The St. Nicholas of Tolentine Church is a Roman Catholic parish located in the South Philadelphia neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania within the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. St. Nicks is one of two remaining ethnically Italian parishes in the South Vicariate, the other being St. Donato's of West Philadelphia. Both parishes give Mass in Italian, as well as English, and consist of a heavily Italian American congregation. The church is located on 9th and Watkins' Streets in South Philadelphia. History 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. They were Fr. William Repetti, pastor, Fr. Angelo Caruso, assistant and Brother Bernardino Falconi. The Papal Delegate, Archbishop Sebastian Martinelli, O.S.A., blessed the cornerstone of Our Lady of Good Counsel Church on May 21, 1899. People began to flock to the new Italian church for baptisms, marriages and other church functions. Baptisms alone on some weekends were as many as forty. The unprecedented church activity continued for the next fourteen years. 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 at Our Lady of Good Counsel were very concerned. They searched for a solution to this problem and found it in a small Protestant church at 9th and Watkins Streets about eight blocks south of Our Lady of Good Counsel Church. The church was up for sale! 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 following news item appeared in the Philadelphia Ledger on February 27, 1912: Downtown Church is Sold for $14,500 The old building of Salem Congregation to be used as Catholic Church. 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.