Our Lady of Mercy Parish is a thriving community of faith and good works. We are blessed with meaningful liturgies, life-saving sacraments, faith-building catechesis, and genuine care for one another and all that God has created. We strive to grow in our love of God and neighbor and to bring the Gospel of Christ to others through our words and action.
We invite you to join us on our journey of faith.
Thanks to the efforts of parishioners and the Plainville Historical Society, a Centennial Book was published in 1981 as our church community celebrated its 100th anniversary. It provides a thorough history of our parish. We quote portions of this book here:
Originally, the Catholics of Plainville were part of a large parish centered in New Britain. Because of the extensive boundaries of this parish,... the priest was only able to visit the congregation about once every three months... between 1846 and 1848, Father Luke Daly served... this community. Parishioners gathered in various homes and halls until 1881, when Father Paul F. McAlenney arrived and construction began for a church building of our own.
The original wooden church building was on the corner of Pierce and Broad Streets in Plainville. After seventy years of growth, Pastor Rev. Gerald T. Corrigan and the parishioners decided to build the current structure across the street at Broad and South Canal Streets.
Since that time, the interior has gone through several remodels, always with the intent to make the liturgical celebrations more meaningful to the parishioners.
A major redesign occurred in 1977 when the then Co-Pastors, Father David Walker and Father Robert Rousseau, commissioned the original design to change from a single, long-aisle to a semi-circle around the altar centered in the body of the church.
A number of years later, Pastor Rev. Richard McGann initiated further renovations to promote the gathering of parishioners through a common door and to provide a gathering space near the entrance so that the Church body could properly be maintained as a quiet space for prayer. A Eucharistic Chapel and large Reconciliation Room was built, as well.
Though the buildings have changed, the congregation remains strong and devout under the care of our Pastor, Father Raymond Smialowski.
We have been blessed by those faithful who have gone before us and we pray that we are laying a good foundation for those Catholics who follow.