Our History & Patron Saint

The parish community of Saint Monica traces its beginnings to January 12, 1879, when Augustinian priests began traveling from Villanova to celebrated Mass for Catholics in the Berwyn area. The first Mass was held in the home of James Kelley and subsequent liturgies were celebrated in the borough hall.

The cornerstone for the first church was laid in June of 1889 on land purchased for $2,800. After construction on an elevated site in the central portion of the Village of Berwyn, the church building was dedicated on May 28, 1893. The mission church was placed under the patronage of Saint Monica, the courageous and faith-filled mother of Saint Augustine. With the appointment of Reverend Hugh J. Dugan as its first resident pastor, Saint Monica was accorded full parish status on January 11, 1897. 

Subsequent years saw the purchase of land for the parish cemetery, the construction of the first rectory, and the establishment of a parish school on September 8, 1916. The school was staffed by the Sisters, Servants of the Immacuate Heart of Mary for most of its existence, as well as by dedicated lay faculty, until its closure in 2012. 

The original church was destroyed by fire on May 22, 1991, leaving only a few precious items to be salvaged. This included the stained glass window of Saint Monica, which graces the rebuilt church narthex today. Beautiful stained glass windows, Stations of the Cross, and much of the millwork for the new building was obtained from the closed Corpus Christi Church in North Philadelphia. The bell from the steeple of the original church stands outside the current church structure, along with the original cornerstone.

Thanks to the leadership of Reverend George G. Hagenbach and the generosity and dedication of the parishioners and friends of Saint Monica, a new church rose from the ashes of that fire. On September 12, 1993, the Cardinal Archbishop of Philadelphia, Anthony J. Bevilacqua, dedicated the structure, along with a parish center and gymnasium.

Reverend Hugh J. Dugan (1897 – 1906)
Reverend John C. Carey (1906 – 1939)
Reverend Doctor Adrian J. Kilker (1939 – 1944)
Reverend John L. Gallagher (1945 – 1956)
Reverend John J. Driscoll (1957 – 1968)
Reverend Charles G. McAleer (1968 – 1969)
Reverend Monsignor John G. McFadden (1969 – 1970)
Reverend John J. Carroll (1970 – 1974)
Reverend Joseph J. Dawson (1974 – 1982)
Reverend George G. Hagenbach (1982 – 2001) 
Reverend William A. Trader (2001 – 2013)
Reverend Charles Zlock (2013 – 2022)
Reverend Paul J. O'Donnell, Parochial Administrator (2022 – present)

Nothing is Far from God!

Saint Monica (331 – 387 A.D.) was married by arrangement in North Africa to a pagan official who was much older than she. Although generous, her husband possessed a violent temper. His mother lived with them and was equally difficult, which proved a constant challenge to Monica. She had three children: Augustine, Navigius, and Perpetua. Through her patience and prayers, she was able to convert her husband and his mother to the Catholic Faith in 370. Her husband died one year later.

Perpetua and Navigius entered the religious life but Augustine was much more difficult. Monica prayed for his conversion for seventeen years, begging the intercession of priests who, for a while, tried to avoid her because of her persistence at this seemingly hopeless endeavor. However, one priest did console her: "God's time will come...it is not possible that the son of so many tears should perish." This thought, coupled with a vision that she had received, strengthened her.  After his own conversion, Augustine was baptized by Saint Ambrose in 387 and became one of the great bishops, preachers, and writers of the early Church. Monica died later that same year, on the way back to Africa from Rome in the Italian town of Ostia. 

Saint Monica is venerated today as a patroness of married women, mothers, widows, difficult marriages, wayward children, conversion of relatives, abuse victims, adultery victims, and alcoholics.