The needs of Catholics in Danielson, Connecticut during the early 1800s were met largely by traveling priests, mainly from Boston, who came through the area a handful of times during the year. It became increasingly clear that the town, populated by Catholic immigrants from Ireland and French-speaking Canada required a more permanent clerical presence. And so it was that Reverend Michael McCabe, a Franciscan friar from Ireland, arrived in 1850 and celebrated Mass for the first time in Danielson in a private home on Franklin Street. Father McCabe’s ministry extended as far as Colchester, establishing his reputation as a truly missionary priest.
Father John Quinn arrived in 1859 upon the death of Father McCabe and quickly built a church and rectory in nearby Moosup, a village in the town of Plainfield. Danielson was now, briefly, a mission of Moosup. In 1864 the former Second Advent Church on Winter Street in Danielson was purchased by Father Quinn, and in September 1869 Saint James Church was re-established with Reverend James A. Princen from Belgium as pastor. In 1874 Father Princen opened Saint James School and in 1889 the Sisters of Saint Joseph of Chambery, France, arrived to serve in the school and parish.
The turn of the twentieth century was significant for Saint James. In December of 1895 La Salette Missionaries from France arrived in Danielson to run the parish. The first La Salette priests were Reverend Clovis M. Socquet, M.S. (pastor), assisted by curates C.P. Bedard, M.S. and Pierre Roux, M.S. This marked the beginning of Saint James as a “La Salette parish”, a distinction that continues to this day. A new church was built on Franklin Street and on December 16, 1900 (fifty years after the arrival of Father McCabe) was dedicated by Bishop Michael Tierney of the Hartford Archdiocese. Built in the Victorian Gothic style and cruciform in shape, the building today remains the center of spiritual parish life.
In 1953 Saint James became part of the newly established Norwich Diocese, based in the eastern area of Connecticut. Over the years, many Religious sisters, brothers and priests have come from Saint James parish and school. Some became missionaries of the La Salette order, and some of the sisters went to serve abroad. For example, in the 1960s and 1970s Sister Cecile (nee Cusson) de l’Euchariste served as a missionary nurse in Cameroon, focusing on ministry to girls and women. Sister Cecile centered her work on the Christian idea of freedom and dignity as opposed to the servitude and poor treatment experienced by many of those she encountered.
Reverend Joseph LaBonte, a parishioner and former student at Saint James became a La Salette priest, and in 1937 was among the first five missionaries sent to Burma (now Myanmar), which had separated from British India in April of that year. Danielson native Normand Mailloux was ordained a priest in the La Salette order in June, 1955, and in 1966 was sent to Madagascar, where among his many duties he served as Regional Superior. Interestingly, his sister Marguerite was instrumental in his mission. In 1966, and with the help of parishioners from Saint James, she collected 2,500 S&H Green Stamp booklets and helped purchase a small plane for the trip. From 1988 until 1991 Father Mailloux served as assistant pastor here at Saint James. Eugene Barrette, a native of Danielson and a former student at Saint James was ordained a priest in the La Salette order in May, 1967. Father Barrette served in Rome for several years and in 1982 was elected Superior General of the Congregation, at the time the youngest person chosen for that position. The Barrettes remain part of Saint James parish today, as one family member works at our school and serves as a parish trustee.
The ministry of Saint James and the La Salettes continues to flourish. On May 25th, 2025, Saint James school observed its one hundred-fiftieth anniversary, highlighted by a Mass celebrated by Richard Reidy, the newly appointed Bishop of Norwich. It was a wonderful opportunity for us to reflect on the rich history of our parish and the legacy of the La Salette order.
