The early Catholic history of Florham Park is bound up with that of its neighbor, Madison. The presence in Madison of refugees from the French Revolution caused the founding of Saint Vincent's Church as early as 1805. In 1856 the Bishop of Newark purchased property in what is now Florham Park as the site of a diocesan college, Seton Hall. When Seton Hall moved to South Orange in 1860, the site became the home of the Sisters of Charity, and eventually of their academy and college. Even today the Academy of Saint Elizabeth is the only high school in Florham Park.

After World War II growth in northern New Jersey caused attention to be paid to the growing Catholic community in Florham Park. Monsignor John Dauenhauer, pastor of St. Vincent's and Vicar General of the Paterson Diocese, along with Florham Park Mayor Alexander Blanched, a descendant of one of the French émigré families, planned for a mission in the borough which would be entrusted to the care of the curate at St. Vincent's, Father John P. O'Connell. On the first Sunday in January, 1951, the feast of the Holy Family, Father "O" began offering Mass in the Florham Park Roller Rink for an initial 80 Catholic families.