The NY Times on 2/12/2002 writes as follows: Msgr. Anthony Dalla Villa, the former rector of St. Patrick's Cathedral in Manhattan and for years one of the most visible priests in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York, died on Sunday 2/10/2002, after collapsing while celebrating Mass at St. Agnes Church in Manhattan. He was 63. The cause was apparently a heart attack, a spokesman for the archdiocese said.

Until his transfer to St. Agnes last year, Monsignor Dalla Villa spent 21 years at St. Patrick's, first as an assistant master of ceremonies and then, starting in 1988, as rector. As a preacher, Cathedral administrator and steady presence at the altar, he became something of a parish priest for the archdiocese. While rector, the monsignor said noon Mass every day but Friday, making him a well-known face to Catholics who left their Midtown offices for a lunchtime service. He took great care with his sermons and became known for eloquence.

Monsignor Dalla Villa offered funeral Masses for celebrities like Andy Warhol and Billy Martin. Delivering the Warhol homily, he said the artist could ''take the very simple and ordinary objects of life and make them truly extraordinary.''  He also emerged into prominent view during Cardinal John J. O'Connor's final illness, when it fell to him to announce that the cardinal was too ill to appear on several occasions. Behind the scenes, Monsignor Dalla Villa kept the cathedral running smoothly. He oversaw the restoration of the organ, the altar canopy, side altars and various statues.

Anthony John Dalla Villa was born in the Bronx, the son of an Italian immigrant longshoreman, and grew up in the Italian neighborhood around Belmont and Arthur Avenues.  He is survived by a sister, Angelina Srinivas. Outside the church, Monsignor Dalla Villa had two great interests: collecting and fixing pocket watches, and Italy. He spoke fluent Italian and visited relatives in the Brescia area several times a year. He was ordained in 1964 and served as an associate pastor at St. Dominic's in the Bronx and then at Our Lady Queen of Peace in Staten Island before coming to St. Patrick's. When Monsignor Dalla Villa was moved to St. Agnes last year, Cardinal Edward Egan, the archbishop of New York, arranged for the pope to name him a prothonotary apostolic, the highest honorary title for a monsignor, Msgr. Eugene V. Clark said.

A version of this article appears in print on, Section B, Page 7 of the National edition with the headline: Msgr. Anthony Dalla Villa, 63, Longtime Rector at St. Patrick'

Ten Years after his death a Lainie Diamond, a Mezzo-Soprano versatile artist of many talents honored Msgr Anthony J Dalla Valla on one of her BLOG pages (Click on the following Link) :

The Monsignor Anthony Dalla Villa Tribute Page

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