St Thomas of Villanova is one of those saints that people would have to look up to know anything about. To me, the name Villanova will always be connected to the pizzeria of my childhood, owned by the uncle of the kid who lived on the corner, said uncle, I was later to learn, was a Chicago outfit guy with his own mob nickname (“Pizza man”) but never indicted.
The parish itself apparently had a bit of a rocky start beginning with a dozen acres of land and nothing else and had to compete with the presbyterians for use of the local public school’s gymnasium for Sunday services. The church building was completed in the 60s and reflects the dominant architectural style of that era with the congregation arranged in a semi-circle around the sanctuary.
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