About Shrine of Our Lady of Good Voyage · Boston, Massachusetts
The Shrine of Our Lady of Good Voyage (also known as the Seaport Shrine) is a Roman Catholic church located at 51 Seaport Boulevard in Boston's Seaport District, in the Archdiocese of Boston. Officially designated as an apostolate of the Cathedral of the Holy Cross, it is a center of evangelization with a special outreach to young adults who live and work in the rapidly developing Seaport neighborhood. The current church was dedicated by Cardinal Seán P. O'Malley on April 22, 2017, and is the first new church built in the Archdiocese of Boston in 65 years, replacing an older chapel that had served fishermen, dockworkers and longshoremen since 1952. With 250 seats, it hosts daily noon Mass, three Sunday Masses, perpetual priest availability and an open-door ministry to the more than 100,000 people who walk past it each day.
- Established
- 1952
- Patron
- Blessed Virgin Mary under the title Our Lady of Good Voyage (Our Lady of Navigators/Stella Maris-style patronage of seafarers, fishermen and dockworkers; also venerated for first-class relics of St. Elmo patron of sailors embedded in the main altar)
- Rector
- Philomène Péan (Director of the Shrine); Fr. Bryan K. Parrish served as Rector 2019–2020, with priests from Regina Cleri (the archdiocese's retired-priests residence) assisting daily
- Diocese
- Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston
Why belong here
The Seaport Shrine is built for exactly the kind of person who walks by it — young professionals, downtown workers, hotel and restaurant staff, and visitors to one of Boston's busiest neighborhoods. Its doors are open at least 12 hours a day, a priest is almost always available to talk, and confession is offered around each Mass in a face-to-face-or-anonymous confessional. With three Sunday Masses (including a 7 p.m. evening Mass for those who struggle to fit worship into a busy week), a strong Eucharistic adoration schedule, and an explicit Cardinal-commissioned mission of evangelization to Millennials and to the immigrant workers of the Seaport, it functions less like a territorial parish and more like a spiritual oasis at the heart of the city.
Mass times at Shrine of Our Lady of Good Voyage
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Monday–Friday 11:30 AM–11:55 AM (before the 12:10 PM Mass)
- Sunday 6:00 PM–6:50 PM (before the 7:00 PM Mass)
- Wednesday 4:45 PM–5:45 PM
- Also available before and after Mass on request
Adoration times
- Wednesday 4:45 PM–5:45 PM (Eucharistic Adoration, followed by confessions and the evening schedule)
History of the Seaport Shrine
The story of the Shrine of Our Lady of Good Voyage spans more than 70 years of service to the working waterfront of South Boston. Cardinal Richard Cushing established the original chapel on Northern Avenue in 1952 for the fishermen, dockworkers, longshoremen and warehousemen of the South Boston waterfront, dedicating it on December 7, 1952 during a vigil Mass for the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. Land was donated by Frederic C. Dumaine Jr. and the chapel cost $250,000 to build; Fr. John T. Powers became its first director. The chapel was a stout brown-brick building painted blue and white inside — a simple nautical color scheme that reflected the people it served.
The 1952 Chapel and Its Nickname
Because the original chapel offered the latest Sunday-evening Mass in Boston, neighborhood residents scrambling to fulfill their Sunday obligation affectionately called it "Our Lady of the Last Minute." Through the late 20th century the chapel hosted memorial Masses for figures like Bobby Sands and President John F. Kennedy, and gatherings for Irish-republican causes and Lithuanian Catholics, before eventually being outgrown by the rapidly transforming Seaport District.
- Affiliated with St. Vincent de Paul parish, South Boston
- Known as 'Our Lady of the Last Minute' for its late Sunday-evening Mass
- Site of memorial Masses for Bobby Sands, JFK, and IRA members
The 2014–2017 Land Swap and Rebuild
Developer John B. Hynes III first approached the Archdiocese in 2007 about buying the run-down chapel property; the Archdiocese refused to withdraw from the Seaport and the parties agreed on a swap of land for a new freestanding church. The groundbreaking was held November 21, 2014, the purchase-and-sale agreement was signed October 22, 2015, and after the last Mass on Easter Sunday 2017 the original chapel was demolished to make way for a 22-story office building in Seaport Square. Cardinal Seán P. O'Malley dedicated the new shrine on April 22, 2017 during the Vigil Mass of Divine Mercy, making it the first new church built in the Archdiocese of Boston in 65 years.
- Groundbreaking: November 21, 2014
- Purchase-and-sale agreement: October 22, 2015
- Last Mass at old chapel: Easter Sunday 2017
- Dedication of new shrine: April 22, 2017
- Construction cost: approximately $10 million
Architecture and Design
The new shrine was designed by Ethan Anthony of Cram and Ferguson Architects (Concord, Massachusetts) and rises as a Gothic-Revival-meets-modern A-frame brick structure accommodating 250 seats. Its nautical theme runs throughout: a brass ship's bell tuned to sound like buoys and lighthouses, gothic-plank doors with wrought-iron hinges in anchor and fish motifs, and a bell tower strong enough to one day support a steeple the city initially refused. Inside, the narthex holds a glass-walled devotional shrine with the Oberammergau-carved statue of Our Lady of Good Voyage, and furnishings repurposed from the closed Holy Trinity parish (South End) and the organ from St. James in Wellesley.
