Spanning the rolling towns of Tioga County, New York, Blessed Trinity and St. Patrick Parishes gather the Catholic faithful of Waverly, Newark Valley, Apalachin, and Owego under a single pastoral umbrella within the Diocese of Rochester. The parish's motto, "Reaching Up to Worship, Reaching Out to Serve," captures a community that traces its roots in some of its buildings to the 1850s and 1860s, while its current shape is a product of a careful twenty-year pastoral planning process that reshaped Catholic life in the region. From a one-room mission in a Grange Hall in Apalachin to the German stained glass of Waverly, from a Polish-built church in Newark Valley to the mother parish of Tioga County in Owego, the four worship sites carry more than a century and a half of immigrant faith, renewal movements, and a steady commitment to the sacraments.
Two Parishes, Four Doors
What looks at first glance like a single large parish is in fact two canonically distinct parishes that share a pastor, a parochial vicar, a pastoral staff, and a central office. Blessed Trinity Parish was formed on July 1, 2003, by the merger of St. James the Apostle in Waverly, St. John the Evangelist in Newark Valley, and St. Margaret Mary in Apalachin, joined the same day with St. Patrick Parish in Owego as a clustered partner. The five churches had been moving toward unity for years under the so-called "Strength of Six" (SOS) spirit, a regional collaboration that also included St. Francis of Assisi in Catatonk and St. Pius X in Van Etten. In 2010, with the number of priests assigned to the region reduced from three to two, St. Francis of Assisi and St. Pius X were closed, leaving the present four worship sites standing.
Although the individual names of each church have been preserved, the day-to-day life of the parish is integrated. A combined bulletin, a unified faith formation plan, regional finance and pastoral councils, and a shared business manager knit the four sites together. The Central Office is located at 309 Front Street in Owego in the former St. Patrick Convent (the McAuley Center), and the rectory at St. Margaret Mary in Apalachin serves as the priests' residence.
A Mass Schedule That Spans the County
The parish's mission statement commits it to faithful listening, patient unity, generous service, and gentle outreach. That vision is enacted through a seven-day-a-week rhythm of Masses that touch every corner of the county.
- St. James in Waverly: Monday and Friday at 8:30 a.m., Saturday at 5:00 p.m., Sunday at 9:00 a.m.
- St. John the Evangelist in Newark Valley: Wednesday and Friday at 8:30 a.m., Sunday at 11:15 a.m.
- St. Margaret Mary in Apalachin: Tuesday and Thursday at 7:00 a.m., Sunday at 10:45 a.m.
- St. Patrick in Owego: Tuesday and Thursday at noon, Saturday at 5:00 p.m., Sunday at 9:00 a.m.
The sacrament of reconciliation is offered 30 minutes before each scheduled weekday Mass in the church where that Mass is being celebrated. In addition, two parishes keep regular weekly hours in the confessional: St. James hears confessions on Thursday from 5:00 to 6:00 p.m., Saturday from 4:00 to 4:45 p.m., and Sunday from 8:30 to 8:50 a.m.; St. Patrick hears confessions on Tuesday from 5:00 to 6:00 p.m., Saturday from 4:00 to 4:45 p.m., and Sunday from 8:30 to 8:50 a.m. Those who have been away from the sacrament for a long time, or whose schedules do not match these hours, are invited to call the parish office and arrange an appointment with a priest.
St. James the Apostle in Waverly: A Rebuilt Church with German Glass
Catholic life in Waverly began with missionary priests from northern Pennsylvania and southern New York who came at intervals to minister to the faithful of Factoryville (the original name of the village) in the 1830s. The first Catholic priest in the area, Rev. J. V. O'Reilly, arrived in 1842; three years later the Binghamton mission sent Rev. Andrew Doyle, and in 1844 Rev. John Sheridan was placed in charge of the Owego mission that then included Waverly. The completion of the Erie Railroad in 1849 brought a flood of new Catholic families, and in 1853 the first Catholic church in Waverly was dedicated on Erie Street at a cost of $800. It was replaced in 1871 by a larger church on Chemung and Clark streets, and in 1881 Waverly became a separate charge from the Owego mission.
