]The history of Christ the King began in 1844, when Louis de Goesbriand, the first bishop of Burlington, purchased a piece of land on Green Street, now Killington Avenue. In 1885, St Mary's school was built on that site and opened in 1886. In 1906, it was decided that St Peter parish, which had been operating the school, was to be divided into two parishes. The new parish was named Holy Innocents, and the school was renamed Holy Innocents school. The first pastor was Rev William Lonergan. The first Mass of the new parish was held in an auditorium, Eagles hall, on 20 January 1907. For the first dozen or so years, the parish consisted of the school building. By 1908, there was a desire to build a new church. It would take several years to accomplish that goal. A basement church was built on the southeast corner of Killington Avenue and South Main Street. The remnants of that church are still quite visible in what is today Moroney hall, the lower level of Christ the King school. The present church building was started in 1928, and completed in 1929, and the name of the parish was changed to Christ the King. The first Mass in the present structure was on 27 October 1929, Bishop Joseph John Rice presiding. The second pastor, Rev Bernard J Kelly, died in 1932. After his death, the assistant pastor, Rev John M Barnes, acted as pastor while awaiting the appointment of a successor. Rev John M Kennedy was appointed later in 1932, and served here until 1971. Fr Kennedy famously paid off the debt of the original church construction. In 1947, Fr Kennedy was named a monsignor by Pope Pius XII. During his pastorate, a shrine to honor Mary was dedicated by Bishop Edward F Ryan in 1955, and an additional school building was added in 1966 for a middle school. Rev James T Engle, who had previously served the parishioners as curate, was appointed as pastor on 1 June 1971. He set out to renovate the church in accordance with the guidelines of the second Vatican council. Rev Reid C Mayo was appointed as his successor in 1985. Continuing Fr Engle’s plans of expansion, construction of facilities on the lower level of the church was undertaken. Named Engle hall, it was built as a parish hall and meeting space. As Route 7 expanded, Fr Mayo purchased many of the homes and lots east of the church on Killington Avenue for parking. He also expanded the parish staff to include various ministers in pastoral roles. Fr Mayo retired as pastor in 2008 and was succeeded by Rev Justin J Baker, who served until 2016. Our current pastor is Rev Msgr Bernard W Bourgeois.