About Our Lady of Mercy · Putney, Vermont
Our Lady of Mercy is a Catholic parish in Putney, Vermont, part of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Burlington and historically served by the Society of St. Edmund (Edmundites). The parish serves as the hub of the West River Missions, a cluster of Catholic communities in southern Vermont that also includes Our Lady of the Valley in Townshend and the Chapel of the Snows on Stratton Mountain. The parish was founded in 1931 when the Edmundites acquired the former Methodist church on Main Street, a brick Federal-style building dating to 1842, and today is administered by Fr. Victor Cruz, H.G.N. The parish is closely tied to the broader Windham County Catholic community, sharing clergy and resources across the West River valley.
- Established
- 1931
- Patron
- Our Lady of Mercy (Our Lady of Ransom)
- Rector
- Fr. Victor Cruz, H.G.N. (Administrator)
- Diocese
- Roman Catholic Diocese of Burlington
Why belong here
Our Lady of Mercy is a small, deeply rooted Catholic community that has served the West River valley of southern Vermont since 1931, with regular Mass, Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, faith instruction (formerly CCD), a Rosary Altar Society, a quilting group, and Anointing of the Sick offered through the rectory. As the hub of the West River Missions, the parish shares its life with Our Lady of the Valley in Townshend and the Chapel of the Snows on Stratton Mountain, so worshippers from a wide swath of Windham County can find a Sunday Mass close to home. Housed in a graceful 1842 brick Federal-style former Methodist church on Main Street, the parish welcomes visitors with confession available before and after Mass or by appointment.
Mass times at Our Lady of Mercy
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Before and after Mass as possible, or by appointment (contact the rectory)
Adoration times
- Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament is offered (specific times not published on the official site; contact the rectory for the current schedule)
History of Our Lady of Mercy Parish
Although Catholic families lived in Putney from the late 1700s onward, formal Catholic presence in the West River valley only began in 1928, when Mark J. Harvey of St. Michael's in Brattleboro began organizing missions. After erecting St. John Berchman's in West Dummerston and setting up a mission house on the site of the present Putney post office, Harvey and his supporters engaged attorney Ed Shea to purchase the former Methodist church on Main Street. Anticipating a refusal to sell to Catholics (signs reading 'the papists are coming' had appeared in nearby Townshend), Shea told the sellers the building would become a 'tea house'; the sale closed in 1931 and Our Lady of Mercy was soon established, with Father Harvey as the first pastor. In the same year, the Edmundites also opened the theologate of St. Joseph's near the train depot, and Father Louis Cheray became the parish's first resident priest.
The Society of St. Edmund (Edmundites)
From its founding in 1931 until the early 2000s, Our Lady of Mercy was an Edmundite parish. The Society of St. Edmund brought not only priests but a theologate and novitiate to Putney, trained the 'mission band,' and lived in a white house near the depot that served as rectory and community house until 1962, when the current rectory was built on Old Depot Road. Bishop Edward Ryan of Burlington gave the Edmundites formal responsibility for the entire West River area in 1946, cementing their mission role in southern Vermont. The parish is today administered by Fr. Victor Cruz, H.G.N., of the Congregation of the Holy Spirit (Spiritans).
The Church Building
The present church is a brick Federal-style building dating to 1842, set on a hewn granite foundation, with a wooden steeple and belfry, a small choir loft, and a slate roof that mingles nicely with neighboring rooftops in downtown Putney. It was originally built as a Methodist church and acquired by the Edmundites in 1931. The Smith family — Mr. Smith worked for Standard Oil — donated the Sacrament of Jesus that hangs to the left of the altar.
West River Missions
Our Lady of Mercy serves as the hub of the West River Missions, a cluster of three Catholic communities across southern Vermont. Its mission churches are Our Lady of the Valley at 92 Grafton Road in Townshend, VT (Sunday Mass at 11:00 AM) and the Chapel of the Snows at 749 Stratton Mountain Road on Stratton Mountain, VT (Saturday Vigil at 4:30 PM Thanksgiving through Easter; Sunday Mass at 12:30 PM). A shared administrator — currently Fr. Victor Cruz, H.G.N. — serves all three communities, and they share a common mailing address and business phone line through Bellows Falls.
Parish Ministries and Community Life
Our Lady of Mercy sustains a close-knit Catholic community through a handful of long-running ministries. Religious instruction (today called faith instruction, formerly CCD and Confraternity of Christian Doctrine) was historically held in the mission house on the post office site, then in the church, and later occasionally in Newman's Hall; by 1986 the program had 39 students and six lay teachers. The Rosary Altar Society, founded in the 1950s, brings parishioners together for the work of the Mass and for devotion to Our Lady. A quilting group produces a new quilt most years, and the parish has long hosted fundraisers such as food sales, tag sales, and the famous chicken pie suppers.
Social Life and Fundraisers
Annual social events have long been a defining feature of the parish. The 1930s and 1940s saw occasional 'chicken pie suppers' as standout gatherings, and these have been revived as fundraisers over the decades. Tag sales and food sales have been held off and on at Newman's Hall, and a formal parish council — begun under Father Hebert — gives parishioners an ongoing voice in the life of the parish.
Contact and Directions
The parish offices can be reached at 802-387-5861 or 802-463-0763, with email at [email protected]. Fr. Victor Cruz, H.G.N. (Administrator), can be reached at [email protected]. The mailing address for the West River Missions is 31 Cherry Hill Street, Bellows Falls, VT 05101. The Putney church is at 123 Main Street, Putney, VT 05346. From I-91, take exit 4, turn right on Route 5, and the church is on the left near the center of town.
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Father Harvey1931
First pastor of Our Lady of Mercy when the parish was established in the former Methodist church
- Father Louis Cheray (sherry)1931
First resident priest of Our Lady of Mercy; first superior of the Edmundite theologate of St. Joseph's in Putney
- Father Alliot1930s
Served as pastor in the parish's early Edmundite decade
- Father DodgeWWII – 1953
Served during America's involvement in WWII; his black robes were a familiar sight on the depot road and downtown
- Father O'ReillyWWII – 1953
Curate (assistant) to Father Dodge
- Father Arthur Rivardc. 1953 – 1955
Followed Father Dodge as pastor; assisted by Fathers Ed Conlin, Bill White, and Bill LePage
- Father Paul Hebert1955 – 1966
Started the Rosary Altar Society; served on Putney planning board 1956–1967; helped establish a formal parish council
- Father Aime Trahan1966 – late 1960s
Also served as Newman Club chaplain at Windham College
- Father Maloney1979 – early 1990s
Held canonical responsibility for the parish; assisted by Bob Sheehey, John Stankiewicz, Gerald Grace, and Edward Conlin
- Father John Scully1994 – c. 2002+
Became pastor in 1994; gave the Gospel reading at the 1986 confirmation
- Father James Coombsc. 2002
Led a popular weekly religious class per a June 2002 church bulletin