The regimental chaplain of General Lafayette's staff celebrated the first Mass in Weston when the Continental troops were bivouacked in this area. In September of 1953, more than 150 years later, 35 people from eight families met at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Clifford E. Smith, in the presence of Father Joseph Cleary, pastor of Sacred Heart Parish in Georgetown, who became the group's first spiritual director. They met to discuss the possibility of a Catholic parish in Weston and how to go about it. To attend Mass, Weston Catholics had to travel a distance south to the Church of the Assumption in Westport or north to Sacred Heart Church in Georgetown. "What do we have to do to get a church of our own?" they asked.

This meeting proved to be a giant step on a Journey of Faith. Father Cleary shared the results of his very successful meeting with the Bishop of Hartford who gave a sympathetic response to their dream. The Weston Catholic Society was soon formed.

In February 1954, Bishop Lawrence J. Shehan, recently installed as the first Bishop of the newly erected Diocese of Bridgeport, enthusiastically encouraged the members of the Weston Catholic Society, under Father Cleary, to continue their efforts. With Father Cleary continuing to receive a very positive response from the bishop, especially after an inspection tour of Weston, the momentum of the Weston Catholic Society continued on a high.

Toward the end of 1954, after much work and many fundraising events, 12 acres of land owned by Mr. George O. May were purchased at a cost of $25,000. As the congregation grew, the celebration of Mass was moved to the Weston Town Hall.

The great moment came on October 26, 1955, when Bishop Shehan announced he was canonically establishing the Parish of St. Francis of Assisi, with the Town of Weston as its boundaries. At the same time, he announced the appointment of Father Franklin J. Corrigan as its first pastor. The joy was unrestrained. The first major milestone on this Journey of Faith had been reached.

Construction of a Church

There would be other milestones ahead. Father James Murphy, who succeeded Father Corrigan as pastor in 1957, undertook a fund-drive to complete the building of the church. On Christmas Eve, 1958, at the Midnight Mass, the first Mass in the nearly completed St. Francis of Assisi Church was celebrated. This was a thrilling event for the parishioners, whose dreams of a parish church in Weston was realized after six years of planning, fund-raising and hard work. Bishop Shehan formally dedicated the church on February 1, 1959.

A rectory was built next to the church in 1968. 

In September 1999, the new parish center and Pre-School was completed.

Past Pastors

Current Pastor