The church is Barre began life as a mission from the church of Saint Augustine in the older settlement of Montpelier, Vermont. The original Roman Catholic settlers of Barre had been traveling to worship at Montpelier. However, from 1881 the Catholic population had swollen to the point that the priest from Montpelier was traveling to Barre to conduct worship for 31 families, initially in the town hall. By 1886 the priest had leased a disused academy building to accommodate the Barre Mission. A new purpose-built church was then needed. The church was finished on October 2, 1887. Saint Monica's cost $25,000 to build, including the lot for the church and rectory. The church was built to accommodate the growing number of Roman Catholic families, especially of Irish, Italian, and French descent, who were flocking to Barre to work in the granite industry. The dedication to St Monica, related to the fact that the original Montpelier Church was dedicated to Monica's son, Saint Augustine. Since its founding, Saint Monica's has undergone several major renovations. In 1927, in response to a demand for faith-based education for local Roman Catholic children, the priest of St. Monica's founded a school adjacent to the church.
Barre is a granite mining town with a tradition of sculpturing. It is linked with Carrara in Italy, which has a much longer but similar tradition with marble sculpture. According to the University of Vermont, in 1905, the Roman Catholic Granite workers of Barre, many of whom were Italian immigrants, took the unusual step of importing marble from Carrara to complete their church altar. (Indeed, many of Barre's granite sculptors had immigrated from Carrara itself in 1883, bringing their needed skills to the town. At the time, the altar cost $2,000 to build. In 1968, much of the marble work was stripped away, but an effort is being made to restore the church to its former glory.
Today
Today, the working parish currently employs seven staff, two of whom are ordained priests. It was described by Mother Jones as "the biggest Catholic church in the state." Saint Monica's School, is still in operation as a parochial school. It is a K-8 school, still in its original site, located next to the church. It has a faculty and staff of 24. The parochial cemetery adjacent to the Church dates from 1895, however it was given over to the city in 1971.
