The beginnings of the parish of St. Vito are to be found in the earliest attempts by the Church to take care of the spiritual needs of the Italian community in Mamaroneck. The nineteenth century witnessed a steady migration of Italians to the United States, and the gradual formation of an Italian community in Mamaroneck. The nearest Italian parish was Our Lady of Mount Carmel in White Plains, and it was from that parish that the first priests came to minister to the newly arrived immigrants in Mamaroneck. Early records show that Father Joseph Marinaro, pastor of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, and his assistants used to offer Mass for the people here, administer baptism and officiate at marriages. As time went on the center of religious activity among the Italians of the village was a small chapel on the corner of Sheldrake Place and Van Ranst Place. It was dedicated to St. Anthony of Padua.

In 1908 Father Ferdinand Papale arrived as the first resident priest to care for the Italian community. He remained but one year, but during that year the people began thinking about building a permanent and suitable church. Property was acquired and a wooden structure was built on Madison Street. This building represents the real beginning of the present St. Vito’s parish. It was opened under the title of St. Vito in April 1910, and it was under that tittle that the parish was legally incorporated on August 23, 1911. The first pastor assigned to the new St. Vito’s was Father Francis Cocozza. His usual Sunday mass attendance, in the first years, was only 50 to 75 persons. The baptismal and marriage registers, however, indicate that the new parish was developing rapidly.

Father Cocozza resigned in June of 1927 and was succeeded by Father Biaggio Del Negro. The parish had no rectory and it soon became evident that the seventeen year old church building was not in the best of condition and had become inadequate for the needs of the growing parish. Father Del Negro sought and obtained permission for a new church ‘on higher ground’ as protection from the periodic flooding, and in 1930 the present church building and rectory were completed.

Realizing that the future of the parish lay in the children, Father Del Negro spent his efforts to provide the best in religious instruction. Sunday School, Communion and Confirmation classes were organized. Sisters from the Divine Compassion Congregation in White Plains were recruited as teachers. When released time classes became legally possible, classes on a more regular basis were organized. The Sisters of Our Lady of Christian Doctrine were requested to teach and lay volunteers were given training in doctrine and teaching methods. A house was purchased and remodeled to serve as a convent for the Sisters. The result was a complete course of instruction in religion for all children of public school from kindergarten through the twelfth grade.

By 1959 the labors of more than thirty years began to take their toll and Father Del Negro’s health began to fail. He resigned from active duty in the spring of 1959 and retired to his home town in Italy. In August, 1959, Monsignor John Goodwine, who had been professor of moral theology and canon law at the St. Joseph’s Seminary in Dunwoodie was appointed as the third pastor of St. Vito. Before leaving, Father Del Negro announced that he had set aside a reserve fund for the construction of a parish school, so the new pastor was besieged with demands for a parish school. The need was evident to the new pastor, and the next year plans were made for a school, parish hall and a renovated convent. Additional funds were raised and construction was completed in late 1962. This left the parish with a debt of $500,000 which in the nine succeeding years has been reduced to $190,000.

The Dominican Sisters of Sparkhill were engaged to staff the school. Sister Catherine William and two sisters opened the school in September, 1962. Sixty children were enrolled in the first four grades. As the student body grew in succeeding years, additional grades were added until, at present, there are 260 students in ten classes in the eighth grades.

The facilities afforded by the new buildings made possible many social events, among which the annual Italian Dinner has become rather famous in the local community. The yearly production of “Showtime” raise funds for the Student Aid Fund (to assist our children to attend Catholic High School) in another popular community event.

During the sixty years of its existence St. Vito’s Parish has grown from its original membership of about 100 families to its present enrollment of over 2,160 families.