Previously, at long intervals, Catholics were compelled to journey thirty-two miles to Danbury, Connecticut to hear Mass.

During Father Sheehan's tenure Mass was celebrated once a month in turn at various houses, as well as, at Towner's Station, some six miles south of Pawling.

During Father Slevin's tenure, the Civil War broke out, and he was drafted; but the congregation made up the $300 fee to obtain his release and furnish a substitute.

Father Tandy was sent as resident pastor to Amenia, with Dover Plains, Millbrook, Millerton, Pawling, and Sylvan Lake as out missions.

Father Tandy celebrated Mass on alternate Sundays in the houses of parishioners in Pawling until 1869 when a church was built.