With the establishment of the parish in 1917 by the then Archbishop of St. John's, The Most Rev. E.P. Roche, D.D., Father James J. Coady wasappointed first parish priest. The parish made a financial contribution towards the expenses of the Chapel at Littledale and used that facility as aparish church for several years. However, the desire was strong to have their own "domus Dei" and so a drive for funds to construct a Parishchurch was commenced. At that particular time money had to be in hand to pay for any parish building before any construction could be under-taken. Under the direction of Father Coady, an amount of some twenty-five thousand dollars was put into a construction account. When Rev.J.J. Rawlins succeeded Father Coady as Parish Priest in 1920, this amount of money was available to support further fund raising, towards therealization of a parish dream. In the course of three short years sufficient funds were in hand, so that an architect could be engaged to design asuitable church building for the community. Charles J. McCarthy was commissioned and he designed a magnificent building what the prideof the area as an "architectural gem" for many years. The Corpus Christi officially open their doors on Aug 20, 1923 in a impressive ceremony.Those in attendance were the pastor, Father J.J. Rawlins with Fathers P.B. Sheehan, E.J. Rawlins, Archbishop Most Rev. E.P. Roche, Rev. F.McGrath, Rev. Dr. Kitchen, and in the sanctuary were Rev. Fathers Joseph Pippy, P.J. Kennedy. T.J. Flynn, M.J. Kennedy and rev. Dr. Carter.At the opening in 1923, the parish had 350 members and with the development of the new residential areas of Killbride, Cowan Avenue andCowan Heights, the parish soon grew to 10,000 members, making it the largest parish in the Archdiocese of St. John's.

There are no Vital Statistics Volumes (DPHW) available for this Parish They do have the All Newfoundland Births - Vital Statistics Division microfilm available for this parish at the PANL for the period from 1891 to1926 for baptisms and from 1891 to 1922 for marriages.

The death records for Corpus Christi Parish start from 1916 onwards There are microfilms at the PANL from the Vital Statistics Division from 1891 to 1949 for deaths.

The following cemeteries were used:
1. Belvedere Catholic Cemetery located in St. John's with entry gates on Newtown Road, Bonaventure Avenue and Mayor Avenue, is the oldest cemetery and is now closed. It is used only if someone is cremated or if someone already has a plot there.

2. Mount Carmel Cemetery located on the Boulevard in St. John's is the second oldest cemetery and is now closed. It is used only if someone is cremated or if someone already has a plot there.

3. Holy Sepulchre Cemetery located on Topsail Road in Mount Pearl is the newest cemetery (opened in the last 30 years)

A list of Priests who have served the Parish of Corpus Christi:

Rev. James J. Coady		(1917-1920)
Msgr. J.J. Rawlins		(1920-1923)
Msgr. J.W. McGettigan 		(1923-1969)
Msgr. D.L. O'Keefe		(1969-1985) 
Rev. J.Francis Slattery		(1985-1989)
Rev. Robert H. Ryan		(1989-1989) Administrator
Rev. Kevin Molloy		(1989-prsent