About Basilica of Our Lady of Perpetual Help · Boston, Massachusetts
The Basilica and Shrine of Our Lady of Perpetual Help — informally known as The Mission Church — is a Roman Catholic Minor Basilica in Boston's Mission Hill neighborhood, served by the Redemptorist Fathers of the Baltimore Province since 1869. Designed by Schickel and Ditmars and built of Roxbury puddingstone in Romanesque style, the church was dedicated in 1878, raised to basilica status by Pope Pius XII in 1954, and is listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places (1989) and as a Boston Landmark (2004). The parish is famously multicultural, celebrating Mass in English, Spanish and Haitian Creole, and it remains a recognized shrine of healing where the weekly Wednesday novena to Our Lady of Perpetual Help continues a tradition of reported cures that dates to the 1870s.
- Established
- 1870
- Patron
- Our Lady of Perpetual Help (Our Mother of Perpetual Help)
- Rector
- Very Rev. Philip Dabney, C.Ss.R.
- Diocese
- Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston
Why belong here
The basilica is a multicultural Marian shrine with regular Masses in English, Spanish and Haitian Creole, a renowned healing tradition tied to the weekly Wednesday novena to Our Lady of Perpetual Help (which has run continuously since 1874), and an active Healing and Restoration Ministry with a 24-hour prayer line — all in a single, nationally-listed Romanesque Revival landmark in the heart of Mission Hill. Add a parish grammar school (Mission Grammar, K–8), a choir, faith formation for K–12 and adults (including OCIA/RCIA), a Society of St. Vincent de Paul conference, multiple weekly lectio/Bible studies, and youth ministry, and it is one of the most pastorally diverse parishes in the Archdiocese of Boston.
Mass times at Basilica of Our Lady of Perpetual Help
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Wednesday 11:00 AM – 12:10 PM
- Saturday 11:00 AM – 12:10 PM
- Saturday 11:50 AM – 3:30 PM (per third-party directory)
Adoration times
- Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament on Wednesdays, 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM (Spanish-language tradition as published in parish bulletins)
History of the Basilica
Founded by the Redemptorists in 1869 on the old Brinley Place estate in Roxbury (then the Boston Highlands) and built in its present Romanesque Revival form in 1874–1878, the Mission Church has served Boston's Mission Hill for more than 150 years. A replica icon of Our Lady of Perpetual Help was installed in 1871 and cures were reported within months, prompting the establishment of a weekly blessing of the sick in 1874. The church was elevated to Minor Basilica in 1954 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1989.
- 1869: Redemptorists invited to Boston by Archbishop John J. Williams
- 1870: Modest wooden mission church built; first Mass Jan. 29, 1871
- 1871 (May 28): Icon of Our Lady of Perpetual Help installed
- 1874: Ground broken for the present church
- 1878: Current Romanesque church dedicated
- 1883: Becomes a parish of the Archdiocese of Boston
- 1889: Mission Grammar School completed
- 1897: Hutchings organ installed
- 1903: New rectory replaces Brinley Mansion
- 1910: Twin spires added (designed by Franz Joseph Untersee)
- 1926: Mission Church High School opens
- 1954 (Sept. 8): Elevated to Minor Basilica by Pope Pius XII
- 1989 (Nov. 6): Added to NRHP (#89001747)
- 1992: Mission Church High School closes
- 2004: Designated a Boston Landmark
- 2009 (Aug. 29): Funeral of Senator Edward M. Kennedy
Architecture and Art
The Mission Church is one of the most distinctive 19th-century churches in New England: a long Romanesque basilica of rough-faced Roxbury puddingstone, with a soaring crossing lantern and an asymmetrical pair of Gothic-Revival spires added in 1910. Inside, the nave is lined with F.X. Zettler stained glass, the shrine chapel glows with Franz Mayer and Co. glass from Munich, and the 1897 Hutchings electric-action organ — one of the first in America — still anchors the liturgy.
- Style: Romanesque Revival (church, 1878) with Gothic Revival spires (1910)
- Architects: Schickel & Ditmars (church); Franz Joseph Untersee (spires and rectory)
- Material: Roxbury puddingstone, quarried from the present-day Puddingstone Park
- Length: 215 feet; western spire height 215 feet; eastern spire 213 feet
- Western tower: 12 bells
- Stained glass: F.X. Zettler (nave), Franz Mayer & Co. (shrine)
- Organ: Hutchings, 1897, electric action, 62 stops, ~3,200 pipes
The Shrine of Our Lady of Perpetual Help
From its earliest years the parish has been a recognized shrine of healing. The replica icon of Our Lady of Perpetual Help was installed over the main altar on May 28, 1871, and as cures were reported crutches, braces and other devices were left as votive offerings at the shrine. The weekly blessing of the sick was instituted in November 1874, the quarterly Little Messenger of Mary was launched in 1900, and the tradition continues today in the Healing and Restoration Ministry with its monthly Healing Service and 24-hour prayer line.
