About St. Alphonsus · Baltimore, Maryland
The National Shrine of St. Alphonsus Liguori is a historic Roman Catholic parish and shrine in downtown Baltimore, Maryland, located at the corner of Saratoga Street and Park Avenue. Designated an Archdiocesan Shrine on February 16, 1995 — and recognized on GCatholic as a National Shrine (2014) — the church is part of a complex (church, rectory, convent and Halle) that was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places on May 23, 1973. Since 2017 the shrine has been entrusted to the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter (FSSP), and all Masses are celebrated in the Traditional Latin Rite according to the 1962 Roman Missal. The shrine is also known as the St. John Neumann Shrine and as 'Baltimore's Powerhouse of Prayer,' and is famed as the only parish church in America whose two former rectors — St. John Neumann and Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos — are now canonized/blessed saints.
- Established
- 1845
- Patron
- St. Alphonsus Liguori (also historically St. John the Evangelist, when founded as a German parish in 1799)
- Rector
- Rev. Ian Bozant, F.S.S.P.
- Diocese
- Archdiocese of Baltimore (Metropolitan Archdiocese)
Why belong here
St. Alphonsus is the only national shrine in the United States entrusted to the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter, offering the Traditional Latin Mass (1962 Missal) seven days a week — including daily Masses, a Saturday Holy Hour with Exposition and Benediction, and Sunday Vespers with Benediction. Pilgrims and parishioners are drawn here for the rare saintly heritage of two former rectors — St. John Neumann and Blessed Francis Seelos — and for nearly a century of Monday devotions to Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal that continue to draw downtown workers. Whether you are seeking the sacraments in the older form, the saints' intercession, a relic room with some 30 saints' relics, or a welcoming FSSP-run parish in the heart of downtown Baltimore, St. Alphonsus is a place where 180+ years of Catholic prayer and immigrant history meet.
Mass times at St. Alphonsus
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Sunday: begins 7:00 AM, then a half-hour before each Mass, ending 10 minutes before each Mass
- Monday: 6:30 AM – 6:50 AM
- Tuesday: 6:30 AM – 6:50 AM; 11:30 AM – 12:00 PM
- Wednesday: 6:30 AM – 6:50 AM; 11:30 AM – 12:00 PM
- Thursday: 6:30 AM – 6:50 AM
- Friday: 6:30 AM – 6:50 AM; 11:30 AM – 12:00 PM
- Saturday: 6:30 AM – 6:50 AM
Adoration times
- Saturday: 8:00 AM (Exposition, Holy Hour and Benediction following the 7:00 AM Mass)
- Sunday: 3:30 PM (Vespers with Benediction)
History of the National Shrine of St. Alphonsus Liguori
The parish traces its origins to 1799, when John Eager Howard's land at Saratoga Street and Park Avenue became home to Baltimore's first German Catholic church, dedicated to St. John the Evangelist. The present St. Alphonsus Church was designed by Robert Cary Long Jr., built between 1842 and 1845, and entrusted to the Redemptorists — who made the rectory the order's U.S. headquarters. St. John Neumann and Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos served here as rectors in the 19th century. In 1917 the Redemptorists sold the complex to the Lithuanian parish of St. John the Baptist, and from 1935 the Miraculous Medal Novena drew downtown worshippers. Cardinal Keeler designated the parish an Archdiocesan Shrine on February 16, 1995, and in 2017 Archbishop Lori entrusted it to the FSSP.
- 1799 — First German Catholic church (St. John the Evangelist) established on the site
- 1842 (May 1) — Cornerstone laid by Canon Josef Salzbacher
- 1845 (March 14) — Church dedicated
- 1850 — Redemptorist U.S. province erected, headquartered here under Hafkenscheid
- 1852 — St. John Neumann consecrated Bishop of Philadelphia in this church
- 1858 — St. Alphonsus Orphan Asylum founded
- 1873 — Halle (parish hall/school) built across Saratoga Street
- 1883 — First German CBL branch (Father Alexander No. 41) established
- 1917 — Acquired by the Lithuanian parish of St. John the Baptist
- 1935 — Monday Novena to Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal begins
- 1973 (May 23) — Listed on the National Register of Historic Places (#73002195)
- 1992 — Regular Traditional Latin Masses begin
- 1995 (Feb 16) — Designated an Archdiocesan Shrine
- 2014 — Recognized as a national shrine (GCatholic)
- 2017 — Entrusted to the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter
- 2025 (March 16) — 180th anniversary celebrated by Archbishop Lori
Architecture and the Historic Complex
The Gothic Revival church was designed in 1842 by the young Baltimore architect Robert Cary Long Jr. — his first major commission — in a Southern German neo-Gothic style modeled on Vienna's St. Stephen's Cathedral. Built of red brick with limestone accents on a basilica plan, it features a 50-foot nave and a 210-foot steeple above a three-tier bell tower, topped by a 12-foot gold cross. The four-building historic complex — church, rectory, convent and Halle — sits on six acres at the corner of Saratoga Street and Park Avenue and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.
