St. Clare's has received national attention for its architecture, its educational programs, its heavy casualties from the September 11 attacks, and its two priests lost to the COVID-19 pandemic.

With priests and nuns no longer in great supply, the parish typically relies on an experienced pastor, three or four additional clergy, and lay ministerial support from dozens of full- and part-time staff members and hundreds of active volunteers.

[7] These serve as "teachers, lectors, musicians, ushers, Communion ministers, Parish Council members, and ... [in] counseling fellow parishioners, welcoming new residents, guiding new parents, coaching young students, organizing social activities (often with nearby congregations), protecting the environment, maintaining the parish properties, leading prayer groups, caring for the sick and unborn, advising the unemployed, feeding the hungry, consoling the bereaved".

[5] St. Clare School and other students in the parish, particularly the science enrichment program, have often been recognized for major community projects,[8] and have been strong competitors in international technology tournaments.

It became a chapel when the current octagonal church was completed in 1959 to accommodate Great Kills' surging population, in anticipation of the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge from Brooklyn.

It was established under the direction of pastor Daniel M. Dougherty, principal Mary Dominic Ward, and her community of Presentation Sisters who continued leading the school through 2004.

[3][5] St. Clare Church received widespread media coverage for its support activities after 29 parishioners died suddenly from the World Trade Center attacks of September 11, 2001.

This wooden building accommodated 250 people, and was commended as the first Catholic church in the United States designed in simple Colonial style, by young architects Otto R. Eggers and Daniel P. Higgins.

To make way for a larger church, in 1957 the building was rolled to a new site on Nelson Avenue, where it remains in use as a chapel for weekday Masses and Eucharistic Adoration.

When a deteriorated foundation required major reconstruction in 2003, the parish added a finished basement, for a large and flexible meeting space (including a lending library) named the Faith Formation Center.

[25] In 1959, fast-growing St. Clare's completed the largest building project ever undertaken by a Staten Island parish: A new church accommodated 700 people, and a new wing more-than-doubled the school's capacity.

The main Nelson Avenue entrance is highlighted by a contemporary 16-foot (5 m) statue of St. Clare, one of her tallest in the world, sculpted by parishioner Hans Karl.

The building was actually designed before St. Clare's had a pre-kindergarten program, which prompted a major interior re-design in 2001 by parishioner David L. Businelli and professor Stephen Perrella.

[34][35][36][37] Saint Clare's Hospital (Manhattan) was founded by the Franciscan Sisters of Allegany and provided service from 1934 to 2007, notably including New York's first specialized care for HIV/AIDS patients.