Our Church Campuses – St. Peter of Alcantara Church Site

Built on the Need to Expand

It was the desire of the parishioners of St. Mary’s Church in Port Washington to expand the religious education of their children that lead to the building of St. Peter’s Church and school. In January of 1963, a committee was appointed to advise and assist St. Mary’ Pastor, Father Edgar Braun in determining the structural details. Through the hard work of this committee, the original Parish was constructed and was formally dedicated on October 19, 1966. The church was named after Saint Peter, born Peter Garavita, in a small Spanish town of Alcantara in 1499. Known as a deeply religious man, he was credited for founding many monasteries.

Since the mid 1960’s St. Peter’s parish has served the growing community of Roman Catholics that have populated the north side of Port Washington. Transformation of the land around the church from farms and fields to residences has led to the addition of many new faces to the congregation over the years.

A Change in Scenery

Built in light of the principle that active participation in the liturgy by all believers is essential for being in church, plans for a change inside the parish building began to develop in 1993. ON January 21, 1995, years of planning became a reality and the first Mass was celebrated in the new church at 5:00 pm. The official dedication of the renovated St. Peter parish took place on April 30, 1995. The updated church, and current facility today, includes a bright sanctuary with a centrally located chancel, a baptistery, Eucharistic chapel and a daily Mass chapel. In a letter to parish members, the pastor at the time, Father Paul Lippert wrote, “May we continue to be inspired, and may our new church draw us closer to god and one another, as our parish family continues to pray together.”

Celebrating 40 Years

Archbishop Timothy Dolan joined Parishioners on November 18 2006 to commemorate the 40^th anniversary of St. Peter’s Church at a Mass and a dinner celebration afterward.

St. Peter’s Today

It is all of the committees, clubs and ministries formed over the years that have served as the foundation of our faith and worship today. Our faith is greatly enriched with the hard work of our worship, liturgy and music volunteers as they bring spiritual life to St. Peter’s church.

Throughout the year, the many volunteers serve the Parish and our local community. They work together on vital fund raisers and charitable causes.