About Immaculate Heart of Mary · Pawtucket, Rhode Island
Immaculate Heart of Mary is a Roman Catholic parish in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, located on the city line with Central Falls at 291 High Street. Founded in June 1979 to serve the Cape Verdean immigrant community in Rhode Island and southeastern Massachusetts, the parish is staffed by the Spiritans (Congregation of the Holy Spirit / Holy Ghost Fathers) and falls under the Diocese of Providence. Masses are celebrated in English and Portuguese, with psalms also recited in Cape Verdean Creole, and the liturgy incorporates distinctive Cape Verdean devotional traditions drawn from the islands of Santiago. About 400 Cape Verdean-heritage families in Rhode Island count the parish as their spiritual home, making it one of the most distinctive Lusophone Catholic communities in New England.
- Established
- 1979
- Patron
- Immaculate Heart of Mary
- Rector
- Rev. Arlindo A. Amaro, CSSp (Administrator)
- Diocese
- Diocese of Providence
Why belong here
Immaculate Heart of Mary is the historic spiritual home of the Cape Verdean Catholic community in Rhode Island, and a welcoming place for any Portuguese-speaking or English-speaking Catholic who wants to worship in a deeply prayerful, music-filled, multi-generational parish. Daily Mass is celebrated in Portuguese (with Cape Verdean Creole elements) in the rectory chapel on Clay Street, with weekend Masses in the main church on High Street in English and Portuguese. Because the parish is small and Spiritan-staffed, congregants regularly know one another and the pastor personally — a community where Cape Verdean Holy Week traditions like the all-night Easter Vigil procession and lay-washing of feet on Holy Thursday are part of the rhythm of the liturgical year.
Mass times at Immaculate Heart of Mary
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Friday: 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM at the Rectory Chapel (35 Clay St, Pawtucket)
- By appointment
Parish Identity & Mission
Immaculate Heart of Mary is a small Roman Catholic parish at 291 High Street in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, founded in June 1979 by the Diocese of Providence to serve the Cape Verdean Catholic community in Rhode Island and southeastern Massachusetts. It is one of the few parishes in New England entrusted to the Congregation of the Holy Spirit (the Spiritans), the same missionary order that runs much of the Catholic Church in Cape Verde, which gives it a direct pastoral link to the islands.
- Diocese of Providence
- Founded June 1979
- Served by the Spiritans (Holy Ghost Fathers, C.S.Sp.)
- Languages: English, Portuguese, Cape Verdean Creole
History: A Home for Cape Verdean Catholics
The parish was created in response to the large-scale Cape Verdean immigration into Rhode Island's mill towns from the 1960s onward. By the early 21st century the parish was serving roughly 400 Cape Verdean-heritage families, and the diocesan newspaper Rhode Island Catholic described it as 'an oasis for the Cape Verdean Catholic community since June of 1979.' From the start the parish was assigned to Spiritan priests, several of whom — like the current administrator — had prior missionary experience on the islands of Cape Verde.
- Founded June 1979 for Cape Verdean immigrants in RI/MA
- Located on the Central Falls–Pawtucket city line
- Roughly 400 Cape Verdean-heritage families attend
- Continuously Spiritan-staffed since founding
Pastor & Leadership
The current administrator is Rev. Arlindo A. Amaro, CSSp — a native of Portugal and a member of the Congregation of the Holy Spirit. Father Amaro spent 18 years as a missionary priest on the Cape Verdean island of Santiago, including pastoral assignments in São Lourenço dos Órgãos (Órgãos) and São Salvador do Mundo (Picos). He speaks Portuguese and Cape Verdean Creole, and has actively transplanted Cape Verdean liturgical customs to Immaculate Heart of Mary.
- Rev. Arlindo A. Amaro, CSSp — Administrator
- Native of Portugal
- 18 years missionary experience in Cape Verde
- Previous pastorates in Órgãos and São Salvador do Mundo (Picos), Santiago
Cape Verdean Liturgical Traditions
Immaculate Heart is best known in the wider Rhode Island Catholic community for the distinctive Cape Verdean devotional customs it preserves. The parish follows the Roman liturgy but celebrates it 'slower, with more reflection, silence and songs' than is typical in English-language parishes, in Father Amaro's words. These traditions are most visible during Holy Week.
- Psalms sung in both Portuguese and Cape Verdean Creole at Mass
- Holy Thursday: lay parishioners wash the feet of the faithful
- Stations of the Cross performed dramatically, in the Santiago / Cape Verdean style
- Long Easter Vigil procession beginning in the church basement; Vigil Mass begins near midnight and often continues to ~2:00 a.m.
Visiting & Contact
The parish office can be reached by phone or email, and the parish maintains an active presence on Facebook. Visitors are warmly welcomed — particularly anyone from the Cape Verdean or broader Portuguese-speaking Catholic diaspora.
- Address: 291 High Street, Pawtucket, RI 02860
- Phone: (401) 725-1126
- Fax: (401) 726-4119
- Email: [email protected]
- Facebook: facebook.com/immheartmarypawtucket