On March 17, 1912, the second St. James was destroyed by fire. The present building rose on the same site and was dedicated on November 23, 1913, under the pastorate of Monsignor James Griffin. Eleven stained glass windows were imported from Germany, depicting the Immaculate Conception, the Annunciation, the Visitation, the Nativity, the Presentation, the Resurrection, the Ascension, the Assumption, the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the Sacred Heart of Mary, and Saints John the Baptist and John the Evangelist. Fourteen Stations of the Cross were donated by parish families, as were statues of the Sacred Heart, St. Joseph, the Blessed Virgin, and St. James the Apostle, which stands in a small shrine high in the dome. In 1954, under Rev. G. Stuart Hogan, St. James Catholic School opened with eight grades, staffed by the Sisters of St. Joseph. The school closed in 1988 because of falling enrollment, but the parish retains ownership of St. James Cemetery, which has been a parish responsibility since around 1860.
St. John the Evangelist in Newark Valley: A Brick Church from 1880
Catholic families began settling in the township of Newark Valley in the 1870s, gathering first in the home of Michael and Bridgett Fahey on Whig Street. In 1880, Father James O'Mara and the Catholics of Newark Valley set out to build a church. Samuel Loring constructed the building from bricks made at the Loring Brickyards, and on January 8, 1881, the 36-by-75-foot brick structure was dedicated to St. John the Evangelist. For most of its early decades St. John's was a mission of St. Patrick in Owego. In 1914 Bishop Thomas Hickey placed Father John Hogan in charge, but the parish's canonical status remained ambiguous for the next two decades until the arrival of Polish diocesan priests in the 1930s. Father Alexander Stec, named pastor in 1945, extended the church 25 feet to form the present sanctuary, built a parish hall, and added a new rectory in 1954. Father Matthew Siudara, in the era of the Second Vatican Council, oversaw the reordering of the sanctuary; parishioner Andy and Anna Hvisdos made most of the church furnishings. In 1994 a new altar built by Jim Gullick was installed in time for Holy Week; in 1995 the sanctuary received a Risen Christ statue carved by local artist Lee Bodie; and on May 18, 1996, Bishop Matthew H. Clark rededicated the renovated church. The parish celebrated its centennial on November 7, 1981, with a liturgy at which Bishop Clark presided.
St. Margaret Mary in Apalachin: From a Grange Hall to a Mission-Modeled Church
The youngest of the four worship sites began with the same kind of grassroots effort that shaped the others. In the early 1950s the small Catholic population in Apalachin appealed to the Diocese of Rochester for a place to gather for Mass, and the Grange Hall on what is now the Apalachin library was selected as the mission's first home. On November 21, 1954, the first Mass was celebrated in the Grange Hall, with folding chairs set up by Joe Valabek and John McGivern, a wooden kneeler serving as the altar rail, and confessions heard in the kitchen by Father William O'Brien of St. Patrick's. Thirty families attended that first Mass. Within a year the parish had moved to a former Jewish synagogue on New Street, which had been transported from Binghamton and used successively as a Baptist church and a bank. The New Street building was dedicated by Bishop James E. Kearney on May 27, 1956, and on October 3, 1955, the parish received its Certificate of Incorporation.
Growth was rapid. On October 17, 1965, ground was broken for a new church on Pennsylvania Avenue, and the architect James Mawry drew up plans for a single-story, maintenance-free complex modeled after the Spanish missions of California. Christmas Eve 1966 saw the first Mass in the new building, celebrated on the bare concrete floor with folding chairs gathered from New Street and St. Patrick's, Bob Paccone at the organ, and a parking lot still being plowed. On September 24, 1967, Bishop Fulton J. Sheen presided at the dedication. The parish hall was completed in 1975. Outside the church stands an outdoor statue of the Risen Christ, dedicated October 11, 1981; it arrived from Italy in June of that year and is illuminated at night. A second outdoor statue, "Our Lady of Grace," was dedicated on the 1986 patronal feast day weekend. A carillon near the church entrance rings out the Angelus three times a day and serenades the parish with seasonally rotated hymns.
