About St. Anthony of Padua · Somerville, Massachusetts
St. Anthony of Padua is a Roman Catholic parish in Somerville, Massachusetts, staffed by the Scalabrinian Missionaries (Missionaries of St. Charles Borromeo). Founded in 1914–1915 to serve Italian immigrants arriving on Somerville Avenue, the parish was built by successive waves of newcomers — Italians through the early 20th century, Portuguese-speakers from Brazil beginning in 1989, and more recently Spanish-speaking immigrant families — and today celebrates Mass in English, Portuguese, and Spanish every week. Its Romanesque-style upper church was completed in 1925 at 12 Properzi Way, a street named for the founding pastor himself, and the parish continues to operate a Scalabrini Assistance & Cultural Center, religious education in three languages, and a popular Sunday-evening BINGO that brings the community together.
- Established
- 1914
- Patron
- St. Anthony of Padua
- Rector
- Rev. Lino Garcia Ayala, C.S.
- Diocese
- Archdiocese of Boston (Roman Catholic)
Why belong here
St. Anthony of Padua is one of the few Greater Boston parishes where a single Sunday can carry you through Mass in three languages — English, Portuguese, and Spanish — and where the Scalabrinian Fathers and a Scalabrini Assistance & Cultural Center actively help immigrant families settle, learn English, and keep their faith in their heart language. With daily confession offered in all three languages, a tri-lingual religious education program, popular weekday prayer groups (Grupo de Oração, Grupo de Oración), and a community BINGO that fills the parish hall on Sunday evenings, this is a parish built for participation, not just attendance.
Mass times at St. Anthony of Padua
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Tuesday: 6:30 PM – 7:15 PM (Spanish)
- Wednesday: 6:30 PM – 7:15 PM (Portuguese)
- Friday: 6:30 PM – 7:15 PM (English / Portuguese / Spanish)
- Saturday: 3:30 PM – 4:10 PM (English)
Our Story: A Century Among Somerville's Immigrants
St. Anthony of Padua was founded in 1914 by the Scalabrinian Missionaries to minister to Italian immigrants working in Somerville's factories. Within a decade, the parish had built a lower church on the corner of Somerville Avenue and Vine Street, a street that the city later renamed Properzi Way in honor of its founding pastor. The 1925 Romanesque upper church still anchors the parish today.
- 1914 — Father Nazareno Properzi arrives from Sacred Heart (North End) at age 24
- First Mass: 50 people in an Elm Street storefront
- Lower church dedicated on Somerville Avenue (1917), with singers from the Handel & Haydn Society
- Romanesque upper church completed in 1925 (600 seats; standing-room-only at dedication)
- Founder named U.S. Provincial Superior of the Scalabrinians in 1934
- Father Properzi dies 1960; succeeded by a long line of Scalabrinian pastors
- January 1989 — first Portuguese-language Mass ('Father Bob') begins; Brazilian community grows rapidly
- 2015 — Centennial celebrated with bilingual Mass, Brazilian festival, and Cardinal O'Malley
The Scalabrinian Fathers
St. Anthony's is staffed by the Missionaries of St. Charles Borromeo — the Scalabrinians — a congregation founded in 1887 by Bishop Giovanni Battista Scalabrini of Piacenza, with the backing of Pope Leo XIII, to care for Italian migrants streaming toward the Americas. That same congregation later produced St. Frances Xavier Cabrini, the first American citizen to be canonized, and Scalabrinians have staffed Boston-area parishes serving Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish-speaking newcomers since 1890.
- Missionaries of St. Charles Borromeo (Scalabrinians, C.S.)
- U.S. missions opened in 1890 at Sacred Heart, Boston's North End
- Order named for St. Charles Borromeo, patron of catechumens and seminarians
- St. Anthony of Padua, Somerville — parish #4 in New England per the SIMN history, listed after Sacred Heart, St. Lazarus (East Boston), and St. Tarcisius (Framingham)
Pastoral Leadership
Pastoral leadership at St. Anthony's has always been Scalabrinian and always immigrant-rooted. The current pastor is Rev. Lino Garcia Ayala, C.S., supported by Deacon Pacceli Braga and a staff that includes business and bookkeeper roles and three trilingual Religious Education coordinators.