- Architect: Robert Cary Long Jr.
- Style: Southern German neo-Gothic / Gothic Revival
- Nave height: 50 ft; steeple: 210 ft; gold cross: 12 ft
- Materials: red brick with limestone accents
- Complex: Church, Rectory, Convent and Halle (NRHP #73002195)
- Halle (1873) opposite the church — 4½-story Gothic Revival brick building
The FSSP and the Traditional Latin Mass
Since 2017 St. Alphonsus has been served by the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter, a community of Catholic priests founded in 1988 at the Abbey of Hauterive in Switzerland and specially trained in the liturgy of the Roman Rite prior to the reforms of Vatican II. The FSSP staffs some 50 parishes in the United States and Canada and operates seminaries in Wigratzbad, Germany and Denton, Nebraska. Every Mass at the National Shrine is celebrated in the Traditional Latin Rite (1962 Roman Missal).
- FSSP first national shrine in the United States
- Daily Traditional Latin Mass (1962 Missal)
- Sunday High Mass at 11:30 AM
- Saturday 7:00 AM Mass followed by Exposition, Holy Hour and Benediction
- Sunday 3:30 PM Vespers with Benediction
Sacred Liturgy and Devotions
The shrine's daily schedule is rich with traditional Catholic devotions. Alongside the Traditional Latin Mass and regular confession times, the parish maintains the historic Monday Novena to Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal (continuous since 1935), the Litany of St. Joseph, the Litany of the Sacred Heart, and First Saturday Devotions. A relic room contains approximately 30 saints' relics, with a blessing using the relic of St. Peregrine (patron of cancer patients) offered on Thursdays after the 12:10 PM Mass.
- Monday Novena to Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal (since 1935)
- Litany of St. Joseph
- Miraculous Medal Devotions
- Litany of the Sacred Heart
- First Saturday Devotions
- Relic room (~30 relics); blessing with the relic of St. Peregrine on Thursdays
Lithuanian Heritage and Baltimore's Little Lithuania
Since 1917 St. Alphonsus has been the spiritual home of Baltimore's Lithuanian Catholic community, settled in what was known as 'Little Lithuania' in the Hollins–Roundhouse neighborhood. The parish absorbed the Lithuanian parish of St. John the Baptist (founded 1888) and is today the only remaining Lithuanian Roman Catholic parish in Baltimore after St. John the Baptist closed in 1989 and St. Wenceslaus reverted to Bohemian use. Lithuanian Masses have been celebrated at the parish for over a century, drawing the city's dwindling but devoted Lithuanian-American community.
- Lithuanian parish community since 1917
- Only remaining Lithuanian Roman Catholic parish in Baltimore
- Historic connection to St. John the Baptist (closed 1989) and St. Wenceslaus
- Archbishop Teofilius Matulaitis — a candidate for beatification — once prayed here
Evangelization and Community Life
Under the FSSP the shrine has been described as a 'flagship church' and a 'powerhouse of prayer.' Bishop Denis J. Madden, the urban vicar, has worked with Archbishop Lori to develop the shrine as both a local and national pilgrimage destination alongside the nearby Basilica of the Assumption, St. Jude Shrine, Mother Seton House and St. Mary's Spiritual Center. FSSP priests maintain a visible 'ministry of presence' on downtown streets, praying the rosary and offering prayers to passersby, and host Sunday-afternoon potluck dinners in the courtyard.
