About St. Bernard · Saranac Lake, New York
St. Bernard's Church (formally St. Bernard of Montjoux Parish) is a Roman Catholic parish located in the heart of the Adirondack Mountains in Saranac Lake, New York, belonging to the Diocese of Ogdensburg. It currently ministers to Catholics in the greater Saranac Lake area and operates St. Bernard's School, a Pre-K through 5th-grade Catholic elementary school. Under the pastoral leadership of Reverend Martin E. Cline, the parish also maintains the Church of the Assumption in Gabriels as a secondary worship site, and it runs a full program of sacraments, faith formation for grades 1–9, and a wide array of liturgical, parish, and ecumenical ministries including Catholic Daughters, Knights of Columbus, the Saranac Lake Interfaith Food Pantry, and Community Supper.
- Established
- 1892
- Patron
- St. Bernard of Montjoux (Bernard of Menthon / St. Bernard of the Alps)
- Rector
- Reverend Martin E. Cline
- Diocese
- Roman Catholic Diocese of Ogdensburg
Why belong here
St. Bernard's offers a strong Catholic community nestled in the Adirondacks, where you can worship at a weekend Mass in Saranac Lake or at the smaller Church of the Assumption in Gabriels. The parish grounds itself in traditional Catholic faith across a full sacramental life (weekday and Sunday Masses, regular confession, First Communion and Confirmation preparation, Communion to the homebound and hospitalized), supports a Pre-K–5 parish school, and engages with the wider Adirondack community through Catholic Daughters, the Knights of Columbus, the Saranac Lake Interfaith Food Pantry, Grace Pantry, Community Lunchbox, and Community Supper. For families, retirees, students, and visitors drawn to the mountains, it is a place where a long Catholic tradition meets hands-on local charity and hospitality.
Mass times at St. Bernard
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Saturday 3:30 pm – 4:15 pm at St. Bernard's
- Anytime by appointment
History of St. Bernard's Parish
Catholic faith arrived in the Saranac Lake area in 1886, when the first recorded Mass was celebrated at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Michael Morgan. The parish was formally founded around 1891 by Father John J. Waters and grew rapidly in the village's industrial and tourism boom, becoming the religious home of an overwhelmingly Catholic community. Three successive church buildings have stood on or near St. Bernard Street — the 1892 wood-framed original, the grand 1912 gray-stone church (144 ft long, 91-ft steeple), and the present modern church rebuilt after the devastating December 5, 1967 fire.
- 1886 – First Mass in the area celebrated at the Morgan home in Saranac Lake
- 1891 – Father John J. Waters, ordained 1890 by the Bishop of Ogdensburg, arrives to found the parish
- 1892 – First wood-framed church completed (and later destroyed by fire c. 1909)
- 1910 – Cornerstone of the stone church laid (June 14)
- 1912 – Gray-stone church completed at a cost of $125,000
- 1967 (Dec 5) – Stone church destroyed by fire; arson suspected
- Late 1960s – Present modern church built — the parish's third church building
Worship Sites
The parish operates two worship sites. The main church, St. Bernard's, stands at 27 St. Bernard Street in the center of Saranac Lake. Its smaller companion, the Church of the Assumption, is located at 826 State Route 86 in the hamlet of Gabriels. Both sites are listed under the unified St. Bernard of Montjoux parish in the Diocese of Ogdensburg.
- St. Bernard's Church — 27 St. Bernard Street, Saranac Lake, NY 12983
- Church of the Assumption — 826 State Route 86, Gabriels, NY 12939 (established 1912)
St. Bernard's School
St. Bernard's School, the parish's Pre-K through 5th-grade Catholic elementary school, is housed at 63 River Street, Saranac Lake. The school presents itself as a close-knit community rooted in the Catholic faith, where children are known, supported, and challenged to reach their full potential, with an emphasis on integrating faith and learning into daily life.
- Address: 63 River Street, Saranac Lake, NY 12983
- Phone: (518) 891-2830
- Web: www.stbernardsschool.org
- Grades: Pre-K through 5
- Principal: Andrea Kilbourne-Hill
Faith Formation (PREP)
The parish's religious education program supports parents as the primary teachers of the Catholic faith, running parish sessions from 1st grade through 9th grade. Sacramental preparation is woven in for First Reconciliation and First Holy Communion (in 2nd grade) and Confirmation (in 9th grade), with parent/child workshops preceding each.
