About Holy Martyrs of North America (Parish of the Holy Eucharist) · Falmouth, Maine
Holy Martyrs of North America Church is the Falmouth worship site of the Parish of the Holy Eucharist (POTHE), a four-church Roman Catholic parish in northern coastal Maine that links Holy Martyrs in Falmouth with Sacred Heart in Yarmouth, St. Gregory the Great in Gray, and St. Jude in Freeport. It was the first Catholic church in the United States dedicated to the Jesuit (North American) Martyrs and houses their relics, brought from Quebec at the 1941 dedication. Today the parish is led by Pastor Rev. Steven G. Cartwright with Parochial Vicar Rev. Joseph Jum, and offers daily and Sunday Mass in English along with a monthly Sung Latin Mass, livestreams all Masses, and serves parishioners across Falmouth, Freeport, Gray, and Yarmouth.
- Established
- 1922 (mission property purchased); 1941 (church dedicated); 1968 (canonically erected as a parish)
- Patron
- Holy Martyrs of North America (the eight Jesuit missionaries René Goupil, Isaac Jogues, Jean de Lalande, Antoine Daniel, Jean de Brébeuf, Gabriel Lalemant, Charles Garnier, and Noël Chabanel, canonized 1930)
- Rector
- Rev. Steven G. Cartwright
- Diocese
- Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland (Maine)
Why belong here
Parish of the Holy Eucharist is one parish formed across four Maine communities — Falmouth, Yarmouth, Gray, and Freeport — so it offers the rare combination of small-parish intimacy and big-parish resources. Worship ranges from a quiet 5:30 pm Sunday Mass with organ and cantor to a full choral program on Sunday mornings, plus a monthly Sung Latin Mass on First Saturdays, with all Masses livestreamed and broadcast on Spectrum cable. Beyond worship, parishioners plug into Alpha, RCIA, youth and family faith formation, ACTS retreats, the St. Monica prayer group for wives and mothers, a Social Justice Commission, a Haiti sister-parish partnership, and parish-wide potlucks — making it an unusually active community for an area parish.
Mass times at Holy Martyrs of North America (Parish of the Holy Eucharist)
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- First Saturdays at 8:00 AM (before the 9:00 AM Sung Latin Mass, at Holy Martyrs)
Parish of the Holy Eucharist — Who We Are
Parish of the Holy Eucharist (POTHE) is a Roman Catholic parish in northern coastal Maine formed from four worship sites: Holy Martyrs of North America Church in Falmouth, Sacred Heart in Yarmouth, St. Gregory the Great in Gray, and St. Jude in Freeport. The parish was constituted under that name in 2011 to give the four churches a unified pastoral team and shared ministries while preserving each church's local identity and Mass schedule. Pastoral and business offices are at the Holy Martyrs campus, 266 Foreside Road, and are open Monday–Thursday 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM (closed Fridays and major holidays).
Holy Martyrs Church, Falmouth
Holy Martyrs is the Falmouth worship site of POTHE. Located in the midst of Falmouth's thriving shopping district along Route 88 (Foreside Road), it remains an active parish church serving Falmouth-area Catholics. The church holds the relics of three of the North American Martyrs and the memorial windows blessed in 1984, and it functions as the administrative center of the larger parish.
- 266 Foreside Road, Falmouth, ME 04105
- (207) 847-6890 · [email protected]
- Office: Monday–Thursday 9:00 AM–4:00 PM
Holy Martyrs Church — History
The mission at Falmouth Foreside began in 1922 when Father Joseph Quinn bought the present property. A small wooden church was built around 1930; the present church, hall, and rectory were built in 1970 after the original was demolished on May 5, 1970. The first Mass in the new building was held on October 10, 1970, and the parish was canonically erected on August 1, 1968 under Father Edward O'Brien as first permanent pastor.
- 1922 — Fr. Joseph Quinn acquires the Foreside Road property
- c. 1930 — Small wooden mission church built
- October 5, 1941 — Bishop Joseph E. McCarthy dedicates Holy Martyrs, the first U.S. church in honor of the Jesuit Martyrs of North America; relics of three Martyrs brought from Quebec
- August 1, 1968 — Canonically erected as a parish; Fr. Edward O'Brien appointed first pastor
- May 5, 1970 — Old wooden church demolished to begin today's complex
- October 10, 1970 — First Mass in the new church (cement floor, folding chairs)
- June 22, 1984 — Bishop O'Malley blesses memorial windows
- Early 1990s — Sunday and daily Masses begin broadcasting on Time Warner Cable (now Spectrum)
- 2011 — United with Sacred Heart, St. Gregory the Great, and St. Jude as the Parish of the Holy Eucharist
Clergy & Pastoral Staff
Holy Martyrs and the wider Parish of the Holy Eucharist are served by a pastor, a parochial vicar, a senior priest in residence, and a deacon, supported by a full lay pastoral team.
- Rev. Steven G. Cartwright — Pastor
- Rev. Joseph Jum — Parochial Vicar
- Rev. Peter Kaseta, OFM Cap. — Senior Priest
- Fr. Paul Marquis
- Deacon Dennis Popadak
- Joe Moreshead — Director of Faith Formation (847-6885)
- Kate McGrath Holmquist — Faith Formation Assistant (553-9076)
- Kalee Gwarjanski — Coordinator of Family Life (553-9076)
- Regina Price — Director of Liturgical and Parish Life (553-7158)
- Jennifer Runge — Director of Sacred Music (553-6877)
- Joyce Hale — Communications & Technology Director (553-9075)
- Terrie Casavant — Bookkeeper (847-6877)
- Dave Therrien — Facilities Maintenance Manager
- Chip Metevier — Facilities Maintenance
Worship & Sacraments
Worship across the parish follows a coordinated schedule that offers daily Mass at multiple sites, full choral and organ music on Sundays, a quiet evening Mass, and a monthly Sung Latin Mass in the Extraordinary Form at Holy Martyrs on First Saturdays. All Masses from Holy Martyrs are livestreamed and broadcast on Spectrum cable to the Greater Portland area.