- 'Ministry of presence' — priests walk downtown praying the rosary
- Sunday-afternoon courtyard potluck
- Home visits and spiritual talks for regional parishioners
- FSSP seminarian apostolates at Christmas, Easter and summer
- Future plans: interior restoration, parking improvements, conversion of the convent into an overnight retreat center
Sacraments and Sacramental Life
Because all Masses are celebrated in the Traditional Latin Rite according to the 1962 Roman Missal, the sacraments at the shrine follow the traditional liturgical books. Confession is heard before every Mass (beginning a half-hour before, ending 10 minutes before each Mass). The parish also offers baptism, marriage preparation and marriage, First Communion and Confirmation in the traditional rite, as well as Anointing of the Sick and sacramentals such as relic blessings and Miraculous Medal enrollment.
- Mass (Traditional Latin, daily)
- Confession (before every Mass)
- Baptism
- Marriage / Marriage Preparation
- First Communion and Confirmation (traditional-rite catechesis)
- Anointing of the Sick
- Sacramentals — relic blessings, Miraculous Medal enrollment
Visiting the Shrine
The shrine sits at 114 West Saratoga Street, Baltimore, MD 21201 — at the corner of Saratoga Street and Park Avenue in downtown Baltimore, within easy walking distance of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption, St. Jude Shrine, the Mother Seton House and St. Mary's Spiritual Center. The parish rectory number is (410) 685-6090 and the email is [email protected]. Pilgrims are especially welcomed at the Sunday High Mass (11:30 AM), the Saturday 7:00 AM Mass with Exposition, Holy Hour and Benediction, and the Sunday 3:30 PM Vespers with Benediction.
- Address: 114 West Saratoga Street, Baltimore, MD 21201
- Phone: (410) 685-6090
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: https://stalphonsusbalt.org
- Near Basilica of the Assumption, St. Jude Shrine, Mother Seton House
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Rev. F. (Caesar) Reuter1800–1806
Founder-priest of the original German Catholic congregation (St. John the Evangelist) at Saratoga & Park; carried a petition to Rome over Bishop Carroll's objections.
- Rev. F.X. Brosius1806–1820
Succeeded Reuter at the original German parish.
- Rev. J.W. Beschter1820–1828
- Rev. L. Barth1828–1838
- Rev. B. Bayer1838–1840
- Rev. Joseph Prost1840–1841
- Rev. Alexander Czvitkovicz1841–1845
Served during the construction of the present church.
- Rev. Peter Czackert, C.Ss.R.1845–1847
First Redemptorist rector at the new St. Alphonsus.
- St. John (Nepomucene) Neumann, C.Ss.R.1847–1849
Canonized June 19, 1977; later Bishop of Philadelphia.
- Rev. Gabriel Rumpler, C.Ss.R.1849–1851
- St. John Neumann, C.Ss.R.1851–1851 (returned)
Second stint as rector.
- Rev. George Ruland, C.Ss.R.1852–1854
- Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos, C.Ss.R.1854–1857
Beatified April 9, 2000; later missionary from Connecticut to New Orleans.
- Rev. Maxim Leimgruber, C.Ss.R.1857–1860
- Rev. George Ruland, C.Ss.R.1860–1861
Second term.
- Rev. Leopold Petsch, C.Ss.R.1861–1862
- Rev. Robert Kleineidam, C.Ss.R.1863–1865
- Rev. Michael Miller, C.Ss.R.1865–1868
- Rev. Joseph Wissel, C.Ss.R.1868–1871
- Rev. Nicholas Jaeckel, C.Ss.R.1871–1872
- Rev. Leopold Petsch, C.Ss.R.1872–1873
Second term.
- Rev. M. Leimgruber, C.Ss.R.1873–1874
Second term.
- Rev. George Roesch, C.Ss.R.1874–1877
- Rev. Andrew Ziegler, C.Ss.R.1877
- Monsignor Arthur Bastress, P.A.approx. late 1990s–2017
Archdiocesan pastor; oversaw major structural improvements including restoration of the historic stained-glass windows; retired just before the FSSP entrustment.
- Rev. Joel E. Kiefer, F.S.S.P.2017 (Aug 1)–
First FSSP administrator; a former West Point graduate known for a 'ministry of presence' on downtown streets and Sunday-afternoon courtyard potlucks.
- Rev. Ian Bozant, F.S.S.P.present
Current pastor; thanked publicly by Archbishop Lori at the parish's 180th anniversary Mass on March 16, 2025.