- Weekly Wednesday Novena Mass to Our Lady of Perpetual Help — 5:30 PM (Spanish), 7:00 PM (Haitian Creole)
- Annual Great Novena (June 18–26) with street procession June 26 and Feast-day Mass June 27
- Monthly Healing Service with anointing of the sick (Fr. Philip Dabney)
- Healing and Restoration Ministry Prayer Line: 617-442-3938
Faith Formation and Education
Faith Formation at the Basilica serves children, teens, and adults, with classes meeting Sunday mornings in the Parish Center and an Adult Faith Sharing program. Mission Grammar School (K–8), the parish grammar school begun in 1889 by the School Sisters of Notre Dame, continues to educate local children from its current St. Alphonsus Street campus.
- Faith Formation for Grades K–8 and teens (Sundays 10:00–11:00 AM in the Parish Center)
- OCIA / RCIA for adults (also in Spanish)
- Adult Faith Sharing Sundays
- Weekly Bible Study (Thursday evenings 7:00–8:00 PM on Zoom)
- Mission Grammar School (K–8, St. Alphonsus Street)
Music and Liturgy
Music is a defining feature of worship at the basilica: a volunteer parish choir sings for the 9:00 AM Sunday Mass and major liturgical celebrations under Music Director Tim Macri, and the historic 1897 Hutchings electric-action organ — one of the first in the United States — continues to support the parish's liturgical life.
- Parish Choir (9:00 AM Sunday Mass and major feasts)
- Music Director: Tim Macri — [email protected]
- Hutchings organ (1897), 62 stops, ~3,200 pipes, electric action
Outreach, Charity, and Community Life
Outreach to the poor, sick and marginalized is a core part of the Redemptorist charism at the basilica. The parish hosts a Society of St. Vincent de Paul conference, a Spanish-language Círculo de Oración prayer group, and a Haitian community program whose annual 'Les Grandes Dates' calendar includes a Lenten day of recollection, the Red Sea Triduum, Corpus Christi procession, Jericho week, the Great Novena and the community's anniversary Mass each October.
- Society of St. Vincent de Paul
- Healing & Restoration Ministry
- Círculo de Oración Hispano (Spanish prayer group)
- Legion of María (Spanish) — Saturdays 10:00 AM
- Haitian community 'Les Grandes Dates' program
The Redemptorists at the Mission Church
The Redemptorists of the Baltimore Province — founded by St. Alphonsus Liguori in Naples in 1732 — have staffed the Mission Church since 1869. Pope Pius IX entrusted the icon of Our Lady of Perpetual Help to the order in 1866 with the instruction to 'make her known,' and the parish community at the basilica continues that mission through preaching, novenas, the shrine devotion, and outreach to people on the margins.
- Founded 1732 in Naples by St. Alphonsus Liguori, C.Ss.R.
- Mission entrusted to the order by Pope Pius IX in 1866
- Boston's Basilica is one of 20+ parishes served by the Redemptorists of the Baltimore Province
- Worldwide: more than 5,300 Redemptorist priests and brothers in 76 countries
Clergy and Staff
The parish is led by Very Rev. Philip Dabney, C.Ss.R. (Rector/Pastor), with Rev. Pierre Desruisseaux, C.Ss.R. as Parochial Vicar and a sizable resident community of Redemptorist priests (with several listed on sabbatical or pro tempore). Parish staff include the Director of Religious Education (Jaye Russo) and coordinators for the Healing & Restoration Ministry.
- Rector/Pastor: Very Rev. Philip Dabney, C.Ss.R. — [email protected] — (617) 516-0331
- Parochial Vicar: Rev. Pierre Desruisseaux, C.Ss.R. — [email protected]
- Parish Priests: Fr. Ted Dorcey, Fr. Peter Hill, Fr. Sean McGillicuddy, Fr. John Furey, Fr. Thomas Travers, Fr. James Wallace, Fr. Yvon Tremont, C.Ss.R.
- In Residence: Fr. Philip Cabasino, Fr. Denis Sweeney, Fr. John Devin, C.SS.R.
- Director of Religious Education: Jaye Russo — [email protected] — (617) 516-0380
- Music Director: Tim Macri — [email protected]
- Healing Ministry Prayer Line: 617-442-3938
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Redemptorist superiors (foundation to present)1869–present
The Redemptorist Fathers of the Baltimore Province have staffed the parish since 1869; named rectors include Very Rev. Joseph Tizio, C.Ss.R., and the current rector/pastor is Very Rev. Philip Dabney, C.Ss.R. Other historically-noted priests of the parish include Father Joseph Manton (65 years in the parish, famous for the novena tradition) and Father Ed McDonough, 'the healing priest,' who documented reported miraculous healings.