An iron furnace was built in Drumore Township in 1809 on the Conowingo Creek. This brought many Scotch-Irish immigrant Catholics to the area trying to find work among people that were hostile to them. At first priests attended them from St. Mary Church in Lancaster or St Malachy's Church in Doe Run, Chester County. Sometime around 1830, a priest from Doe Run, Father Bernard McCabe, started providing a monthly Mass for the congregation at St Catherine's of Drumore. (Drumore is Irish for "Big Fort"). The first Mass was celebrated in a grove of oak and hickory trees on the plot of ground, which is now the St. Catherine Cemetery (also known as the Dry Wells Cemetery).
 
Bernard McCaffrey, a pioneer Catholic, offered his home as the first Mass-house where Irish settlers gathered to celebrate Mass with a priest. Mr. McCaffrey died on October 19 1842. He bequeathed 20 acres of his property to St. Catherine Parish; however, after all was settled, St. Catherine's received only 2 acres of land. At the time of Mr. McCaffrey's death, Rev. McCabe was the priest in charge of the congregation and he at once made arrangements to start building a church. The building of St. Catherine's Chapel was completed in 1844 on that property at the cost of $970, most of which had been contributed by Catholics from many parishes in eastern Pennsylvania. It was a simple stone structure with a roof of Peach Bottom slate. Bishop Francis Kenrick of Philadelphia dedicated it on May 4, 1844.
 
St Catherine's Church was almost called St Patrick's Church, but Bishop Neumann felt that there were too many St. Patrick churches in the Philadelphia Diocese. Since more of the women in the parish had Catherine as their name, St. Catherine was chosen as patroness, and on July 26, 1857, Bishop Neumann rededicated the cornerstone of this Dry Wells chapel as St. Catherine Church. The building was later razed in 1933, since it had been abandoned and in disrepair since November 1, 1896.
 
In 1868, the Diocese of Harrisburg was established. The Quarryville parish was considered a mission of St. Mary's Church, Lancaster from 1869 to 1879. From 1879 to 1881, it was a mission of St. Anthony's Church, Lancaster.
 
In 1894, Rev. Jeremiah Looney bought two lots for $75 each and the Quarryville Land Improvement Company donated two more lots on which to build our second church. Rev. Looney was transferred and the responsibility of collecting funds for a new church fell onto the shoulders of Rev. Anthony F. Kaul, V.F., pastor of St Anthony's.
 
On May 4, 1896, ground on the corner of third and St Catherine Streets in Quarryville Borough was broken. The cornerstone was placed on July 4, 1896 and Bishop Thomas McGovern dedicated the structure on November 8, 1896. The estimated cost of the building was $4,400. It was described as a 30' x 50' area with a sanctuary 18' x 18', all of brick and stone in a Romanesque style. The building has a steeple and a bell tower and could seat 250 people.
 
Since the roads of the time were in such poor conditions throughout Quarryville, Mass was again held in parishioners homes. Church activity almost ceased curing November through March. The McKelvey's and the Weitzel's were the hosts for a visiting priest to offer Mass. Mr. McKelvey, having the best driving horses, would ride to McCalls Ferry or Pequea train stations to meet the priest arriving from Columbia or Lancaster. He would take Father to the McKelvey home where there was an altar for celebrating the Mass. Twenty-five to thirty families attended Mass at these homes.
 
The church at Third and St Catherine's Street was home to St. Catherine's parishioners for over 100 years. In the 1990's, the church was "bursting at the seams". With over 650 families on the rolls, there simply was not enough room in the church to accommodate attendance. The fact that the church was not "handicapped accessible" prohibited many from attending Mass there. Christmas, Ash Wednesday, and Easter Masses found the church packed to capacity. People were seated in the basement of the church and viewed the Mass that was being celebrated upstairs on a TV screen. Bishop Nicholas C. Dattilo, Bishop of the Harrisburg Diocese, saw the need for a larger worship space in the southern end of Lancaster County. Rev. Joseph C. Coyne was assigned pastor of the parish and he began the building process. Plans and fundraising took place throughout most of the 1990's and by 1998 we were ready to begin building the first phase of our new church located on Robert Fulton Highway (Route 222) directly across from Solanco High School.
 
Ground was broken on April 4, 1998, construction began in October1998 and was completed July 1999. The first Mass was celebrated in the new facility on July 3, 1999. The church is7500 square feet in size and contains a large worship space, which accommodates 400 people with space for an additional 100 in the overflow area. Much needed classrooms and offices were also included in the new building project. The bell from the Third Street Church was placed at the new building. In addition, a separate rectory was built on the grounds. The estimated cost of this project was $1.6 million. On October 10, 1999, Bishop Nicholas C. Dattilo and Reverend Joseph Coyne dedicated our new church. Improvements continue to be made on our new church, rectory and property. The Most Reverend Kevin C. Rhoades along with Reverend Ronald J. Moratelli, our past pastor, dedicated our large community room on July 16, 2005, which included additional classrooms, office and a well-equipped kitchen for social gatherings.
With the past pastor, Very Reverend Mark Speitel (2015-2022) and our present pastor Reverend Olusola H. Adewole O.P., we continue our tradition of welcoming new members to our 'Tithing' parish, which has an estimated fifty percent of our parish families are those who moved into the area from Philadelphia, New Jersey and New York.