The parish's history is full of the marks of the renewal movements of the 1970s and 1980s. Under Father Elmer Schmidt, lay persons were commissioned as extraordinary ministers of the Eucharist and as lectors, a Religious Education Coordinator was hired, tithing was initiated, the parish was one of the founding supporters of the Tioga County Rural Ministry (TCRM), the food pantry began, the RCIA process was instituted, three Vietnamese boat families were sponsored, and the parish hosted Geneseo students who came to minister to elderly poor in the county. Under Father David Simon, Stephen Ministry was launched, the first Pastoral Associate and Pastoral Musician were hired, the first annual parish Mission was held, and Serving Apalachin Together (SAT) was born, a partnership with two Apalachin United Methodist congregations to combine resources and serve the local poor. Wednesday evening Lenten ecumenical prayer services with pulpit exchanges remain a vivid memory from that era.
St. Patrick in Owego: The Mother Church of Tioga County
The first records of a Catholic congregation in Owego date to 1839, when the Rev. James F. Hourigan rode on horseback to minister to Catholics working on the railroad. Regular church services were first held in the home of David Connelly on Paige Street, where a second-floor chapel was built. In August 1842, Charles Pumpelly made a gift of land for a church and burying ground to the Right Rev. John Hughes, Bishop of New York. In 1844 the first resident pastor, Rev. John Sheridan, was appointed; in 1848 he purchased the land on which the present church stands from Thomas Farrington for $545.50 and built a small wooden church. In 1859 the first parochial school house was erected, and on December 7, 1890, the present St. Patrick's Church was dedicated, with the Most Rev. Stephen V. Ryan, Bishop of Buffalo, presiding. The parish would grow to sponsor missions throughout the region: St. John the Evangelist in Newark Valley, St. Francis of Assisi in Catatonk, St. Margaret Mary in Apalachin, and St. James in Waverly all trace their roots back to St. Patrick's.
St. Patrick's has been rebuilt, redecorated, and rededicated many times, including in 1913, 1932, 1942, 1957, 1965, 1975, and 1990, each renovation reflecting the theology of its era. Bishop Fulton J. Sheen dedicated a new six-classroom addition to the school on September 24, 1967. In 1968 the parish began broadcasting Mass over the radio, a ministry that continued for thirty years under the voice of Jim Raftis. In 1998 Rev. William A. Moorby was officially appointed the first pastor of the cluster formed by St. Patrick, St. John, and St. Francis. St. Patrick's Cemetery (formerly St. Joseph's) remains a parish responsibility, and the new rectory built in 1932 stands beside the church. The 2008 school year marked the 150th anniversary of Catholic education in Owego.
The Strength of Six: How Six Became Two Parishes
The structure of today's parish is the fruit of the Diocese of Rochester's Pastoral Planning Process for the New Millennium, which began in 1997. Six Tioga Region parishes, including St. Francis of Assisi, St. James, St. John, St. Margaret Mary, St. Patrick, and St. Pius X, came together under a "Strength of Six" spirit, sharing a five-year strategic plan for pastoral staffing, financing, and ministry. The first clustering took place in 1998, when St. Patrick, St. John, and St. Francis formed the Tioga Catholic Community under a single pastor, parochial vicar, deacon, pastoral associate, director of religious education, and secretary, while keeping their own pastoral councils. The Tioga Regional Pastoral Council was created in 1998 to coordinate planning across all six parishes. In 2001 a transition team chaired by parishioner Dick Orth of St. John the Evangelist began the work of merger: a new Mass schedule allowing for ten weekend liturgies, a regional bulletin called "Together," rotation of priests, a unified faith formation plan, regional finance and pastoral councils, and a common business manager. On July 1, 2003, five of the six parishes merged into a new canonical and civil corporation named Blessed Trinity Parish, while St. Patrick Parish retained its own canonical identity and clustered with the new parish. Bishop Matthew H. Clark celebrated Mass at Hickories Park in Owego on September 14, 2003, to mark the new beginning. In 2010, with two fewer priests available, the doors of St. Francis of Assisi in Catatonk and St. Pius X in Van Etten were closed for the last time.
Reaching Up to Worship, Reaching Out to Serve
The parish vision statement reads: "Together we build an atmosphere of faith in which the fruit of the Spirit will abound and draw others to Christ." That vision is unpacked in the parish mission:
- Faithfully listen to the Word to discern God's will.
- Patiently work to become one community as the Body of Christ.
- Generously put our gifts at the service of one another.
- Kindly and gently reach out to our brothers and sisters in need.
