St. Nicholas of Tolentine Church

The current St. Nicholas of Tolentine Church at Pacific and Tennessee Avenues replaced an earlier church of the same name on Atlantic Avenue near Tennessee, dating to 1858. The older, wood frame building was doubled in size in the 1880s and moved a block to the Pacific Avenue site. The older church building was demolished in 1902 so the new church could be built; 2,000 people attended the ceremony when the cornerstone was laid on July 6th 1902. The head of St. Nicholas, Father McShane, announced at the opening ceremonies in September 1905 that the building had cost $128,000, of which $113,000 came from donations collected in church.

The Philadelphia architect of the Roman Revival style church was Edwin Forrest Durang (born 1829 - died 1911). The church, of Mt. Airy light-colored granite from North Carolina, is 150 feet long, 76 feet wide along Pacific Avenue, with twin towers reaching 120 feet. The roof was red tile; exterior ornamentation was terra cotta and exterior metalwork was copper. Seven doors led into the building, with the columns by the three front doors made of Vermont granite topped by Georgia marble capitals. The 142 stained glass windows were manufactured in Germany and Philadelphia. In 1935, the church underwent redecoration and a one-story baptistery designed by architect Henry D. Dagit, Jr. (1893-1981) was added at the building's northeast corner. During repainting in 1977, some of the original murals were painted over, and the columns were painted in a faux marble look. The church's wooden flooring and pews were replaced in the 1980s. The roof was replaced in 2009 and damaged exterior mortar joints were removed and repointed; this cost over a million dollars. The interior transepts, or "arms" of the church, were restored in 2019 after years of peeling paint and plaster from soot and water damage; walls, window frames, artwork, columns, and decorative details were fixed by Evergreene Architectural Arts. Fundraising is ongoing to restore the other interior spaces.

The church was named for Nicholas of Tolentine, a priest and Augustinian friar who was born Nicholas Gurutti in 1245 in Macerata, Italy, and died in Tolentine, Italy in 1305. He was canonized in 1446 and is the patron saint of souls in Purgatory, against fires, and against disease. His intercessions for a dead friar he is said to have heard in a dream, stuck in Purgatory, are part of his miraculous deeds. His remains are preserved at the Shrine of St. Nicholas in the city of Tolentine.

St. Nicholas of Tolentine Church is currently one of three Roman Catholic churches in Atlantic City, all part of the Parish of Saint Monica; the church offers masses on Saturdays and Sundays in English. Another of the parish's local churches, Our Lady Star of the Sea (2651 Atlantic Ave., built in 1897 to replace an 1885 St. Monica Church which burned down in the mid-1890s), has masses in English, Spanish and Vietnamese; a school is affiliated with this church. The third church, St. Michael (10 N. Mississippi Ave.), dates to 1912.

Berkey, Joan. NRHP nomination of St. Nicholas of Tolentine Church, Atlantic City. National Register. Washington, DC. National Park Service, 2000.

Fairfield, C. J. "After years of fundraising, St. Nicholas Church in Atlantic City begins restoration." Press of Atlantic City (Atlantic City, NJ) October 17th 2019. , Local News sec.

Middleton, Thomas Cooke. A New Jersey Seaside Mission. St Nicholas of Tolentine's of the Augustinians at Atlantic City, A.D. 1855 - 1906. Records of the American Catholic Historical Society of Philadelphia, vol. 17(2), no. June144 - 179. Published June 1st 1906. JSTOR.

Parish of Saint Monica. St. Nicholas of Tolentine Church, About, Churches. January 1st 2021. Accessed February 11th 2021. https://accatholic.org/about/churches/st-nicholas-of-tolentine-church/.

Province of Our Mother of Good Counsel of the Augustinian Order. Saint Nicholas of Tolentine, Midwest Augustinians, Augustinian Saints and Blesseds. Accessed February 11th 2021. https://www.midwestaugustinians.org/st-nicholas-of-tolentine.

Sanchez, Peter G. "Father Benedict House, Atlantic City." Catholic Star Herald (Camden, NJ) December 6th 2018. Latest News sec.