People Profile:
Father Roberto Balducelli, Renaissance Man and Welder
Father Roberto Balducelli arrived at St. Anthony’s of Padua Church in 1946. Known to parishioners as Father Roberto, he was the first Italian priest to be associated with St. Anthony’s and served as assistant to Church Pastor Very Reverend J. Francis Tucker.
After 25 years as pastor of St. Anthony’s, Father Tucker went to a new assignment as chaplain to the late Prince Rainiere of Monaco in 1949. Father Roberto became assistant to the new pastor Reverend Joseph L. McCoy.
Father Roberto immediately took on the task of renovating an old public school to meet young Catholic students’ educational needs, as well as establishing a new school called Padua Academy for girls, long a dream of the parish.
“Father Roberto is everywhere,” wrote one interviewer. “He embodies the Italian love of beauty and culture, the devotion of a priest to his flock, and he is a businessman dealing with realistic details of running a successful corporation.” In 1959 he became pastor of St. Anthony’s.
Father Roberto’s love of welding helped to build St. Anthony in the Hills in the 1960s, a popular summer retreat and sanctuary for children and their families near Hockessin, Delaware. On his watch, the parish opened a senior and day care center and expanded the famous Italian Festival. He retired as the church’s pastor in 1988.
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