"As a loving community, we strive to draw others into the peace of Christ." Reaching out is woven into the regular rhythm of the parish. Three decades of community free meal programs - the Sunday morning ACT supper at St. Patrick's, the monthly Kindness Counts Kitchen at St. John's, and meal outreaches at St. James - are cornerstones of the parish's social ministry. The Social Justice Committee oversees school supply drives, free community meals, Christmas and Thanksgiving food baskets, Work of Human Hands sales, and support for OXFAM and Birthright. Stephen Ministry, in place since the mid-1980s at St. Margaret Mary, equips lay caregivers to walk alongside parishioners through grief, illness, job change, and other life passages. The parish tithes ten percent of its total income each year, and the Social Justice Committee determines the recipients.
Parish life also includes an annual Chicken BBQ, a Fall Festival at St. Patrick's, a parish cookbook, an annual Polish Dinner at St. John's, Mother-Son and Father-Daughter dances, the Party in the Parking Lot at St. Patrick's (held in conjunction with Owego's Porch Fest), and the long-running parish rummage sale at St. James. Children in grades Pre-K through 7 put on a Children's Christmas Play at St. Patrick's each year. Videos from 2016 through 2025 are archived. For nearly a decade parish youth have performed the Living Stations of the Cross on each Friday in Lent at local churches, retirement homes, and schools, a tradition that began at St. Margaret Mary and has come to draw cast members from all four sites.
Faith Formation from Pre-K Through Senior Year
Faith formation is a life-long process in the parish, and classes for pre-school through grade 12 are held at all four churches and at various times to fit the needs of families. Children in Pre-K through Grade 5 attend classes for thirty hours from mid-September through mid-May, with each student working from his or her own grade-level Pflaum Gospel Weekly. Sacramental preparation is treated as a separate process from religious education. First Penance is generally celebrated around Grade 2, First Eucharist is normally received in Grade 2 or later when a child shows readiness, and Confirmation is offered to students in Grade 9 and above, with a two-year preparation program. For children who are unbaptized, baptized in another tradition, or baptized Catholic but uncatechized, the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) is available for adults, and the RCIA Adapted for Children is offered to those ages seven and up.
Vacation Bible School, a yearly outreach event for children, is held in July or August at two or more of the four churches (and sometimes at neighboring churches as well), with programs of Bible stories, activities, and games. For junior and senior high youth, the parish offers a comprehensive program that involves catechesis, prayer, service, and recreation. Annual hallmarks include the Hands of Christ recognition, Senior Recognition, the March for Life, the Souper Bowl collection for food pantries, Food Fast, twelve-hour Eucharistic Adoration, the Living Stations of the Cross, the National Catholic Youth Conference, the Birthright Baby Shower, the CROP Walk, and collections for Catholic Relief Services.
Adult faith formation is offered through Bible study groups, including the Little Rock Bible Study Group (an 8-to-12 week focused study of a particular book), the Valley Bible Study Group, which meets Monday evenings from 7:00 to 8:00 p.m. in Waverly, and the Journey Bible Study Group, a 32-week overview of the entire Bible. The U.S. Catholic Catechism for Adults has been the basis for parish study series on Christian Morality, the Ten Commandments, and prayer. Day retreats, special presentations, Lenten Missions, and access to St. Bernard's Institute classes (which can be taken virtually at a church site) round out the offerings.
The Seven Sacraments
The parish celebrates all seven sacraments, and each one has a designated contact and pathway.
Baptism. The first step of initiation, baptism is celebrated within the gathered faith community, ideally at a weekend Mass. Parents are required to take baptismal preparation classes, and the Central Office can supply the next class dates.
Reconciliation. The Sacrament of Penance is one of the Church's two Sacraments of Healing. Children are introduced to it through the Faith Formation programs each year, with immediate preparation offered in the fall when a child is determined ready. The recommended age for First Penance is Grade 2, and a child must have at least two years of religious education with good attendance before receiving the sacraments.
Eucharist. Catholics believe the Eucharist is both a sacrifice and a meal, the real presence of Jesus who died for our sins. Parents are recognized as the primary influence on a child's faith formation, and the parish walks with them as they prepare their children for First Communion.
