"After a wave of Portuguese immigration in the 1950's a group of Catholics were in need of cultural and spiritual guidance. Thus, they came together and contacted the Roman Catholic Church in Hartford and in Portugal. The Portuguese Archdiocese sent a young priest named Father José Dias Martins da Silva. He held the first mass in the basement of St. Peter's Church on Main St. in Hartford, Connecticut on March 17, 1957. The following year, the parish moved into it's own church on Babcock Street, Hartford, CT. A church with a capacity of 200 people. The population grew to 1,700 households, and the realization that there was a need foe a new church.... After 12 years of planning and four years of construction, opening ceremonies were held on April 30, 1998."