Saint John Church History

In the early 19th Century, immigrants from Ireland moved in large numbers to Middletown. By 1830 there were enough families there to form a vibrant and close-knit Irish community that desired its own place of worship. In 1841, two acres of land were purchased on the current site of the Church was purchased. Most of the future parishioners of St. John’s worked across

the river in the brownstone quarries of Portland and the owners of the quarries donated large blocks of brownstone to help build the first church.

Since Saint John was built back in 1843, and the Diocese of Norwich was not created until August 06, 1953, by His Holiness Pope Venerable Pius XII, the Church is the oldest Church in the Diocese (as it actually pre-dated it) and is lovingly known as the Mother Church of the Diocese. The Archdiocese of Hartford, in fact, had ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Church until 1953. The imposing Irish -influenced ecclesiastical Gothic Revival church building was designed by architect, Patrick Charles Keely, and it was built by local Irish immigrants that were led by prominent local builder Barzialli Sage.

The original church that was completed in 1843 was just a small church building and the existing spire for the Church was erected in 1864. There has been three renovations to the exterior of the building. The 1864 building is now the sacristy for St. John and the current church was finished in 1852. The Church can hold up to one thousand worshipers. The interior walls of the Church were frescoed by William Borgett, a local artist and there have been several interior renovations over the years. The building is listed as a significant contributing property of the City of Middletown Historic District.

In 2017, the Parishes of SS John & Sebastian were yoked together with Rev. James Thaikoottathil, J.C.D. becoming the first Pastor of the yoked parishes.

The Church celebrated its 175th Anniversary of serving the Catholic faithful of Middletown on September 30, 2018. Where His Excellency, Bishop Michael Richard Cote, D.D., Bishop of Norwich re-dedicated the Church.





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