About Eucharistic Shrine of St. Clement · Boston, Massachusetts
The Eucharistic Shrine of St. Clement is a historic Roman Catholic shrine in Boston's Back Bay/Fenway neighborhood, dedicated to perpetual adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. It is the official Eucharistic Shrine of the Archdiocese of Boston, staffed since 1976 by the Oblates of the Virgin Mary (OMV), an Italian religious congregation founded in 1827 by the Venerable Bruno Lanteri. The shrine is also home to Our Lady of Grace Seminary, the OMV house of formation for seminarians from across North America, and serves as a center of daily Mass, perpetual adoration, reconciliation, and spiritual direction in the heart of Boston at 1105 Boylston Street.
- Established
- 1925 (building; as Catholic shrine 1945)
- Patron
- St. Clement (Pope Clement I, fourth pope, converted by St. Peter, martyred c. 100 A.D.)
- Rector
- Rev. Peter Grover, OMV (Rector & Shrine Director)
- Diocese
- Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston
Why belong here
St. Clement Eucharistic Shrine is one of the few churches in the United States offering perpetual Eucharistic adoration in a full Gothic Revival sanctuary with stained-glass windows, and it is the only place of perpetual adoration in central Boston. Whether you are a college student from a nearby campus, a young adult, a pilgrim, or a longtime Boston Catholic, you will find daily Mass, frequent confessions, spiritual direction, Liturgy of the Hours prayed publicly by the Oblates and their seminarians, and a warm welcome from an international religious community. It is also home to Our Lady of Grace Seminary, so you will pray alongside future priests and brothers, and the Oblates' related ministries — St. Francis Chapel at the Prudential Center and St. Joseph Retreat House in Milton — extend the same missionary spirit into downtown Boston and beyond.
Mass times at Eucharistic Shrine of St. Clement
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Monday–Friday: 11:30 a.m. (before the 12:10 p.m. Mass)
- Saturday: 10:30 a.m.
- Sunday: 10:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. (before each Mass)
- Available every day — see schedule page for Holy Day variations
Adoration times
- Monday–Friday: 7:30 a.m. – 8:00 p.m.
- Saturday: 11:30 a.m. – 8:00 p.m.
- Sunday: 12:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
- Perpetual Adoration inaugurated August 15, 2008 (Solemnity of the Assumption) by Seán Cardinal O'Malley
About the Shrine
St. Clement Eucharistic Shrine, located at 1105 Boylston Street in the heart of Boston's Back Bay, is the official Eucharistic Shrine of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston. Staffed since 1976 by the Oblates of the Virgin Mary (OMV), the Shrine is also home to Our Lady of Grace Seminary, the OMV house of formation that trains future priests and brothers from across North America. OMV priests, brothers, and seminarians pray the Liturgy of the Hours publicly and participate in the daily liturgies, and the same priests also staff St. Francis Chapel at the Prudential Center and St. Joseph Retreat House in Milton, MA. The Shrine welcomes people from every background to encounter the Lord in the Blessed Sacrament in a traditional, prayerful setting.
Our History
The building was erected in 1925 as the Church of the Redemption for the Second Universalist Society of Boston and designed by architect Arthur F. Gray in the Gothic Revival style at a cost of $800,000. After the Universalists merged with Arlington Street Church in 1935, Cardinal William O'Connell purchased the church and dedicated it to St. Clement on December 8, 1935. Archbishop Richard Cushing inaugurated it as a Eucharistic shrine on May 3, 1945, entrusting it to the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary, who maintained two-Sister perpetual silent adoration until their withdrawal in 1966. The Oblates of the Virgin Mary arrived in 1976 under Fr. Vincenzo Antolini, opened Our Lady of Grace Seminary in 1978, and oversaw the major 1990s restoration. Perpetual adoration was restored by Cardinal Seán O'Malley on August 15, 2008.
- 1925 — Built as the Church of the Redemption for the Second Universalist Society (architect: Arthur F. Gray)
- 1935 — Purchased by Cardinal O'Connell; dedicated to St. Clement on Dec. 8
- 1945 — Inaugurated as Boston's Eucharistic Shrine by Archbishop Cushing (May 3)
- 1966 — Franciscan Missionaries of Mary withdraw
- 1976 — Oblates of the Virgin Mary arrive (Fr. Vincenzo Antolini, first OMV priest)
- 1978 — Our Lady of Grace Seminary opened at St. Clement
- 1990s — Major restoration completed (reredos, pulpit, faux-Gothic painting, windows, façade)
- 2008 — Perpetual adoration restored by Cardinal O'Malley, Aug. 15 (Solemnity of the Assumption)
Mass & Sacraments
St. Clement offers daily Mass in English, with morning and midday services on weekdays and two Sunday Masses. Mass is live-streamed every day of the week — 11:00 a.m. ET on Saturday and Sunday and 8:00 a.m. ET on weekdays — via the Shrine's website, Facebook, and YouTube. Confessions are heard daily, typically 30 minutes before each Mass, and the Sacrament of the Sick, Baptism, and Marriage are available on request through the Shrine office. The Shrine also serves as a center for spiritual direction.
- Weekday Masses: 7:00 a.m., 12:10 p.m., and 7:00 p.m. (Mon–Fri)
- Saturday Mass: 11:00 a.m.
- Sunday Masses: 11:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m.
