It was a crisp but clear early winter's day on November 22, 1914, with a think blanket of white from an unexpected premature snowfall covering the ground. Excited parishioners, some of whom had walked several miles to be in attendance, gathered for the dedication of their new church. Others hitched their buggies alon South Street or Whittemore Road. It was the culmination of all their efforts over the previous six years as they waited in eager expectation for the Bishop to arrive in Middlebury.

But the story of the new church does not begin there. For, several years earlier, the original Articles of Incorporation of the Roman Catholic Church of Saint John of the Cross were signed, on August 23, 1904, by William Dwyer and Hobart Schieffer as lay trustees, as well as Father Loftus, Bishop Michael Tierney, and Father John Synnott, Vicar General of the Diocese of Hartford. The Certificate of Organization was recorded in the Middlebury town records on November 22, 1904 by William B. Townsend, then Town Clerk. No one is really sure why there was a three month delay.