About St. Bernadette · Harrington, Delaware
St. Bernadette is a Catholic mission church in Harrington, Delaware, partnered with St. John the Apostle in nearby Milford. The two together form one parish family — 1,552 households strong (as published on the parish website) — serving lower Kent County and upper Sussex County with two priests and four deacons. Built by farming families in 1952-53 on a twenty-acre parcel outside Harrington, it gives Catholics in rural Felton, Greenwood, and Harrington a spiritual home of their own. The mission offers Saturday Vigil and Sunday Mass, a weekday Mass on Wednesday, an active Religious Education program, a Knights of Columbus council, a Hispanic ministry, and a Lourdes grotto added in 2008.
- Established
- 1953
- Patron
- Saint Bernadette Soubirous
- Rector
- Rev. Joseph Vangala
- Diocese
- Diocese of Wilmington (Catholic Diocese of Wilmington)
Why belong here
St. Bernadette is a small, hand-built mission church with deep roots in the rural communities around Harrington. The parish family — shared with St. John the Apostle in Milford — numbers close to 1,400 households served by two priests and four deacons, and offers the full sacramental life (Mass, Reconciliation, baptism, marriage, RCIA), a K-10 Religious Education program, an active Knights of Columbus council, a music ministry, a Social Concerns / Food Pantry outreach, a Ladies group, and a growing Hispanic ministry. With a Lourdes grotto on the grounds and a strong tradition of families building the church themselves, it is a place where the faith of rural Delaware is lived close to the soil and shared across generations.
Mass times at St. Bernadette
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Saturday 3:15 PM - 3:45 PM (St. Bernadette)
- Or by appointment
Adoration times
- Wednesdays 12:00 PM - 7:00 PM at St. John the Apostle, Milford (not at St. Bernadette)
History of St. Bernadette Mission
St. Bernadette was born from the faith of rural Catholic families in Felton, Greenwood, and Harrington who, before 1952, struggled to find a regular place to worship. Mass had been offered occasionally at the Newman Hotel in Harrington as early as 1900, and later in homes by priests from Holy Cross in Dover. After St. John the Apostle in Milford received its first resident pastor in 1912, monthly Masses were tried at various Harrington locations, and a parish bus brought people to Milford — until the bus fell into disrepair. When the community finally resolved to build their own church, a local merchant named Harry Greenberg purchased the twenty-acre tract at auction on September 6, 1952 for $4,950 and turned it over to the parish at cost. With permission from the Most Reverend Edmund J. FitzMaurice, fourth Bishop of Wilmington, parishioners — most of them farmers — broke ground on November 23, 1952 and built the cinder-block church almost entirely by hand. The church was dedicated on September 6, 1953, exactly one year after the land was purchased, and St. John the Apostle was repaid the $4,950 by April 1954. Saint Bernadette has been a mission of St. John the Apostle ever since.
- Land purchased September 6, 1952 for $4,950 by Harry Greenberg
- Ground broken November 23, 1952
- Dedicated September 6, 1953 by Bishop Edmund J. FitzMaurice
- St. John repaid for the land by April 1954
- Parish hall added for socials and Religious Education classrooms
- Lourdes grotto added in 2008
- Air-conditioning installed in the hall as part of the Sustaining Hope for the Future Capital Campaign
Parish Family with St. John the Apostle
St. Bernadette shares one parish life with St. John the Apostle in Milford. The two worship sites are staffed together by two priests and four deacons, and together serve close to 1,400-1,552 households across lower Kent County and upper Sussex County. Major parish-wide events, the Hispanic ministry, the RCIA program, and faith-formation activities are organized at the parish level.
- 1,552 households total across both churches
- 315 new households registered since July 2016
- Two priests and four deacons serve both sites
- Hispanic ministry established in the mid-1980s
Clergy and Staff
The parish is led by a pastor and associate pastor and supported by three (or four) deacons and a small parish staff that serves both St. John the Apostle and St. Bernadette.
- Rev. Joseph Vangala — Pastor
- Rev. Anthony Giamello — Associate Pastor
- Deacon Scott Landis
- Deacon Darcee Impagliazzo
- Deacon Nick Vasquez
- Judy Purcell — Coordinator of Religious Education (St. Bernadette)
- John Molitor — Parish Secretary
- Vivian Alvarado — Bookkeeper
Faith Formation & Religious Education
The parish runs a Religious Education program for students in kindergarten through 10th grade during the school year. The Christian Formation Committee also provides adult classes and workshops throughout the year, and an active RCIA program welcomes adults into the Catholic faith. The St. Bernadette Religious Education office can be reached at [email protected] through coordinator Judy Purcell.
- Religious Education K-10th grade
- Christian Formation Committee — adult classes and workshops
- RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults)
- Contact: Judy Purcell — [email protected]
Parish Ministries & Organizations
A range of lay-led ministries gives parishioners ways to serve in liturgy, faith formation, fellowship, and outreach. Both worship sites have active choirs and ladies' groups; St. Bernadette is also served by its own Knights of Columbus council.
- Knights of Columbus — St. Bernadette's Council 14137 (contact: Jeannette Minner)
- Music Ministry / Choir
- Art & Environment (St. Bernadette)
- Ladies Group (St. Bernadette)
- Altar Servers
- Hispanic Ministry
Outreach: Social Concerns & Food Pantry
The parish Social Concerns committee operates a Food Pantry that serves neighbors in need throughout the lower Kent and upper Sussex County area. Volunteers are coordinated through the parish office.
- Social Concerns / Food Pantry
- Contact: the parish office
Sacraments
St. Bernadette shares the sacramental life of the parish with St. John the Apostle. Baptisms, First Communion, Confirmation, Marriage, Anointing of the Sick, and Reconciliation are all celebrated, with preparation programs for children and adults.
- Baptism — preparation through the parish office
- First Communion and Confirmation — through Religious Education K-10
- Marriage — preparation and exchange / renewal of wedding vows
- Reconciliation — Saturday 3:15-3:45 PM at St. Bernadette, or by appointment
- Anointing of the Sick — contact the parish office
- RCIA — for adults entering the Church
Getting to St. Bernadette
St. Bernadette is located at 109 Dixon Street in Harrington, Delaware 19952. Parking is available on the parish grounds next to the church and the parish hall. For questions about accessibility or to schedule a visit, contact the parish office at (302) 398-8269.
- Address: 109 Dixon Street, Harrington, DE 19952
- Phone: (302) 398-8269
- On-site parking beside the church and parish hall