The church was founded amid the Great Depression. Before the church building was completed in 1940, masses were held in the nearby Church Street School. The parish flourished, and 20 years later it purchased land across the street on Circular Avenue with plans to build a junior high school. Blessed Sacrament Jr. High opened in 1965 and was later renamed Rev. Daniel J. Barry Jr. High after the priest who spearheaded its construction. But in 1992, the Archdiocese of Hartford made the decision to close the school. Since then, the church has leased the building to the city of New Haven's Board of Education.