Our parish name "Mater Christi" is a Latin phrase which means "Mother of Christ". With Mary as our spiritual mother, we strive to follow in her footsteps by cultivating that same faith and love for Jesus that she modeled for us in the Gospels.

The Parish of Mater Christi was created in 2009 by the merger of St. Teresa of Avila and St. Catherine of Siena parishes. St. Teresa's, founded in 1920, and St. Catherine's, founded in 1953, were the two Roman Catholic parishes serving the New Scotland Avenue corridor area of Albany, NY. The Parish of Mater Christi is located in the former St. Catherine's physical plant just off upper New Scotland Avenue.

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The name, Mater Christi (Mother of Christ), was chosen with parishioner input to identify a unique new parish under the unifying patronage of the Blessed Mother. The name was also historically significant as Mater Christi Seminary, the Albany diocese's former seminary for priestly formation, was located just up New Scotland Avenue from the new parish - the seminary's tabernacle now graces the sanctuary of the Parish of Mater Christi church.