St. John welcomes a new pastor: The Rev. David Choquette arrives
by Mark Jahne
Editor
There is a saying that you can’t go back home again. But for the Rev. David Choquette, going back close to home is reality.
The veteran priest recently became the pastor of St. John Church, the only Roman Catholic church in town. He was appointed by the bishop of the Diocese of Norwich. It’s not far from where he grew up.
“It’s nice to be back here. I’m from Middletown originally,” he said.
Now 54 years old, he recalled worshiping at St. Pius Church in Middletown as a child and young man. He is a graduate of Xavier High School in Middletown and earned an undergraduate degree from St. Anselm College before completing further studies and theological training at St. John’s Seminary in Boston.
Choquette was motivated to become a priest by “the example of the Franciscan friars at St. Pius. I was ordained in 1998” at the Cathedral of St. Patrick in Norwich. That was 28 years ago.
“When I was first ordained I was at the cathedral in Norwich. I was also master of ceremonies to [the late] Bishop [Daniel] Hart,” he said. “Then I spent a year in Ledyard.”
His next assignment was as pastor of All Saints Church in Somers. In 2020 he was sent to the “quiet corner” of northeastern Connecticut to be the pastor of St. Mary Church in Putnam.
“A year later, Most Holy Trinity in Pomfret became part of the parish. For the last 10 years I had four,” he added.
St. Joseph in North Grosvenordale and St. Stephens in Thompson were added to the parish. He became a State Police chaplain, a role he continues in today, as well as chaplain of the Putnam Police Department.
“It was a lot. I had an assistant. I was doing between 80 and 90 funerals a year,” he recalled.
But he never wavered from his decision to pursue a religious vocation. He is now one of the few Catholic priests in Connecticut whose parish consists of a single church and he quickly noticed that St. John has a different vibe.
“This is a lot younger of a community than the one I left. We’re back to where we were” in terms of weekend attendance prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. He is confident that attendance will continue to improve.
“People are looking for religion, they’re looking for something more than the here and now, looking to find meaning in life,” Choquette said.
He believes people of all ages realized that something was missing from their lives, something spiritual.
“You need something to give you moral clarity.”
He will assist at his former high school and continue his service as a police chaplain.
St. John Church was part of the Diocese of Norwich until 1995 when it invited the Conventual Franciscan Friars of the St. Anthony of Padua Province (which is now Our Lady of the Angels Province) to administer the parish.
That arrangement ended a few weeks ago after the previous pastor, the Rev Mark Curesky, retired. On July 1 of this year the church once again became part of the Diocese of Norwich. CL