Established in 1646
First chapel after the Jesuit mission: 1791
First resident priest: 1800

Saint Anthony of Padua Church is the mother church of Kent County. In 1646, the Jesuits Martin Lejeune and André Richard established a mission in Richibouctou. Several missionaries passed through Richibouctou before the 1800s.
In June 1791, Pierre Richard, Pierre Léger, and several others petitioned Governor Carleton for a land grant on the banks of the Richibouctou River. The Council granted them the requested land.
In 1791, Father Mathurin Bourg (Bourque), the first Acadian priest, came to serve several families originally from Bonaventure and Memramcook who had settled in Aldouane and Richibouctou-Village. He was followed by Father Louis-Joseph Desjardins, parish priest of Carleton.
In 1798, Bishop Jean-François Hubert in Quebec City had Saint-Antoine de Padoue Church built. This church, situated on a pretty plateau at the back of the bay, is a kind of metropolis, mirrored by the chapels of Kigibouguac, Cardouane, and Bouctouche. The inhabitants of the first two of these places readily acknowledge their dependence on Richibouctou-Village. The framework of this first church was moved in 1877 from the shore at Bas de l'Allée to the church's current site. In 1878, Father F.X. Cormier was appointed parish priest. Upon his arrival, Father Cormier oversaw the construction of the church on the site and the repair of any damage it had sustained. He completely rebuilt the Village church. During Father Alphée Gaudet's tenure (1914-1926), he altered the church's interior by removing the rood screens and adding transepts.
The parish registers date back to 1796. Richibouctou-Village received its first resident missionary priest, Father Antoine Bédard, in 1800. At that time, the parish priests of Richibouctou-Village served the parishes of Aldouane, Saint-Louis, Baie des Ouines, Bouctouche, Cocagne, and Chimougoui. Following the departure of Abbot Bédard in 1804, there was a series of missionary priests in Richibouctou-Village.