioni del Secolo XIX e L’Ordine Agostiniano, Congresso dell’Istituto Storico Agostiniano, Roma 19-23 ottobre 2009 The Order of St. Augustine began its permanent presence in...
An American in Rome: Father Joseph A. Hickey, O.S.A.
In the community cemetery located on the campus of Villanova University, where nearly 200 Augustinians are laid to rest, there is the grave of a
Commissary and Pastor to Italian Immigrants | Lorenzo Andolfi, O.S.A.
When Father Lorenzo Andolfi arrived in New York City on November 1, 1926 to join the Italian Augustinian Mission of Philadelphia, he was, unlike many
The Story of the Augustinians in North America | 1850-1920
Originally printed in La Ripresa dell’Ordine, Gli Agostiniani tra 1850-1920, Congresso dell’Istituto Storico Agostiniano, Roma 15-19 ottobre 2012 I. When Father John Possidius O’Dwyer died
First Italian Commissary Provincial of the Vice-Province of Philadelphia | Aurelio Marini, O.S.A.
The thirteen years which Father Aurelio Marini spent as pastor of Buon Consiglio Parish in Philadelphia, came to a difficult end on May 3, 1933,
The Beginning of the American Augustinian Mission in Cuba
1898-1906[1] Originally printed in La Ripresa dell’Ordine, Gli Agostiniani tra 1850-1920, Congresso dell’Istituto Storico Agostiniano, Roma 15-19 ottobre 2012 This paper treats of the
Beginning and Growth of the Augustinian Order in the United States
1796-1900 Originally printed in Le Soppressioni del Secolo XIX e L’Ordine Agostiniano, Congresso dell’Istituto Storico Agostiniano, Roma 19-23 ottobre 2009 The Order of St.
An Unsung Pioneer Augustinian in America | Guglielmo Serafino Repetti, O.S.A
One of the little-known protagonists of Augustinian history in the United States is a friar whose name is largely unfamiliar to his confreres of the
From Prince to Friar: The Religious Journey of Rudolph de Landas-Berghes
In the small cemetery just a few yards from the twin-spired church of Saint Thomas on the campus of Villanova University, a white tombstone marks
A Beloved and Loving Pastor | Fr. Leo J. Reichart, O.S.A.
To set out to tell the life story of Augustinian Father Leo Reichart is, tantamount to chronicle the history of Saint Rita of Cascia Parish
The Brothers Marsden
The difficult decision taken by the province to withdraw from the parishes of Saint Mary in Waterford and Saint Augustine in Troy, New York, has
