Parish History

The first Mass in the new parish of St. Catherine of Siena was celebrated by Father Kivelitz in 1872 at the home of John C. Mahoney of Asbury Road and continued to be held in his home until 1892, when it was necessary to move to a larger space – Red Men’s Hall. Mass continued there for another twenty years. During this time, the parishioners of St. Catherine’s were anxious to build a Church and throughout the first decade of the 1900's much was done to secure funds and donations for a building. Also during this time, the jurisdiction of the Farmingdale parish was turned over to the parish of Saint Dorothea’s in Eatontown founded in 1904 by Reverend Aloysius A. Quinlan. Through the efforts of Father Quinlan and many of the parishioners, the church located on the corner of North & West Main Streets, now known as St. Catherine of Siena Chapel, was built in 1912 and completely finished with available funds, leaving absolutely no debt. In July of 1939, St. Catherine’s became an independent parish with the Reverend Joseph A. Sullivan presiding as its first resident pastor.

A house on North Main Street was rented and later purchased and is still used today as the Rectory. During the summer of 1951, the interior of St. Catherine’s Church was completely renovated including a new altar, stations of the cross and statues. St. Catherine’s present pastor, Reverend Michael S. Vona, was assigned to the parish in 1987. In addition to making many aesthetic changes within the Church, Father Vona had the basement refurbished making it available for parish committee meetings and social events. Father Vona also had the Church grounds beautifully landscaped, which was not only a tribute to St. Catherine’s but to the entire community of Farmingdale as well.

In order to serve the needs of a rapidly growing parish, in 1995 it was decided to initiate and commence plans to build a Parish Center, which would include a larger Church, Religious Education classrooms, meeting rooms, and parish offices. Located on Asbury Road on a parcel of the Mahoney property, which was purchased a number of years ago, the groundbreaking ceremony took place in June, 1996. The Dedication of St. Catherine of Siena Church/ Parish Center by Most Reverend John M. Smith, Bishop of Trenton, was held on Saturday, August 29, 1998. The Parish Hall was constructed in the year 2000 and dedicated on November 4, 2001.