In 1947 when Father Cornelius Harrington was appointed pastor of St. Mary's Chuck in Coupeville, a profound change in parish life was to take place under his tutelage. He served until 1952. After the U.S. Navy established an air base outside of Oak Harbor in 1942, the north Whidbey area grew by leaps and bounds and the small church was bursting at the seams! Father Harrington purchased an Army building from Fort Ebey and had it moved to the Jackson property in Oak Harbor. On April 8, 1951, the new church was dedicated to St. Augustine and was elevated to a canonical par­ish by the Most Rev. Thomas Connelly, Archbishop of Seattle, while St. Mary's henceforth would have the status of a mission attached to the Oak Harbor parish. Descendants of the original Island Catholics instructed by Chief Tslalakum, attended the ceremonies.

Succeeding pastors have included Fathers Patrick Donnelly, Anthony Palmasani, William Dell, Francis X. Murphy, Raymond Heffernan and G. Barry Ashwell. Father John O'Leary became administrator in July 2000, and served until June 2002. Priests that have assisted in the parish have been Fr. George McLean, Fr. Gregoire, Fr. Bill Rimes and Fr. Robert Rimes. Fr. Michael O'Neil, a retired Navy chaplain, continues to assist.

In January 1952, Father Anthony Palmasani arrived. He administered to the needs of St. Augustine, St. Mary, and St. Hubert's for five years. Fa­ther William F. Dell arrived in November 1957. The rapid growth of the Oak Harbor area had created such a crowded condition in the small church by this time that it soon became necessary to have three Masses every Sun­day. Continued growth soon caused all three Masses to overflow and it be­came apparent that a larger church was necessary. Sufficient funds had been gathered by 1959 for the purchase of six acres of land that would become the new home of St. Augustine Parish. In 1960 the plans for the new church were approved by Most Rev. Archbishop Connolly. and work began on the $205,000 contract in January 1961. The dedication of the new church was held on October 15, 1961. The ultimate reason for the existence of the beau­tiful new church was the salvation of souls, and so it is noted that Miss Che­ryl Hazard and Mr. Michael Newell were the first to enter the religious life from St. Augustine Parish.

Fr. Francis X. Murphy was appointed pastor, soon to be replaced by Fr. Ray Heffernan, an open and kind-hearted Irishman. As the number of fami­lies registered in the church grew so did the need for more space. Father Heffernan began the construction of a new wing with classrooms, offices, and a stage in October 1976. In 1997, Father Ashwell reconfigured the in­terior of the church to bring the altar closer to the people. A recent sabbati­cal to Rome had inspired him to bring many changes back to the parish. He instituted a Passion Play that was the highlight of the Middle School pro­gram. Father Ashwell was assisted by Deacon Bud Dorr and two retired priests, Fathers George McLean and William Rimes, who are now de­ceased.

On the evening of March 8, 1999, Father Ashwell's mother, Margaret, was awakened when a fire broke through the wall in her room in the recto­ry, catching the curtains on fire. She called Father Barry, and simultaneous­ly the door bell rang. It was a volunteer fireman who insisted they leave the house immediately. Working on the back of the house, a roofer had re­moved a halogen flood lamp from the apex of the building in order to put on the new metal facia. The light was left hanging upside down facing against the outside wall with the light on which started the fire.

Father and his mother were housed in temporary quarters and the staff moved their offices to the hall. After much discussion, it was decided that the old rectory space should be turned into much needed offices. All the of­fices would be located in one central administration site, and the spaces in the hall currently being used for office space, would be freed up for cate­chetical purposes. The Center was dedicated on August 26, 2000. The con­struction of the new Rectory began after Fr. Ashwell's reassignment, and a controversy about inadequate insurance compensation. On April 21, 2001, St. Augustine Parish celebrated its 50th anniversary as a Canonical Parish by the dedication of the new rectory. Special guests were Auxiliary Bishop George L. Thomas, Father Cornelius Harrington, Father Raymond Heffer­nan, Rev. Matt Zuanich, and Sister Mary Bernard, O.P. There was a Recto­ry Open House, with a blessing by the auxiliary bishop, historical displays, and a Parish Hall Reception. Rev. John J. O'Leary had returned to the Unit­ed States for medical reasons from the Jesuit Malawi missions and had con­sented to the archbishop's request that he serve as administrator. His genial­ity and kindness won the hearts of the parishioners.

Finally on July 1, 2002, with the arrival of Father Ronald H. Belisle, the parish once again had a Pastor. He applied himself to operational issues, facing the double demon of deficit and debt. He increased the opportunities for weekday Masses and access to the sacraments. On September 11, 2002, the parish commemorated the 9/11 tragedy with a Mass and memorial flag­pole. On Sunday, September 15, 2002, Archbishop Alex J. Brunett installed Father Belisle as Pastor. A parish goal setting convocation showed great hope and confidence in the parish's future!

The celebration of our patronal feastday on August 28 took on a fiesta flavor with a home spun carnival, raffle, procession and blessing of the par­ish that proved a popular fund raising event as well as a quasi-parish picnic. The Filipino-American community, which for years had observed the Santa Cruz de Mayo devotion, responded to the Santo Nino Novena in mid­January with equal fervor.