St. Elizabeth Ann Seton

About St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish

St. Elizabeth Ann Seton is a Roman Catholic parish of the Archdiocese of New York serving some 4,000 registered families and individuals in northern Westchester and Putnam counties from its campus at 1377 East Main Street in Shrub Oak, Town of Yorktown. Erected in June 1963 — the very day its patroness was beatified — it was the first parish in the world to bear the name of St. Elizabeth Ann (Bayley) Seton, the first native-born American Catholic saint, canonized in 1975. The parish identifies itself with the motto 'The Charity of Christ Compels Us' from 2 Corinthians 5:14, and its mission statement casts itself as 'the Church Gathered at Shrub Oak,' drawing families of all ages and backgrounds into life in Christ and with one another.

Parish History

Catholic life in the Shrub Oak area began with a handful of families visited by priests from Assumption Parish in Peekskill (est. 1850), who said Mass in private homes, a rented room in the Whitney House and Conklin's Boarding House. The first resident pastor, Fr. John McEvoy, arrived in 1896; St. Peter's Parish was formally established in 1898 with a modest $1,200 wooden church on what is now the Rexall Drugstore site in Yorktown Heights. Under Fr. William Connolly (from 1904) a Norman-style stone church — the 1912 Heins chapel that later became St. George's — was built on Route 6 in Shrub Oak with a $10,000 gift from Aimee LaFarge Heins, widow of architect George Heins.

• 1896 — Fr. John McEvoy arrives as first resident pastor
• 1898 — St. Peter's Parish established, Yorktown Heights
• 1912 — Norman-style stone chapel built in Shrub Oak by the Heins family (later St. George's)
• 1933 — St. Patrick's Church built in Yorktown Heights; renamed by Cardinal Hayes in 1934
• June 1963 — Parish of Blessed Elizabeth Ann Seton erected under founding pastor Msgr. Arthur Nugent
• 1966 — School opens (September 12), staffed by the Sisters of Charity
• 1975 — Mother Seton canonized; parish name changes from 'Blessed' to 'Saint'
• 2013 — Golden Jubilee; Bishop Sullivan celebrates Jubilee Mass
• 2020 — Seton School closed by the Archdiocese of New York
• March 2023 — Fr. Quarato transferred to St. James, Carmel; Msgr. Giandurco named administrator
• March 30, 2025 — Fr. Joseph A. Blenkle installed as pastor

Faith Formation & Religious Education

The parish Faith Formation program, coordinated by Mrs. Donna S. Vallario, serves about 1,100 children of the parish and is now housed in the former Seton School building following the 2020 closure of the parish school. The office is staffed by Ivana Gomez (Secretary), Martina Norris (Registrar) and Jane Gentile (Homeschool Assistant), and operates Tuesday through Thursday from 9:30 AM to 4:00 PM at 914-528-8553 or [email protected]. The program prepares children for the sacraments of First Reconciliation, First Communion and Confirmation; Confirmation is celebrated in the spring, with the 2025 Confirmation scheduled for March 22, 2025.

Music & Liturgy

Sacred Music at Seton is led by Jennifer Lavoie, Director of Sacred Music and Organist ([email protected]; 914-201-3172). The parish supports multiple choirs serving the Sunday Vigil, Family Mass and Solemn Choir Mass, along with a Children's Choir that rehearses on Wednesdays and sings at the 10:30 AM Masses through the spring/summer season, and an Adult Choir that rehearses on Tuesdays from 7:30 PM. A Bell Choir existed in the parish but is currently suspended. The parish livestreams the 9 AM Daily Mass and 11 AM Sunday Mass on its website and publishes 'Mass Aids' — readings, music and devotions usable online or via cell phone.

Parish Clergy & Staff

The parish is currently led by Rev. Fr. Joseph A. Blenkle, Pastor, with Rev. Msgr. Joseph R. Giandurco assisting as Pastor, and three Parochial Vicars — Rev. Fr. Jean-Pierre Seon, Rev. Fr. Susith Franciscu Hettige (Silva), and Rev. Fr. Oliver I. Offor. Five permanent deacons minister as Associates: Deacon Michael F. Wilson, Deacon Walter Lopez, Deacon John Tremblay, Deacon Thomas Engelhart (ordained June 15, 2024 at St. Patrick's Cathedral with First Mass at Seton June 16, 2024), Deacon Joseph Gomez (ordained the same day), and Deacon Walter Krisa. Pastoral staff includes Donna S. Vallario (Faith Formation Coordinator), Jennifer Lavoie (Director of Sacred Music/Organist), Heather Marinelli (Rectory Secretary), Bibiana Denet and Teresa McCue-Fleming and Barbara Forbes (Office Assistants). Lay leadership includes Trustees Pamela J. Adamovich and William J. Bertram, Finance Council Chair James Forbes, and Parish Council Co-Chairs Valerie Fazio and Eileen Kulp.

