St. Nicks is one of two remaining ethnically Italian parishes in the South Vicariate[1], the other being St. Donato's of West Philadelphia.

The church of St. Nicholas of Tolentine owes its beginnings (1912) to the Italian Augustinian priests who, at the invitation of Archbishop Patrick John Ryan, came to the Archdiocese of Philadelphia to start a church on Christian Street, between Eighth and Ninth Streets, to help minister to the very large influx of Italian immigrants.

The parish of Our Lady of Good Counsel was formally established on January 8, 1898 with three Augustinians, who had arrived from Italy.

The Papal Delegate, Archbishop Sebastian Martinelli, O.S.A., blessed the cornerstone of Our Lady of Good Counsel Church on May 21, 1899.

Meanwhile, many Italian families kept moving farther south in the city and, finding themselves too far from the church, began neglecting their religious obligations.

The Fathers thought they could use this building as an auxiliary or mission church to serve the Italians who were moving to this area.

The building of Salem Church of the Evangelical Association of North America at the southwest corner of Ninth and Watkins Streets, below Morris, was sold to the Order of the Hermits of St. Augustine, which about two years ago, built the handsome new church of St. Rita at Broad and Federal Streets.

The Salem building will be used, in the future, as a chapel in connection with the Catholic Church of Our Lady of Good Counsel on Christian Street, west of Eighth.

It was built about eighteen years ago and it is significant of the rapid change of population in the older section of the city.

About a year ago, a Hebrew congregation entered into an agreement to purchase the church for $18,500, but the sale was not consummated.The church and parsonage were purchased by the Augustinians with the approval of Archbishop Edmond Francis Prendergast who realized that there was a great demand for Italian speaking priests in Philadelphia.

On Sunday, April 14, 1912, Father Martin J. Geraghty, Commissary General of the Augustinians in the U.S., blessed the new chapel.

At 3 P.M. on Sunday, December 3, 1916, a large number of people witnessed the laying of the cornerstone of the new St. Nicholas Church.

There was no need for the church to remain open, although it closed to great protest by the parishioners of Our Lady of Good Counsel.

On Sunday, April 11, 1937, a Solemn High Mass was celebrated to commemorate the 25th Anniversary, or Silver Jubilee, of the church's opening.

During these years of active ministry in Philadelphia, the Augustinians in Italy kept sending to our shores a steady flow of workers.