Who We Are
In May 1942, the Church of St. Thérèse was conceived thanks to the foresight and efforts of Msgr. Govaert, pastor of St. Paul’s in Portsmouth. On June 16, 1954, Fr. Thomas Finnegan was appointed pastor and our parish opened its doors for the first time on Sept. 5, 1954.
The church originally shared its facilities with the Little Flower School on Oregon Ave. A combination of reaching the limits of the chapel on Oregon Ave. and the consolidation of parish schools caused the parish to move temporarily to Chittum Elementary auditorium. Fr. Frank Ready found the land for our current location, and the groundbreaking took place in August 1971. The new church was dedicated on June 24, 1972.
Because of the rapid area growth, increase in families joining the parish, and growth in ministries, the church building needed to expand and the worship area renovated. On June 16, 1996, our church was rededicated with 10,000 square feet of additional office and fellowship space.