The first Mass in Tariffville was celebrated in 1846 by Father John Brady.
Priests from Hartford, such as Fathers Brady and Peter Walsh, served Tariffville until Father Luke Daly of New Britain assumed this duty in September 1848. In 1850, Father Daly undertook the building of a church on Mountain Road and named it St. Paul’s Chapel.
On December 10, 1856, the Tariffville chapel became a mission of St. Patrick, Collinsville. In 1876 this church was replaced by a new, larger church and dedicated to St. Bernard on November 23, 1879. This church was located where the present St. Bernard Cemetery now exists.
On May 1, 1881, St. Bernard was made a parish with Father John Quinn appointed first pastor. In 1892 the Winthrop Street church mysteriously burned. Land was purchased on Maple Street across from the present-day cemetery where Bishop Lawrence S. McMahon blessed the cornerstone of a new church on September 25, 1892, later dedicated in 1895.