- Architect: Ethan Anthony, Cram and Ferguson (Concord, MA)
- Capacity: 250 seats
- Bell tower engineered for future steeple
- Brass ship's bell, 24-inch diameter
- Repurposed furnishings from Holy Trinity (South End) and organ from St. James (Wellesley)
Art, Relics and Furnishings
The main altar was hand-carved in Italy by a father-and-son team and contains first-class relics of St. Elmo (patron of sailors), St. Anthony of Padua, and St. Faustina Kowalska. The hand-carved wooden statue of Our Lady of Good Voyage — depicting the Blessed Virgin holding the infant Jesus in one hand and a ship in the other — is a replica of the venerated image at the Gloucester Our Lady of Good Voyage parish and was carved in Oberammergau, Germany. Above the narthex statue is inscribed the Prayer of Azariah: 'Oh ye seas and rivers bless the Lord, bless and exalt him forever.'
- First-class relics of St. Elmo, St. Anthony of Padua, and St. Faustina Kowalska in the main altar
- Hand-carved Oberammergau statue (replica of the Gloucester image)
- Balcony front, holy water fonts, St. Joseph statue, and pews from former Holy Trinity parish
- Organ from St. James, Wellesley
Mission, Evangelization and Ministries
As an apostolate of the Cathedral of the Holy Cross, the Seaport Shrine exists primarily to evangelize — particularly the estimated 12,000 residents aged 18–32 in the surrounding neighborhood, plus the immigrant workers who staff the district's hotels, restaurants, and office buildings. Its ministries are oriented toward hospitality to the 100,000+ daily passersby, spiritual direction, sacramental preparation, and outreach to those on the margins of the rapidly changing Seaport.
- Evangelization to young adults (Millennials) — Cardinal O'Malley's stated mission
- Outreach to immigrant workers in the Seaport
- Haitian Creole spiritual resources (linked to Director's Piayiti/Monika Foundation work)
- Spiritual-direction and 'priest-available' drop-in ministry
- Wedding inquiries via [email protected]
Clergy, Staff and Leadership
Past rectors include Fr. James (Jim) Flavin (early rector after the 2017 dedication) and Fr. Bryan K. Parrish (Rector from July 1, 2019 until his reassignment to St. Joseph Parish in Needham in 2024). Philomène Péan, a Saint John's Seminary alumna and founder of the Monika Foundation and Piayiti (Haitian Well of Faith), currently serves as Director. Lay staff include Susan Abbott (Evangelization Associate and Administrative Staff), Kathy Stebbins (Operations), Joanne Meehan (Pastoral Associate), Kathleen Crozier and Michael McDuffie (Liturgy and Music). Retired priests from Regina Cleri assist at daily Masses.
- Philomène Péan — Director
- Fr. Bryan K. Parrish — Rector 2019–2020
- Fr. James (Jim) Flavin — early rector
- Fr. Matthew (Matt) Williams — chaplain
- Susan Abbott — Evangelization Associate
- Joanne Meehan — Pastoral Associate
- Kathleen Crozier & Michael McDuffie — Liturgy and Music
- Kathy Stebbins — Operations
What Makes the Shrine Distinctive
Few Catholic churches in the United States combine a working-waterfront heritage with a Cardinal-commissioned Millennial-evangelization mandate, and even fewer do so in a glass-and-steel Seaport that was a fishing wharf 75 years ago. The Seaport Shrine is distinctive for its nautical architecture, its relics of sailors' patron St. Elmo, its anonymous-friendly confessional, its three-Mass Sunday schedule (including a 7 PM Mass for those whose week is hectic), its 12-hour-a-day open-door policy with a priest available to talk, and the simple fact that 100,000 people walk past it every day.
- First new Boston Catholic church built in 65 years (2017)
- Apostolate of the Cathedral of the Holy Cross
- 100,000+ daily passersby per City of Boston data
- Anonymous-friendly confessional with sliding screen
- Three Sunday Masses including 7 PM for workers
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Fr. John T. Powers1952–
First director of the original Northern Avenue chapel dedicated by Cardinal Cushing.
- Fr. James (Jim) Flavin2017–
Early rector of the new shrine after its April 22, 2017 dedication, mentioned in The Boston Pilot's 2017 evangelization article.
- Fr. Bryan K. ParrishJuly 1, 2019–2020
Appointed Rector by Cardinal O'Malley while retaining role as Episcopal Vicar for Clergy; later assigned Pastor of St. Joseph, Needham.
- Philomène Péan
Saint John's Seminary alumna; founder of the Monika Foundation and Piayiti (Haitian Well of Faith); appointed Director of the Shrine to continue its millennial-evangelization mission.