About Our Lady of Grace · Chelsea, Massachusetts
Our Lady of Grace is a Roman Catholic church in Chelsea, Massachusetts, part of the Archdiocese of Boston. Founded in 1913 and its current church dedicated in 1917, the parish grew out of an early-20th-century mission chapel for Italian immigrants in nearby Revere and was elevated to parish status under Archbishop Richard Cardinal Cushing. Today it serves a diverse community — English-speaking families, a strong Haitian Creole community in Chelsea and Everett, and a growing Vietnamese community — as one of two worship sites of the Blessed Mother of the Morning Star Parish, alongside St. Mary of the Assumption in Revere.
- Established
- 1913
- Patron
- Our Lady of Grace (Blessed Virgin Mary)
- Rector
- Rev. Jean Jacques Stanley Rousseau (Father Stanley Rousseau), of the Diocese of Jacmel
- Diocese
- Archdiocese of Boston
Why belong here
Our Lady of Grace is a faith-filled and multilingual Catholic community where English-speaking, Haitian Creole, and growing Vietnamese Catholics worship side by side. The parish offers daily and Sunday Mass in English and Haitian Creole, an active faith-formation program for children and youth, strong outreach through Generations of Faith, and a sister-parish relationship with St. Joseph in L'Asile, Haiti. As part of the Blessed Mother of the Morning Star Parish, it welcomes newcomers into a stable, diverse family with deep North Shore roots going back more than a century.
Mass times at Our Lady of Grace
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Saturdays at St. Mary of the Assumption Church, 3:15–3:45 PM, or by appointment (call 781-284-5252)
- Fridays 9:30–10:30 AM (collaborative schedule listed on morningstarcatholic.org)
Adoration times
- Refer to the liturgical-calendar page on morningstarcatholic.org for current collaborative adoration times
Our Lady of Grace at a Glance
Our Lady of Grace is the Chelsea/Everett worship site of the Blessed Mother of the Morning Star Parish, a Roman Catholic community in the Archdiocese of Boston. Founded in 1913 by and for Italian immigrants and elevated under Archbishop Richard Cardinal Cushing, the parish today serves English-speaking, Haitian Creole, and Vietnamese Catholics of greater Chelsea.
- Parish founded: 1913 (church dedicated 1917)
- Location: 59 Nichols Street, Chelsea, MA 02150
- Diocese: Archdiocese of Boston
- Parent parish: Blessed Mother of the Morning Star Parish (since 2021)
- Sister church: St. Mary of the Assumption, Revere
A Living History: From Italian Mission to Multicultural Parish
Our Lady of Grace grew from a small chapel dedicated to St. Lucy, built by Italian immigrants in Revere in the early 20th century. As the surrounding community expanded, Archbishop Richard Cardinal Cushing raised the mission to parish status in 1913, and the current church on Nichols Street in Chelsea was dedicated four years later in 1917. Over the decades the parish welcomed successive waves of immigrants — Italians, other Europeans, Latin Americans — and in more recent decades became the spiritual home of a strong Haitian Catholic community, with a growing Vietnamese community also now part of the flock.
- Origins: St. Lucy mission chapel in Revere, early 1900s
- Established as a parish: 1913 (Archbishop Cushing)
- Church dedicated: 1917
- Longtime pastoral hallmarks: Generations of Faith program, dedication to social action
Becoming Blessed Mother of the Morning Star Parish
Our Lady of Grace and St. Mary of the Assumption in Revere began sharing one pastor around 2011 and were formally united as the Morning Star Catholic Collaborative in 2018 under Fr. John Sheridan. In 2021, Cardinal Seán P. O'Mley approved their merger into a single parish — the Blessed Mother of the Morning Star Parish. Each church kept its own name, buildings, and unique history; they now share one pastor, one staff, and one budget. The new name honors the Blessed Virgin Mary, whom both churches had always venerated under different titles.
