Parish History

Brief History of
St. Peter Catholic Church Auburn, New Hampshire

Back in 1942 and 1943, residents of the Massabesic Lake and Auburn areas had a choice to worship either at St. Augustin Church or St. George Church in Manchester. Given the travel distance, understandably, Sunday Mass attendance always posed a problem and a hardship, particularly during our cold New England winters.

It was about this time that some of the area's Catholic families petitioned our Bishop, (then Bishop Peterson), for a priest to oversee their spiritual needs and development. Keep in mind that ours was a quiet, rural area with a growing faith community. This beautiful church and rectory that serves us so well today was...non-existent.

Fr. Ernest J. Vaccarest was assigned to us. A very energetic and enterprising priest, Fr. Vaccarest quickly arranged for the rental of a hall that was suitable for worship and Sunday Masses. The hall was part of a facility known as the Massabesic Inn. The Inn was serving the populace as a boarding house, a restaurant, and a much sought after hall for Saturday night dancing. And so on Sundays the hall became a place of worship. Such were our beginnings. The property, then owned by Mr. & Mrs. Lamy, who were friends of Fr. Vaccarest, has changed ownership many times since those days, but is still in existence. It is the large white building which faces the Fair Haven Baptist Church. Matter-of-factly, this building which now serves the Baptist community, was once a meeting place for the anglers and hunters of the area, and later the home of St. Peter School.

Fr. Vaccarest was much pressed. Beside his duty to our community, he was ministering at nearby St. Paul in Candia, and St. Joseph in Epping. As if this were not enough, he found himself needed more and more at St. Augustin and St. George. The time had come when the new Bishop, Matthew Brady, assigned a full-time Pastor to us.

We were rewarded with the services of Fr. Raymond J. Langlois. A kind and self-effacing priest, our founding Pastor decided to live among his new parishioners. He became a tenant at the Massabesic Inn.

As they do, the years went by and the parish was flourishing. Ministering to the faithful at St. Paul, and fulfilling his duties at St. Peter, were taking their toll on Fr. Langlois' health. A Fr. Goodwin was dispatched to aid our founding Pastor. Fr. Goodwin served a little over a year. Fr. Langlois' health had deteriorated to a point where his reassignment was required.

This brought onto the scene our second Pastor, Fr. Roland A. Montplaisir. At about this time, it was apparent that the two communities of St. Peter and St. Paul continued to grow in numbers, and had become strong enough to be self-sufficient, the one from the other. Amicably, they severed their long relationship.

Fr. Montplaisir was hard-working, able administrator, who served us for nineteen years. To his zeal and diligence, coupled with the generosity of his parishioners, we owe the fine facility in which we now worship. Ground breaking for our new church building and attached rectory came in 1962, and we happily transferred to this new "home" in June of 1963. Even though the marble altars and tabernacle (from Italy) and our beautiful stained glass windows, unmatched anywhere (from Holland) were yet to come, our early worshippers anxiously and gratefully entered the new building. After years of mission church status, they exulted in the peaceful serenity of what some called...."their new "real" Church". Fr. Montplaisir's pastorate here bore real fruit. His vision became reality, a crowning achievement in the life of any priest.

Fr. Montplaisir went on to a new assignment in 1976. He had been with us nearly two decades. His successor was Fr. Edward J. Knott. A totally compassionate and dedicated priest, Fr. Knott exemplified a quiet, strong leadership. His example fostered great faith during the restless time of renewal in the Church. Our third pastor was the right man for the time. Fr. Knott's zealousness was greater than his health, and in 1985, he accepted a temporary assignment that finally led to a full time Chaplaincy at the Carmelite's Mount Carmel Nursing Home in Manchester. The residents of Mount Carmel, as well as the administrator, sing his praise, and to this day, his kindness to all is fondly remembered and often mentioned.

In 1994 St. Peter Church of Auburn, New Hampshire, has started it's 51st year in the history of the Diocese of Manchester...not old, but a babe in arms, considering the two thousand year history of the Catholic Church.

We have seen many changes. Memory tells us that we will see many more. Suffice it to say that through it all we continue to seek God's blessing in all of our undertakings, and we strongly believe that under the tender care of Christ our Savior, and Mary, His Blessed Mother, and the Apostle Peter, His rock, and our Patron Saint, we will continue to grow and to flourish and well as we have done in the past.