- Confessions: 11:30 a.m. on weekdays; 10:30 a.m. on Saturday; 10:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. on Sunday
- Live-streamed daily Mass on website / Facebook / YouTube
Architecture & Design
St. Clement is widely regarded as one of the finest reproductions of early Gothic architecture in the United States. Granite construction, delicate tracery windows of leaded art glass, lofty columns, and groined arches give the interior what one early observer called 'an atmosphere of worship and reverence.' The façade features a large rose window; the bell tower's upper portion was removed in the late 1950s after vibrations from the Massachusetts Turnpike threatened its stability. The sanctuary reredos is carved from quartered oak with lace-like detail, and the tabernacle triptych uses Fra Angelico-inspired angel figures bearing the Latin inscription from John 6:59 and the Lauda Sion sequence. The altar's frontal bears the golden inscription 'Cor Eucharisticum Jesu, Miserere Nobis.'
- Style: Gothic Revival (designed by Arthur F. Gray, 1925)
- Exterior: Granite, rose-window façade
- Stained glass: Trinity-pattern tracery in blue, rose, white, and red; four Eucharistic saints (St. John, St. Pascal Baylon, St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Clare)
- Reredos: quartered oak, lace-like carving; triptych with Fra Angelico-inspired angels
- Altar inscription: 'Cor Eucharisticum Jesu, Miserere Nobis'
- 1998 restoration: faux-Gothic stonework painting, hand-crafted wooden pulpit by John Grover
Our Lady of Grace Seminary & Formation
Our Lady of Grace Seminary is the house of formation of the Oblates of the Virgin Mary in the United States, opened at St. Clement in 1978. It serves the St. Ignatius Province of the OMV and currently includes the postulancy, novitiate, and theologate — drawing seminarians from across North America. On weekdays during the academic year the Oblates and their seminarians pray Morning Prayer publicly and observe a daily afternoon holy hour that includes the Rosary and Evening Prayer. Seminarians frequently assist the priests at Mass as lectors and altar servers.
- Opened 1978 at St. Clement
- Stages: postulancy, novitiate, theologate
- Members drawn from across North America
Related Oblate Ministries
The Oblates of the Virgin Mary living at St. Clement also serve the Archdiocese of Boston through two other institutions: Saint Francis Chapel at the Prudential Center in downtown Boston, and St. Joseph Retreat House in Milton, Massachusetts. Together with the Shrine, these works form an integrated apostolate of prayer, evangelization, and retreat rooted in Eucharistic devotion.
- Saint Francis Chapel — Prudential Center, Boston
- St. Joseph Retreat House — Milton, MA
Visit & Contact
The Shrine is located at 1105 Boylston Street, Boston, MA 02215, on the corner of Boylston and Ipswich Streets in the Back Bay/Fenway area. Doors open at 6:30 a.m. on weekdays, 10:00 a.m. on Saturdays, and 10:00 a.m. on Sundays. The Shrine office can be reached at 617-266-5999 (extension 130) or by email at [email protected].
- Address: 1105 Boylston Street, Boston, MA 02215
- Phone: 617-266-5999
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: omvusa.org/st-clement-shrine
- Facebook: St. Clement's Eucharistic Shrine — Perpetual Adoration
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Fr. Francis Moran1935–c.1944
Worked full-time for the archdiocesan newspaper The Pilot; lived at St. Cecilia rectory; usually celebrated the daily 8 a.m. Mass at St. Clement while it served as an auxiliary chapel of St. Cecilia Parish.
- Fr. John Sexton1935–c.1944
Worked full-time for The Pilot; lived at St. Cecilia rectory; co-celebrant of the daily Mass at St. Clement during its years as a chapel of St. Cecilia Parish.
- Archbishop Richard Cushing (founder/dedicator)1944–1970
Archbishop of Boston who inaugurated Boston's Eucharistic shrine on May 3, 1945; personally celebrated Mass at the shrine monthly; widely regarded as the spiritual architect of St. Clement's identity.
- Franciscan Missionaries of Mary (custodians)1945–1966
Religious congregation invited by Archbishop Cushing to staff the shrine; two Sisters kept perpetual silent adoration at every hour of the day; convent expanded in 1953 with two wings adjoining the church.
- Archbishop Humberto Cardinal Medeiros1970–1976
Invited the Oblates of the Virgin Mary to take custody of the Shrine and provide a unified vision of ministry after the FMM withdrawal.
- Fr. Vincenzo Antolini, OMV1976–
First Oblate priest to arrive in Boston in 1976; worked patiently for many years to bring the Shrine and its ministries under the administrative oversight of the Oblates.
- Fr. David Beauregard, OMVlate 1970s–
Among the first American Oblates sent to the Boston foundation after studying in Italy.
- Br. Luigi Falbo, OMVlate 1970s–
Early American Oblate brother assigned to the new Boston foundation.
- Fr. Timothy (Tim) Gallagher, OMVlate 1970s–
Early American Oblate priest who had studied in Italy and was sent to the new foundation.
- Fr. Ernest Sherstone, OMVlate 1970s–
Canadian Oblate confrere among the first priests sent to the Boston foundation.
- Rev. Peter Grover, OMV
Current Rector & Shrine Director; led the 1998 restoration-renovation (in collaboration with his brother, artist John Grover) and oversaw the restoration of perpetual adoration.