The St. Monica Parish was conceived in 1949 by the then Bishop of Mobile-Birmingham Diocese, the late Archbishop Thomas J. Toolen, D.D. with the intent to take in parts of the Little Flower, St Matthew and Our Lady of Lourdes parishes. Most of the seven acre plot of ground on Dauphin Island Parkway was donated by the Stewart Steiner family for the parish. It was said that the name of the parish was chosen because Archbishop Toolen was consecrated as bishop on May 4th which was at that time St Monica’s Feast Day.
On December 31, 1950, the first Mass was celebrated by the founding pastor the late Rev. Msgr. Harold A. Sherman in the temporary church. The parish consisted of 150 original families. By 1960, the parish had grown to about 500 families, with an eight-classroom school, an enrollment of 433 students, a two-story convent for the six Immaculate Heart of Mary nuns and a temporary rectory. This growth necessitate the construction of a new rectory and a bigger church. Thus, in 1961, two weeks after Easter, the first Mass was celebrated in the newly built church – the St. Monica Catholic Church as we know it today. When the Brookley US Air Force Base was closed in June 1969, the number of parishioners dwindle. By 1989, the school was closed and by 1999, the convent was closed.
Despite these challenges, the parish still devoutly flourishes today with about 200 families from different cultural backgrounds – Americans, Vietnamese and Filipinos. This diversity is forged in one faith and is spiritually nourished through the celebration of the Holy Mass in English, Vietnamese and Tagalog, through the Catechism of Catholic Doctrine taught by volunteer catechists, the preparation to the Rites of Catholic Initiation for Adults given by Deacon Truat Nguyen and the Annual Youth and Adult Recollections provided by the Sisters of the Holy Rosary from New Orleans. Furthermore, social and physical nourishments are also shared by parishioners during Sunday brunches over Vietnamese soup and during the First Saturday of the Month after-mass supper over Filipino dishes.
St. Monica Catholic Parish has an interestingly colorful history which is aptly complimented by its incredibly beautiful church. The church has a colored marble Last Supper at the altar, colored marble Stations of the Cross hanging on its brick walls, stain-glass windows depicting the well-known Gospel stories, and amazing mosaic renditions of the Sacred Heart of Jesus with our Blessed Mother in the chapel, of the Holy Family above the door to the chapel and of St. Monica and her son, St. Augustine above the center door of the church.
Other pastors who served at St. Monica are Fr. John Robinson, Fr. James Oberkirch, Fr. Thomas Cullen (Administrator) and Fr. Eamon Miley. Today, the present pastor is Fr. Cu Minh Duong.