George Gosselin
St. Peter Church
May, 1994

I take this opportunity to thank those parishioners who came forward with a wealth of information about our humble beginnings. I wish to single our with special thanks Mrs. Jeanne Champagne, Mrs. Bertha Lanctot, and Sue and George Mercier, whose valued recollections made a seemingly hard task not only easy, but pleasant and extremely interesting.

George Gosselin

In 1985 Fr. Haller was assigned as our pastor, as the three dedicated men before him, constantly endeavoring to keep St. Peter the caring, loving and warm community of Christian Believers that it is. Under his gentle leadership, hundreds of parishioners are involved in many ministries within the parish. He continued as our Pastor until 2002.

In 2003 Rev. C. Peter Dumont was appointed as the fifth pastor of St. Peter Church. He has seen us through our twinning with St. Paul Church in Candia and continues to minister to both parishes. In 2008 we celebrated our diamond jubilee as a parish and continue to grow.

In June of 2011 the Bishop accepted Fr. Dumont's resignation as our Pastor. Fr. Dumont will now devote himself to the spiritual dimensions of the priesthood and of the priestly ministry. Continuing to work actively with Bishop McCormack and his successor, as well as with Bishop Christian, to help in the spiritual care of souls.

Fr. Michael Gendron, ordained June 3, 1995, will become our pastor on July 13, 2011.

Our Pastors
Raymond J. Langlois	1948 -1957	went to his eternal reward. February 23, 1960
Roland A. Montplaisir	1957 -1976	went to his eternal reward June 21, 2009
Edward J. Knott	1976 -1985	went to his eternal reward January 2, 2003.
James Haller	1985 - 2002
C. Peter Dumont	2003 - 2011
Michael Gendron	2011 -

St. Paul Parish History

August 15, 2010:

On the Way...Several people have asked about the building of St. Paul Church in Candia and the property around it. Here is a little history: the land (38,000 square feet) was purchased at the corner of Main St. and (old) Route #101 on July 17, 1954. St. Paul was then under the care of St. Peter Parish, Auburn. Fr. Raymond Langlois, Pastor, transferred $20,000 from St. Peter to St. Paul to build a church. The first Mass at the new St. Paul Mission Church was celebrated on Christmas Day, 1955, at which time the church was dedicated. On December 15, 1971, St. Paul was established as a parish with Rev. Leo Lefebvre as the first pastor. In 1973 the rectory and classrooms were added to the church. On October 30, 1980, an additional 3.09 acres abutting the East and North boundaries of the existing land were acquired, bringing the total parcel of land to 3.9 acres.

On Dec. 17, 1971, St. Paul Catholic Community was dedicated as a parish to serve the Catholic people of Candia and Deerfield, NH. The church building had been built in 1954 when it was a mission of St. Peter's Parish in Auburn, NH. The downstairs hall and other rooms along with the adjoining rectory were built in 1973. In 1972 St. Jerome mission in Chester, NH became a part of our parish and was located in the Congregational Baptist Church. St. Jerome mission had to close in September 2004 due to the declining number of priests.

From the inception of the parish there have always been many hard-working and dedicated parishioners who have helped with construction and upkeep projects, with committee work, with fund raising events, and most importantly with the varied ministries needed for the spiritual growth of a parish. One large undertaking that was a total parish effort was the interior renovation of the church in 1986.

Lay ministry and empowerment of the parishioners has been a recognizable reality throughout its short history. Working together, the pastor, pastoral staff and the parishioners have had many years of growing in faith and unity through worship, prayer, education, and fellowship. The fruit of our spiritual growth manifests itself in the support of a sister parish in Haiti, outreach to the more needy through a community food pantry and sharing of our bounty with charitable organizations and the needy through tithing.

Based upon the recommendations of Cluster Task Force 6 and the recommendations of the finance and pastoral councils of Saint Peter and Saint Paul parishes, and after consultation with the diocesan Finance Council and the Presbyteral Council, Bishop McCormack issued a decree unifying Saint Paul Parish, Candia into Saint Peter Parish Auburn, effective midnight, June 27, 2010. Effective with this unification, Saint Paul Parish no longer exists as a separate entity.

We observe the Feast of St. Peter and St. Paul on Tuesday, June 29th. We ask both of our patrons to intercede for us during this time of transition in our parish.

St. Paul web site was first developed by Bill Luquette, a parish member who has since passed away. The website was kept in his memory until the unification with St. Peter on June 27, 2010. We continue to remember Bill and all members of St. Paul Parish that gave of their time and talents serving on parish councils and the ministries of Lector, Altar Server, Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion, Music ministry, Greeters, Ushers and countless others, we welcome them to continue their ministries at St. Peter.