- Collaborative formed: 2018 (Fr. John Sheridan, pastor)
- Parish merger approved: 2021 by Cardinal O'Malley
- Name meaning: 'Morning Star' is a Marian title reflecting both parishes' dedication to Mary
- Shared facilities, programs, and sister-parish work with St. Joseph Parish, L'Asile, Haiti
Parish Staff & Pastoral Leadership
The parish is led by Father Jean Jacques Stanley Rousseau (of the Diocese of Jacmel), appointed pastor in June 2023. He is supported by a pastoral team of lay staff who oversee operations, faith formation, liturgy and music, and pastoral care across both worship sites of the collaborative.
- Pastor: Rev. Jean Jacques Stanley Rousseau
- Operations: Ms. Linda McElwaney
- Pastoral Associate: Ms. Linda DeCristofor
- Liturgy and Music: Ms. Paula Demetrio Peipman
- Faith Formation: Ms. Donna DeGregorio
Faith Formation, Youth, and Sacramental Prep
Faith Formation is coordinated across the collaborative by the parish faith-formation director and serves children, youth, and adults. The program covers ongoing religious education, two-year Confirmation preparation for teens, and adult Confirmation and RCIA. Generations of Faith — a parish-based, family-oriented catechesis model — is a long-standing hallmark of Our Lady of Grace.
- Children's Faith Formation (K–8)
- Confirmation preparation: two-year process culminating in 8th grade (or as adult)
- RCIA for unbaptized adults and those completing initiation
- Adult Confirmation preparation
- Generations of Faith family catechesis program
Multicultural Community Life
Our Lady of Grace is a notably multilingual parish. The 12:30 PM Sunday Mass is celebrated in Haitian Creole and is the heart of the parish's vibrant Haitian Catholic community. A growing Vietnamese Catholic community has also taken root in recent years. Together with the English-speaking majority, these communities share one worship space, one staff, and a unified calendar of feasts and devotions.
- Haitian Creole Mass: Sundays at 12:30 PM
- Haitian Catholic community of Chelsea and Everett
- Growing Vietnamese Catholic community
- Occasional Spanish-language Masses (see bulletin)
Outreach & Sister Parish in Haiti
Both churches of the collaborative — including Our Lady of Grace — have long partnered with St. Joseph Parish in L'Asile, Haiti, supporting its pastoral and material needs. The parish is also known locally for its Generations of Faith program and a tradition of social-action outreach in Chelsea and Everett.
- Sister parish: St. Joseph Parish, L'Asile, Haiti
- Generations of Faith catechetical outreach
- Parish flea market and seasonal fundraisers
- Community support ministries serving Chelsea and Everett
Visiting Our Lady of Grace
Our Lady of Grace is located on Nichols Street in Chelsea, just across the Chelsea Creek from East Boston. The church is readily reached by the MBTA Blue Line and local bus routes; parking is available at the church. Visitors are warmly welcomed at any of the three Sunday Masses — particularly the lively 12:30 PM Haitian Creole liturgy.
- Address: 59 Nichols Street, Chelsea, MA 02150
- Phone: (617) 884-0030
- Website: morningstarcatholic.org
- Transit: MBTA Blue Line (nearby Chelsea stations) and local bus routes
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Rev. Jean Jacques Stanley Rousseau2023–present
First-time pastor appointment by Cardinal O'Malley (June 2023); incardinated in the Diocese of Jacmel.
- Rev. Ron Coyne
Served as pastor in the 2022–2023 timeframe; wrote a pastoral Easter column in the Chelsea Record in April 2023.
- Rev. John E. Sheridan2018–2023
Guided the two churches into a collaborative in 2018 and led the 2021 merger into the Blessed Mother of the Morning Star Parish.
- Rev. James (Jim) Barry2011–2018
First pastor to serve both Our Lady of Grace and St. Mary of the Assumption simultaneously for seven years before the collaborative was formalized.