- Director of Religious Education: Marcia Bugbee
- Registration fees: $20 (grades 1–5), $25 (grades 6–8), $30 (grade 9)
- Contact: (518) 891-4616 / [email protected]
- First Reconciliation & First Communion preparation — 2nd grade
- Confirmation preparation — 9th grade
Parish Ministries and Groups
The parish registration form lists a wide range of ways to get involved, organized into liturgical ministries (sacristan, greeter, music, lectors, Eucharistic ministers, ushers, altar servers, hospitality), parish groups (Catholic Daughters, Knights of Columbus, Altar and Rosary Society, Prayer Group, Men's Group), and parish councils (Parish Council, Vocation Awareness, Youth Ministry, Catechist). Lay ministries also extend to pastoral care (Communion to the Hospital and Homebound, Funeral Servers) and the upkeep of the worship space (Art and Environment, church cleaning, altar linens).
- Liturgical: Sacristan, Greeter, Music, Adult & Youth Altar Servers, Eucharistic Minister, Lector, Children's Liturgy, Usher, Offertory Gifts, Hospitality after Mass
- Parish Groups: Catholic Daughters, Knights of Columbus, Altar and Rosary Society, Prayer Group, Men's Group
- Pastoral/Service: Communion to the Hospital, Communion to the Homebound, Funeral Server, Catechist, Youth Ministry, Vocation Awareness
- Stewardship: Art and Environment, Clean the Church, Clean Altar Linens, Parish Council
Ecumenical and Community Outreach
St. Bernard's lives out its Catholic faith through a strong partnership with other Christian and civic groups in the Adirondacks, especially addressing food insecurity and the needs of people experiencing hardship in the Saranac Lake community.
- Ecumenical Council
- Saranac Lake Interfaith Food Pantry
- Grace Pantry
- Community Lunchbox
- Community Supper
St. Bernard's Cemetery
St. Bernard's Cemetery, located at the corner of Ampersand Avenue and County Route 18 (Forest Home Road) in Saranac Lake, is the parish's resting place. Markers date from 1918, when the cemetery was opened (after the parish's earlier Catholic section in Pine Ridge Cemetery filled). It is the burial site of many of Saranac Lake's most prominent citizens, including long-time mayor Charles Keough, village historian John J. Duquette, skating champion Edmund Lamy, New York Giants baseball star Larry Doyle (the last patient to leave the Trudeau Sanatorium), and Herbert Clark, the first 46er.
- Location: Ampersand Avenue at Forest Home Road, Saranac Lake
- Stones dating from 1918
- Cemetery Superintendent listed on parish staff: Ellen McBride
Parish Staff and Contact
St. Bernard's is led pastorally by Rev. Martin E. Cline and is served by three permanent deacons. The parish office at 27 St. Bernard Street is open Monday–Thursday, 9:00 am to 2:00 pm, and is staffed by a parish office manager, a director of religious education, and a cemetery superintendent.
- Pastor: Reverend Martin E. Cline
- Deacons: John A. Fehlner, James P. Law, Joseph R. Szwed
- Parish Office Manager: Marcia Bugbee
- Director of Religious Education: Marcia Bugbee
- School Principal: Andrea Kilbourne-Hill
- Cemetery Superintendent: Ellen McBride
- Bulletin contact: Bernie Cushman
- Office hours: Monday–Thursday, 9:00 am – 2:00 pm
- Phone: (518) 891-4616 · Fax: (518) 891-4619
Our Patron: St. Bernard of Montjoux
The parish takes its name from St. Bernard of Montjoux (also known as St. Bernard of Menthon or St. Bernard of the Alps), who lived from approximately 923 to 1008. He founded three Augustinian monasteries in the Alps and became the patron saint of mountain climbers, skiers, and travelers in the mountains — fittingly echoed in the famous St. Bernard rescue dogs that Augustinian monks trained to help pilgrims through treacherous alpine passes buried in eight feet of snow.
- Lived c. 923–1008
- Founder of three Augustinian monasteries
- Patron of mountain climbers, skiers, and mountain travelers
- Origin of the St. Bernard rescue dog
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Reverend John J. Watersc. 1891–c. 1922 (31 years as pastor, until his death at age 61)
Founder of St. Bernard's Parish; ordained by the Bishop of Ogdensburg in 1890; built the 1892 wood-framed church and the 1912 stone church.