• Pastor: Rev. Fr. Joseph A. Blenkle (installed March 30, 2025)
• Pastor: Rev. Msgr. Joseph R. Giandurco (administrator since March 1, 2023)
• Parochial Vicars: Fr. Jean-Pierre Seon, Fr. Susith Franciscu Hettige (Silva), Fr. Oliver I. Offor
• Deacons: Michael F. Wilson, Walter Lopez, John Tremblay, Thomas Engelhart, Joseph Gomez, Walter Krisa
• Director of Sacred Music/Organist: Jennifer Lavoie
• Faith Formation Coordinator: Donna S. Vallario

Sacraments

Information about the seven sacraments — Baptism, Confirmation, Eucharist, Penance, Anointing of the Sick, Holy Orders and Matrimony — is available through the Rectory. The parish celebrates First Reconciliation and First Communion in the spring for children prepared through Faith Formation, and Confirmation is also celebrated in the spring. Marriage preparation begins with a call to the Rectory (914-528-3547 ext. 1). Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion take Communion to parishioners in nine area nursing homes (about 500 Catholic residents) Tuesday through Friday, and visit the homebound in their neighborhoods.

Parish Ministries

Seton sustains an unusually wide network of lay ministries, celebrated annually with a Volunteer Dinner. The most active groups include the Legion of Mary (Wednesday evenings), Holy Name Society (men's fraternity, meeting after the 11:00 AM Mass), Men's Ministry (Saturday mornings 7:30–8:30 AM), Seton Seniors, the Knights of Columbus (Council 4012), Prayer Shawl Ministry, Bereavement Group, Respect Life Committee, Bible Study, Blood Drive, the Separated/Divorced Group (held at St. Patrick's, Yorktown Heights) and Nana Seton's Corner (a playgroup for young children and their caregivers). The parish also subscribes to FORMED.org, giving every parishioner free digital access to thousands of Catholic talks, movies and studies.

• Knights of Columbus Council 4012
• Holy Name Society
• Legion of Mary
• Men's Ministry
• Seton Seniors
• Prayer Shawl Ministry
• Bereavement Group
• Respect Life Committee
• Bible Study
• Nursing Home Ministry (9 facilities)
• Homebound Visitation
• Blood Drive
• Children's Choir / Adult Choir / Contemporary Choir / Bell Choir
• Eucharistic Ministers, Lectors and Altar Servers
• FORMED.org digital formation

Former Seton School (Closed 2020)

Blessed Elizabeth Ann Seton School opened on September 12, 1966, as part of the then-newly-formed parish; its name changed from 'Blessed' to 'Saint' with the 1975 canonization of Mother Seton. The school was staffed by the Sisters of Charity — the very religious community St. Elizabeth Ann Seton founded in the United States — and became a community fixture for 54 years, awarding more than $401,700 in Catholic-high-school scholarships to the Class of 2020 alone. After the 2014 school year, Seton and several other northern Westchester parish schools had been reorganized into a regional Catholic-school model and stood apart from direct parish funding. By spring 2020, with only 103 of 150 students re-enrolled for the next year and the COVID-19 pandemic straining the system, the Archdiocese of New York closed Seton along with 19 other Catholic schools in the region; more than 20 teachers and administrators lost their jobs. Pastor Fr. Robert Quarato announced that the school building would be repurposed to serve the parish's 1,100 religious-education students.

Stewardship & Annual Appeal

The parish participates in the Cardinal's Annual Stewardship Appeal of the Archdiocese of New York. In the May 2026 bulletin the parish reported raising $87,530 toward its $116,600 parish goal for the appeal, with parishioners asked to help reach the goal by Pentecost. The parish is also supported by its own offertory, fees for sacraments and Faith Formation, special fundraising events, and volunteer-driven activities such as the Volunteer Appreciation Dinner each fall.

Visiting & Contact

The parish is located at 1377 East Main Street (Route 6), Shrub Oak, NY 10588, in the Town of Yorktown in northern Westchester County. The Rectory Office is open Monday through Friday from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM at (914) 528-3547, ext. 1 (Fax 914-266-9647). The Faith Formation Office (914-528-8553, [email protected]) is open Tuesday–Thursday 9:30 AM–4:00 PM. The Sacred Music Office can be reached at [email protected] or 914-201-3172. The complex is handicapped accessible, and ample on-site parking is available. Visitors to weekday Masses may use the chapel entrance; Sunday Masses use the main church. Livestreamed Masses and the parish bulletin are available at seton-parish.org.