Parish History

Learn about Saint Agnes!

In 1845, Mass was offered on a regular basis in the home of Mr. John Farrell in Greenport and the home of Mr. John Connally of Arshamomaque. These Masses were the beginning of what would become St. Agnes Parish in Greenport. Although not always welcomed, for the next ten years priests would travel from Brooklyn to attend to the needs of the faithful on the East End.

Father Joseph Brunemann was the first resident priest in the East End, who resided in Sag Harbor in 1859. Property was bought by Bishop Loughlin for a church in Greenport as early as 1855, and some type of building was erected, but no regular parish was organized for over thirty years. While Fr. John McCarthy is recorded as the first resident priest in Greenport from 1857 - 1859, Fr. Joseph Brunemann called it by its present name - St. Agnes. Mass was celebrated at St. Agnes once every three months.
 

In 1868 Fr. John McKenna drew up the first list of adult Catholics on the East End of the North Fork. - it totaled 72 adult Catholics. By 1870, we numbered 84 Catholics and were growing. It is believed that Fr. McKenna built the old St. Agnes Hall.
On September 28, 1884, the present church building of St. Agnes, built under the direction of Fr. Richard Foley, was dedicated by Bishop John Loughlin. In 1886, Fr. Mortimer Brennan became the first resident pastor of St. Agnes and in 1888 he moved into the present rectory.
 

On August 28, 1898, Fr. Patrick Farrelly bought twelve acres of land on Sterling Creek which is the present day St. Agnes Cemetery. (Although he died in 1914 as Pastor of St. Brigid's Church in Brooklyn, he is buried in our cemetery under the Celtic Cross to the right at the end of the center road).
 

The first renovation of the church took place in 1905 under Fr. Charles Gibney. He added the bell tower and two windows in the choir loft. He installed new pews, a new organ and the Stations of the Cross. (Fr. Gibney also renovated the old St. Agnes Hall, added the iron fence around the property and a Crucifixion Scene above the altar - which has since been removed).
 

Through the years of the depression and World Wars the parish of St. Agnes was served by many devoted pastors. In 1945, Fr. Edward Kelly was made pastor and on September 8, 1946 he dedicated the outdoor shrine of Our Lady in memory of parish members who had fallen in both World Wars. The shrine was erected by the Catholic War veterans.
 

In 1950, Fr. Jerome Holland came to St. Agnes. Important repairs and renovations came with Fr. Holland. Aside from internal renovations in the church he enlarged the rectory with rooms for an assistant priest. He built the new St. Agnes Hall and laid out parking spaces. We bought the Golden Family home in 1953 to be a convent and invited the Sisters of Mercy to come to the parish.

In 1954, Fr. Holland was replaced by Fr. James Mooney and work began to build the St. Agnes School. It was not until September 18, 1960 that the dream of a school was made a reality under the pastorate of Fr. Joseph Tennant. In 1969, Fr. Virgil Power was made Pastor and our 100th Anniversary was celebrated with another renovation of the church. Keeping with the tradition of the 70’s, the sanctuary was paneled. In June of 1971, we celebrated the ordination of our own Father Ray Walden, the first parishioner of St. Agnes to be ordained.
 

St. Agnes prospered during the pastorate of Fr. Rocco Gallitelli and in 1987 Fr. John Sullivan arrived as our Pastor. The church's present interior appearance is due to Fr. Jack's expansion of the altar and recessing of the ceiling lights as well as the addition of the sound system that was further improved by his successor, Msgr. Charles Guarino, who also moved the Baptismal Font to the front of the church.

In 2002, Father Tom Murray became Pastor of Saint Agnes and served the Parish well until June 2014, when Father Richard Hoerning became our Pastor. After serving a six-year term as Pastor, Father Richard retired in August 2020. On August 26, 2020, Father Piotr Narkiewicz was appointed the current Administrator of Saint Agnes Parish.
 

At present, we show over 750 families registered at St. Agnes and our numbers continue to grow. While the interior of our church has changed through the years, the faith and devotion of the people of St. Agnes has remained a constant tribute to our history.

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