- Rev. Lino Garcia Ayala, C.S. — Pastor (Scalabrinian)
- Deacon Pacceli Braga
- Jorge Navarrete — Business Manager
- Milton Garcia — Bookkeeper
- Natanael Braz — Religious Education (Portuguese)
- Karla Monteiro — Religious Education (Portuguese)
- Cecy Lopez — Religious Education (Spanish)
Sacred Heart & Somerville's Italian Roots
Before there was a St. Anthony's, there was Sacred Heart: in 1888 a group of Italian immigrants in the North End formed the Saint Mark Society, purchased the former Seaman's Bethel, and invited the Scalabrinians to staff it. Archbishop O'Connell designated it Sacred Heart in 1890. As Italians moved north into Somerville's industrial neighborhoods in the early 1900s, Scalabrinians opened mission Masses, which grew rapidly into the parish proper under Father Properzi.
Sunday BINGO & Community Life
One of St. Anthony's most distinctive traditions is its Sunday-evening BINGO, which fills the parish hall each week at 6:30 PM and has become a major gathering point for the surrounding community. The 75-ball format offers traditional jackpot prizes and themed nights, and the hall is set up with ample seating, a snack bar, accessible entrance, and on-site parking. New players are welcome.
- BINGO — Sundays at 6:30 PM
- Traditional 75-ball format with jackpots and themed nights
- Held at the parish hall at 474–480 Somerville Avenue
- Ample seating, accessible entrance, snack bar
- Occasional BINGO cancellations (check bulletin for holiday weeks)
Scalabrini Assistance & Cultural Center
Out of the same Scalabrinian charism that founded the parish, St. Anthony's runs a Scalabrini Assistance & Cultural Center at 480 Somerville Avenue, third floor (back-door entrance). The center helps immigrant families access services, learn English, and integrate into American life while preserving their own identity — the same mission Father Ademir Guerini described to the Somerville Times during the centennial year.
- Address: 480 Somerville Avenue, 3rd floor (back-door entrance)
- Phone: (617) 625-5353
- Hours: Monday–Friday, 3:00 PM – 8:00 PM
- Services: English-language classes, immigrant family assistance, cultural programming
Religious Education & Sacraments
St. Anthony's runs a tri-lingual religious education program for parish children, with dedicated Portuguese coordinators for the historically largest community and a Spanish coordinator serving the more recent immigrant community. Sacramental preparation — Baptism, First Communion, Confirmation, Marriage — is coordinated through the Parish Office, and Reconciliation is available every week in all three working languages.
- Religious Education in Portuguese — Natanael Braz, Karla Monteiro
- Religious Education in Spanish — Cecy Lopez
- Reconciliation (Confession) — four weekly slots in English, Portuguese, and Spanish
- Baptism, Marriage, First Communion, Confirmation preparation — contact the Parish Office
Prayer Groups & Devotions
Beyond weekend and daily Mass, St. Anthony's sustains two long-running small-group devotions that give the parish an essentially continuous prayer rhythm across languages.
- Grupo de Oração — Mondays at 7:30 PM (Portuguese)
- Grupo de Oración — Thursdays at 7:30 PM (Spanish)
- 1st Friday of the month — 7:30 PM Portuguese Mass
- Religious articles Bazaar — open Sundays after Mass in the Cafeteria
Visit Us & Contact
St. Anthony of Padua Parish is at 12 Properzi Way, Somerville, MA 02143, on the corner of Somerville Avenue. The Parish Office (8:00 AM – 3:00 PM weekdays) and the Scalabrini Center (3:00 – 8:00 PM weekdays) cover the full work day; the parish phone line — (617) 625-4530 — is the fastest way to confirm Mass times during snow emergencies.
- Address: 12 Properzi Way, Somerville, MA 02143-3226
- Phone: (617) 625-4530
- Website: saintanthonysomerville.com
- Facebook: facebook.com/SomervilleChurch
- From I-93: exit Sullivan Square, follow Washington St → Union Square → Somerville Avenue; church on the corner of Somerville Avenue & Properzi Way
- Parish Office: Mon–Fri 8:00 AM – 3:00 PM
- Scalabrini Center: Mon–Fri 3:00 PM – 8:00 PM
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Rev. Nazareno (Nazzareno) Properzi, C.S.1914–1960
Scalabrinian founder of the parish; sent from Sacred Heart in Boston's North End in 1914 at age 24; bought land at Somerville Ave & Vine Street (now Properzi Way); built the lower church and the 1925 Romanesque upper church; served as U.S. Provincial Superior of the Scalabrinians from 1934; organized post-WWII relief for European survivors; died 1960.
- Rev. Ademir Guerini, C.S.
Parish Administrator around the 2015 centennial; descendant of Italian immigrants to Brazil, ordained there, served in Venezuela (oil-boil Brazilians), Bogotá, and Washington D.C. before coming to Somerville five years earlier; described in the Somerville Times as leading the parish's cultural and assistance center and English classes.