St. Francis Xavier Church
Established 1896
900 households
About 500 families in Waterbury's south end were attending either
St. Patrick or Immaculate Conception parish as the nineteenth century was nearing
an end. Bishop Michael A. Tierney recognized their need for autonomy by appointing
Father Jeremiah J. Curtin first pastor of a new city parish on December 3, 1895.
Originally St. Joseph, the new parish's name was soon changed to St. Francis Xavier
to avoid confusion with another area parish. Initially, Father Curtin celebrated parish
liturgies in a South Main Street auditorium. The arrangement lasted until a frame church
was erected and opened for Mass on April 22, 1896. The first Church of St. Francis Xavier was
dedicated on May 30, 1896. Groundbreaking for a new center of parish worship occurred
on April 17, 1902. Bishop Thomas B. Beavan of Springfield dedicated the new church of
St. Francis Xavier on March 24, 1907. Dedicated on February 10, 1924, was another
faith- generated institution, a parish school located on Baldwin Street and staffed
by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Chambery.
Established 1896
900 households
About 500 families in Waterbury's south end were attending either
St. Patrick or Immaculate Conception parish as the nineteenth century was nearing
an end. Bishop Michael A. Tierney recognized their need for autonomy by appointing
Father Jeremiah J. Curtin first pastor of a new city parish on December 3, 1895.
Originally St. Joseph, the new parish's name was soon changed to St. Francis Xavier
to avoid confusion with another area parish. Initially, Father Curtin celebrated parish
liturgies in a South Main Street auditorium. The arrangement lasted until a frame church
was erected and opened for Mass on April 22, 1896. The first Church of St. Francis Xavier was
dedicated on May 30, 1896. Groundbreaking for a new center of parish worship occurred
on April 17, 1902. Bishop Thomas B. Beavan of Springfield dedicated the new church of
St. Francis Xavier on March 24, 1907. Dedicated on February 10, 1924, was another
faith- generated institution, a parish school located on Baldwin Street and staffed
by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Chambery.