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The Beginning<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>

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Like all small parishes in the early 1930\'s St. Theresa\'s\nin Sion Mills started from very humble beginnings. In the beginning the village\nof Sion Mills was part of the neighbouring parish of Melmount, which is approximately\n3 miles away in the town of Strabane. A small hall, which was originally a grocery\nstore and stood on the present site was purchased. It was used as a temporary church\nand some ground was bought from Mrs. Marshall of Ballyfatten. For several years\nMass was held on a weekday, once a month for the elderly people of the area. On\nthe same site was St. Patrick\'s Hall and during a Mission in Melmount in 1932, a\nMass was held on one Sunday. There was also a Mass held there on Christmas Day in\nthe same year. This hall was bought by the parish and was extended on land given\nby Herdmans. (When seeking permission to get a church in Sion Mills it was argued\nthat one day Sion Mills would become a deserted village. So far that statement is\nwrong!) The hall was blessed as a temporary church in November 1935 and was called\nthe Church of the Little Flower and served the growing parish for the next 28 years.\nIn September 1935 the parochial house was built due mainly to the tenacity of the\nresident priest at the time, Fr. Willie Devine.<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>


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Our Progression through the years<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>

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It wasn\'t until 1961 that plans for the building of a new\nchurch were accepted. The architect was Patrick Haughey ABIBA. It was the first\nof the modern churches in the Diocese of Derry with much concentration on the Sanctuary.\nThe new church of St. Theresa was dedicated and officially opened on 25th August\n1963. Fr. Faulkener was the Parish Priest of Melmount Parish at that time while\nFr. James Brennan was the priest at Sion Mills.<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>


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Improvements<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>

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One of the most noticeable features of the new church is\nthe Last Supper Facade designed by Oisin Kelly. The facade is much commented on\nby everyone especially visitors to Sion Mills and because the church fronts onto\nthe main Derry to Belfast road and is also on the main route to Dublin, people passing\nthrough the village get a clear view of our Last Supper Facade. We also get many\nfavourable comments on our beautifully maintained grounds and our well kept cemetery.<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>


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Parish Status<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>

St. Theresa\'s was granted parish status in September 1974\nand Bishop Edward Daly inducted Fr. Gerard O\'Neill as the first Parish Priest of\nSt. Theresa\'s. Fr. O\'Neill served as parish priest until January 1982. Next parish\npriest was Fr. Eamon Tierney who served until January 1987 to be followed by the\nappointment of Fr. Bernard Bryson, who to date is the longest serving parish priest\nof the parish of St. Theresa. Fr. Bryson retired in August 2004. Fr. Peter McLaughlin\nwho was appointed in August 2004 and he retired in September 2017. Fr. Michael Doherty\nwas appointed Parish Priest on 30 September 2017 and Fr. Thomas Canning was appointed\nCurate on the same date by Bishop Donal McKeown.<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>


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