Mass in the Extraordinary Form (Latin Mass)
On First Saturdays, Holy Martyrs hosts a Sung Latin Mass (Extraordinary Form) at 9:00 AM, preceded by Confession at 8:00 AM, the Rosary at 8:05 AM, and a teaching on the Latin Mass from 8:15 to 8:45 AM. A light social follows in the parish hall.
- 8:00 AM — Sacrament of Confession
- 8:05 AM — Recitation of the Most Holy Rosary
- 8:15–8:45 AM — Teaching on the Latin Mass
- 9:00 AM — Sung Latin Mass (Extraordinary Form)
- After Mass — Light social in the hall
Becoming Catholic, Faith Formation & Family Life
The parish operates an active formation program serving children, teens, adults, and families across all four worship sites. The director of Faith Formation leads catechetical programming with a faith formation assistant and a coordinator of Family Life. For adults inquiring about the faith, the parish runs a 'Becoming Catholic' process answering God's invitation, alongside the parish's free parish-wide FORMED subscription and Alpha program.
- Becoming Catholic (OCIA/RCIA) — adult inquiry
- Faith Formation (Director Joe Moreshead)
- Faith Formation Assistant — Kate McGrath Holmquist
- Family Life (Coordinator Kalee Gwarjanski)
- Alpha program
- FREE FORMED subscription for parishioners
Music & Liturgical Life
Music is a major emphasis of the parish's worship life, directed by Director of Sacred Music Jennifer Runge, with the Director of Liturgical and Parish Life Regina Price coordinating liturgical ministries. The Holy Martyrs Sunday schedule offers Organ-and-cantor, organ-and-choir, and a quiet 5:30 PM evening Mass to suit different devotional preferences.
- Director of Sacred Music — Jennifer Runge
- Director of Liturgical and Parish Life — Regina Price
- Holy Martyrs Sunday music: organ and cantor (8:30 AM), organ and choir (10:30 AM), quiet Mass (5:30 PM)
- Sacred Heart uses pipe organ plus men's schola
- St. Gregory the Great features a folk / guitar ensemble alongside a piano mass
- St. Jude has a piano and choir
Prayer & Devotional Groups
Parish life includes regular gathering beyond Mass. The St. Monica Club is a monthly prayer group for wives and mothers praying for the conversion of their families; other prayer and small-group offerings (such as the Alpha program and Parish-wide potluck dinners) round out the devotional life.
- St. Monica Club — monthly prayer group for wives and mothers
- Monthly parishwide potluck dinners
- ACTS Retreats — collaboration with Our Lady of Hope Parish, Portland (retreat acronym: Adoration, Community, Theology, Service)
Outreach & Social Justice
The Social Justice Commission of the parish has examined how to assist parishioners in greeting the world from 'a place of Christlike love, mercy, and compassion,' especially those most in need. Key partnerships include the long-running Haiti sister-parish program, ongoing evangelization efforts, and seasonal fundraising with proceeds supporting diocesan seminarians.
- Social Justice Commission
- Haiti sister-parish partnership
- Fundraising events supporting diocesan seminarians
- Language of Compassion presentations
Getting Involved & Stewardship
Parishioners are encouraged to register, volunteer (via Ministry Scheduler Pro), and consider planned giving. A Lenten seminar series helps parishioners discern stewardship and learn how planned gifts and endowments sustain parish ministries for generations to come, fulfilling the fifth precept of the Catholic Church — 'Provide for the Needs of the Church.'
- Register as a parishioner (online via pothe.org)
- Ministry Scheduler Pro — volunteer login
- Lenten Path to Discerning Stewardship seminar
- Planned giving / endowment program
Visiting & Contact
Visitors and new parishioners are welcomed at the Parish Office at Holy Martyrs, 266 Foreside Road (Route 88). The office is open Monday through Thursday from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM and is closed on Fridays and major holidays.
- Address: 266 Foreside Road (Rt. 88), Falmouth, ME 04105
- Phone: (207) 847-6890
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: http://pothe.org/
- Office Hours: Monday–Thursday 9:00 AM–4:00 PM (closed Fridays and major holidays)
- Live-streamed Masses via pothe.org and on Spectrum cable in the Greater Portland area
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Fr. Joseph Quinn1910 to 1937
Established the Falmouth Foreside mission from Sacred Heart in Yarmouth and bought the present property in 1922.
- Fr. Edward Walsh1937 to 1954
- Fr. James Daly1954 to 1967
- Fr. Marc Frank1967 to 1968
- Msgr. Raymond Begin1969 to 1979
First permanent pastor after Holy Martyrs was canonically erected as a parish in 1968.
- Msgr. Vincent Tatarczuk1979 to 1996
- Msgr. Charles Murphy1996 to 2006
- Fr. Joseph Ford2007 to 2012
- Fr. Daniel Greenleaf2012 to 2019
- Fr. Philip A. Tracy2019 to 2022
- Fr. Steven Cartwright2022 to present
Current pastor; led the parish through its continued multi-site configuration with Sacred Heart, St. Gregory, and St. Jude.