Parish History

St. Mary Church
Established 1868
More than 2500 households

In the summer of 1851, Father John Sheridan of St. Mary, New Haven, celebrated the first Branford Mass at the Montowese Street home of Francis Harding. In 1852 the area passed to the jurisdiction of the newly created St. Patrick parish, New Haven. In 1854 Branford passed to the care of St. Joseph, Chester. The first Branford mission chapel, dedicated to the Immaculate Conception, was completed in 1855 on land donated by Mr. Harding. In 1856 it became a dependency of Guilford. In October 1858, Father William Clarke was named first pastor of the newly created parish. Father Edward Martin organized a church building project. The completed church was dedicated by Bishop Michael Tierney on January 24, 1904. The parish church soon had to be rebuilt after a tragic fire on November 25, 1904. The church was rededicated a month later. By the early 1960's a new school, staffed by the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur, was dedicated on June 3, 1961, by Archbishop Henry J. O'Brien. A second church fire of suspicious origin necessitated the replacement of the old church. The new St. Mary was dedicated on August 25, 1974, by Archbishop John F. Whealon.