[2]: 44  Built in the late nineteenth century, it remains the home of a functioning congregation, and it has been recognized as a historically significant building because of its architecture.

No church existed in Padua in its first few years; in order to hear Mass, the Catholics of the community typically traveled to Minster,[3] over 20 miles (35 km) away.

[5]: 227 The single-story church was erected atop a basement; its walls were faced with a stretcher bond, and the gabled roof was finished with slates.

[6] St. Anthony's simple brick walls and rectangular floorplan places it in the second generation;[3] its large tower, atypical of second-generation churches, is the result of an expansion in 1900, which also included the enlargement of the sacristy and the addition of frescoes on the ceiling.

[3] Two years later, the church was recognized for its architecture and its high quality of preservation when it was added to the National Register of Historic Places.

[1] Thirty-three other buildings related to the Society of the Precious Blood, including twenty-six churches, were added to the Register at the same time.