Confirmation. Confirmation is celebrated in Grade 9 or above, after a two-year preparation that may include a modified Life in the Spirit Seminar. The parish also notes that the canonical preference in the 1983 Code of Canon Law is for Confirmation to be received around the age of seven, and parish history shows how Confirmation came to be delayed to the teen years in the United States.
Marriage. Engaged couples are asked to begin preparation at least six months before any anticipated wedding. Pre-Cana, a parish-based program covering diocesan-mandated topics on Catholic married life, is taught by Pre-Cana-certified Catholic married couples.
Anointing of the Sick. This sacrament of healing is available upon request for those who are sick or elderly. The parish asks to be notified when a parishioner is hospitalized so that a priest or staff member may visit.
Holy Orders. The parish prays for and supports vocations to the priesthood, diaconate, and religious life.
Beyond Sunday: A Network of Ministries
Every baptized and confirmed Catholic is called to ministry, and the parish provides more than forty named ministries across its four sites. Four Lead Ministry Coordinators, one at each church, assess local needs, develop new ministries, and increase participation. The Liturgy Committee, with representatives from each church, works with the pastoral staff to plan each liturgical season.
At each site the same basic liturgical ministries are present: altar servers (open to fourth graders and older), extraordinary ministers of the Eucharist, lectors, ushers, greeters, sacristans, music ministers, church decorators, and Children's Liturgy of the Word leaders. The Welcome and Hospitality committee aims to make every visitor feel at home. The Martha Ministry coordinates funeral luncheons, with a rotating list of volunteers keeping the time commitment manageable. Homebound parishioners are visited weekly and brought Holy Communion.
Music at each church is led by organists, folk groups, choirs, cantors, and instrumentalists. St. Margaret Mary's St. James has a Children's Choir and a Contemporary Group, St. Margaret Mary offers a Thursday-morning Prayer Group that studies the upcoming Sunday's Scriptures using the publication "At Home with the Word" and prays for the special intentions of members, and a Prayer Partner from Home ministry keeps those who are homebound connected to the parish's monthly prayer intentions. A Prayer Blanket Ministry produces lap-sized, lightweight blankets prayed over as they are made and then blessed by the celebrant at Mass. Nocturnal Eucharistic Adoration at St. Margaret Mary offers parishioners one hour of prayer each month before the exposed Blessed Sacrament.
Parish-wide outreach includes the Angel Tree and Giving Tree Christmas outreach at each site, the Adopt-a-Family program at St. John and St. Patrick, and the Sunday Morning Breakfast Club and Social Gathering at St. Patrick's on a monthly basis. The Knights of Columbus has a long history in the parish (St. James is a particular stronghold of the order), and a Stephen Ministry referrals process is in place for parishioners in need of one-to-one Christian care. A Communications Committee supports parish communications, and the parish publishes a weekly bulletin that is also archived.
Pastoral Leadership and Central Office
The current pastor is Rev. Jeffrey Galens, with Fr. James Muscatella serving as parochial vicar. Deacon Mike Donovan is a pastoral associate for both parishes, and Deacon Rick DeMars assists at all four sites. Annette Larrabee directs faith formation and youth ministry across the parish, with site coordinators at each church: Bernadette Kuratnick at St. Margaret Mary, Tammy Ovedovitz at St. James, Julie Durand at St. John, and Robert McLaren at St. Patrick. Becky White serves as finance and operations manager, Lisa Salamida as administrative assistant, and Michael Gillio as cemetery manager. The Central Office, located at 309 Front Street in Owego, is open Monday through Thursday from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., and the parish can be reached at 607-687-1068 (fax 607-687-8122) or by email at blessedtrinity@dor.org.
A Note to Visitors
Children are warmly welcomed at every Mass. Doodle cards are available in the pews for young artists, and the parish encourages families to sit near the front, to explain the parts of the Mass quietly, and to feel free to step out and return as needed. Parishioners may give by mailing envelopes to the Central Office or through electronic bank transfers. Those interested in becoming Catholic, in having a child baptized, or in arranging marriage, anointing, or a hospital visit are invited to contact the Central Office. For a first confession, the parish suggests arriving during one of the scheduled hours at St. James or St. Patrick, or calling the office to make an appointment. The doors of all four worship sites are open to anyone who wishes to pray.