Our Parish History: Yesterday and Today


St. Columba Parish began in 1904 as a mission of St .Denis Church. The Pastor at the time was Father John Columba McEvoy, thus the origin of our Parish name. During that time Mass was offered in the homes of our Parishioners, then as our numbers increased we found larger spaces to gather. In the 1950's IBM came to East Fishkill and the Hopewell Junction population surged. The present property was purchased in 1959 by the Pastor of St. Denis Monsignor Brody. The School and Convent were built in 1964. Sister Grace Imelda was the founding Principal of our School which opened in 1965 with 5 classes and 260 students. Today, we have 16 classes with 510 students and 1,300 students in our Religious Education Program. Our Church built under the leadership of Monsignor Joseph Meehan, was dedicated on April 14th, 1989. St. Columba was finally established as its own Parish in 1992 with Bishop Dominick Lagonegro as our first Pastor. We established the Blessed Kateri Mission in 1998 to accommodate the ever increasing number of new Parishioners to our area. Blessed Kateri became its own Parish in 2002. Today we still continue to grow with over 5,000 families registered.
Since the very beginning our Parish has responded generously to the changing needs of this vibrant and growing community. Our organizations and programs have met the spiritual and physical needs of thousands through the years. As we look to the future, we are confident in our faith in the Lord, Jesus Christ.
Strengthened by Word and Sacraments as Church, we continue to be an instrument of His presence in this community.