"the little church with a big heart"

In 1852 the Council of Baltimore decided that Vermont merited its own diocese, serving 25,000 Catholics and 11 Parishes at the time. 

St. Catherine's church in Shelburne is a testament to the devotion of a Catholic community that first gathered for mass in this little brick church in December 1895. The founders were fifteen Irish families and thrity-five French-Canadian families, immigrants who mainly came to Vermont to farm or work as domestics, many at Shelburne Farms. Before 1895, Catholics traveled by carriage, horseback, or train to Vergennes or Burlington for Sunday mass.  Visiting priests would occasionally come to Shelburne to say mass in homes or at the chapel that Dr. Webb built at Shelburne Farms in 1888 so that workers wouldn’t have to make the long journey to Sunday Mass.

1n 1895 John B. Dubuc served as an agent of the diocese to purchase land in order to build a Catholic church and establish a cemetery.  Father Campeau, the pastor from Vergennes and a builder by trade, took charge of the construction project.  Wood for the church was harvested from Fr. Campeau’s wood lot.  Parishioners donated labor to augment the seventeen hired masons.  The cornerstone was laid November 3, 1895 and the first Mass was celebrated December 19th. 

 The church was dedicated to St. Catherine of Alexandria.  In 1982, the church was rededicated to St. Catherine of Siena, often portrayed in Dominican attire with a lily and stigmata, continues as our patron.  Above the altar, the stained glass window holds the image of St. Catherine of Alexandria portrayed with a spiked “breaking wheel.”  The window, in French, commemorates a gift from Mrs. John B. Dubuc.  Sadly, the first funeral at St. Catherine’s was just two weeks after the church opened, for 14-year-old Jennie Dubuc, the second daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John Dubuc who suddenly took ill and died just four days later.

St. Catherine’s was a mission to the Vergennes parish until 1906 when Father Campeau directed the construction of the rock-faced, concrete block rectory and moved to Shelburne to serve as its first resident pastor.  As St. Catherine of Siena Church approaches its 125th anniversary in 2020, the parish is planning for a new Parish Hall addition to the historic church so that all will feel welcome and comfortable.