Until 1898, New City and Bardonia Catholics traveled to various parishes in the surrounding areas to fulfill their spiritual obligations. Members of the Koop, Overmeyer and Hobesil families contacted the New York Archdiocese to determine if a more centrally located church could be established.
In 1901, a vacant public school building was purchased and moved to Congers Road, about where the County Animal Hospital is today. The church land was donated by the McLoughlin family and St. Augustine's Mission Church was established.
In 1916, Father Nicholas Hans, Pastor of St. Anthony's Church in Nanuet, purchased a $4,000 parcel of land, which is the present site of our Parish School. In 1934, a building housing the Foresters Hall Association became available for $14,000. Father Hans bought and repaired the building and converted it into a Church. Except for a few minor renovations made in 1958, this is our present Church. He retired in 1940 and was replaced by Father Francis Osterman.
Catholic Big Sisters was founded in 1921 by Mrs. Arthur Collishaw and Mrs. Anthony Helfrich. The group showed great concern for the sick and poor of the Parish, and provided financial assistance by sponsoring social activities. The men of the Parish formed the Holy Name Society in 1955 and elected Edmund Klingman as its first president.
The unparalleled growth of New City in the 1950's caused the Archdiocese to raise St. Augustine's to a full-fledged parish in 1957. Monsignor James Leddy was appointed Founding Pastor. A few years later, the apartment building on Maple Avenue was purchased for use by the church clergy.
In 1961, an elementary school, staffed by Dominican Sisters of Sparkill, was opened with approximately 300 students, serving grades 1 through 4.
Monsignor George F. Brennan was appointed Pastor in 1964. Under his direction, St. Francis of Assisi Parish was established, the Iron House on Muller Court was purchased to be used as a convent for the Sisters teaching in the school, and the Parish Council was established.
In June, 1969, Pastor Vincent McShane expanded the Religious Education Program, and four years later, the first Eucharistic Ministers were instituted.
In 1974, Father Hugh Devers was appointed Pastor. School overcrowding became a problem, and a modular building was purchased and placed on the property.
In June, 1980, Monsignor John J. Gillen came to St. Augustine's. He introduced many programs to revitalize Parish life, including RENEW, the ANAWIM Charismatic Prayer Group and DDA. He served until his retirement in 1994.
Since June 1994, our present Pastor, Monsignor William Foley, has continued to lead us in meeting today's challenges and opportunities as we approach the 21st century. During his tenure, we have begun a successful tithing program, GOD's TYM , the appointment of a full time Youth Minister, as well as new activities, including Operation Love, Re-Membering and a study group to look toward the feasibility of a new church structure. Through the generosity and hard work of our parishioners, we now have the use of a beautiful new worship space, a 600-person church which will serve future generations of Clarkstown residents. It replaced the old, much smaller, converted forester hall, which served us well for many years, but required holding mass in both the church and auditorium.
Today's St. Augustine Parish finds a healthy Parish School recognized as outstanding by a leading accreditation organization, a vibrant Religious Education Program with almost 800 students, a comprehensive list of service and social organizations, and over 2700 loyal and faith-filled Parish Families.
