Basilica of Our Lady of Perpetual Help

History & Significance

Basilica · Est. Wooden mission church built 1870; present church dedicated April 7, 1878

The Basilica and Shrine of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, known as the Mission Church, was founded by the Redemptorists, who acquired the Roxbury (Mission Hill) site in 1869 and built a wooden church in 1870. The present Romanesque church, designed by William Schickel and Isaac Ditmars of Roxbury puddingstone, was begun in 1874 and dedicated April 7, 1878; its twin towers were completed in 1910. Pope Pius XII raised it to a minor basilica on September 8, 1954, making it the first basilica in New England. It serves the Archdiocese of Boston.

Romanesque Revival, built of local Roxbury puddingstone with twin towers

• •Run by the Redemptorist order; informally called the Mission Church, it gives Mission Hill its name
• •Present church dedicated April 7, 1878; designed by William Schickel and Isaac Ditmars in Romanesque style of Roxbury puddingstone
• •Twin towers completed in 1910, designed by Swiss architect Franz Joseph Untersee
• •Designated a minor basilica by Pope Pius XII on September 8, 1954 — the first basilica in New England
• •Located in the Archdiocese of Boston; designated a Boston Landmark in 2004