St. Anthony’s Church, Walnut Grove, CA

St. Anthony’s Catholic Church has anchored a tranquil residential neighborhood in the historic Sacramento River town of Walnut Grove for over 90 years. The red-tiled brick edifice houses a peaceful interior that is bathed with light filtered through 32 stained-glass windows including 12 windows depicting scenes of Jesus, St. Anthony, the Blessed Mother and other Saints special to the parish. The serene worship space is ideal for prayer and contemplation surrounded by traditional statues and shrines. Outside, a prayerful shrine to the Blessed Mother occupies part of the spacious grounds along with a parish hall and a rectory. The small, but pious parish supports a clergy who hold numerous Masses throughout the week: 8:30 a.m. Masses on Tuesday through Saturday; and 3 weekend Masses including a Saturday vigil Mass in Spanish.

Special things to see in the Church
> Neo-Romanesque Architectural Design by Architect, Harry J. Devine
> Symbolic Tympanum Design over Entrance
> Beautiful Stained Glass Windows
> Glowing Gold Painting of Our Lady of Guadalupe
> Image of Our Mother of Perpetual Help from the original church in Ryde

Interesting Fact(s) About the Church
The subjects of the stained glass windows reflect the initial cultural composition of the parish. The parish which is rooted back to the 1880’s was comprised largely of Portuguese and Irish. The large window on the front reflects the Portuguese patron St. Anthony of Padua; and three Irish saints are reflected in the side windows of the nave: St. Brendan, St. Bridgid and St. Patrick. The current composition of the parish is of people of Mexican and Latin American descent and their influences are reflected in the shrines and statues of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Infant Jesus and Divine Mercy Jesus