Parish History

St. Gregory the Great Church
Established 1957
About 2900 households

Father Charles W. McNerney was appointed founding pastor of St. Gregory the Great parish, Bristol, on November 21, 1957. Three days later, the first parish Mass was offered at the Stafford School. Parishioner Frank Janicke converted the temporary rectory's three-car garage on Farmington Avenue into a chapel for daily Mass. Through the kindness of town authorities, the Stafford School was employed for weekly religious instruction. By 1965, the facilities of the Northeast School were also in use. On November 5, 1960, Archbishop Henry J. O'Brien dedicated St. Gregory the Great Church on property adjoining the new rectory on Maltby Street.