About St. John Bosco · Stamford, Vermont
St. John Bosco is a small Roman Catholic chapel serving the hill town of Stamford in southernmost Bennington County, Vermont, at 818 Main Road (Route 8). It is one of three mission communities — alongside Our Lady of Fatima in Wilmington and St. Joachim in Readsboro — clustered under a single pastor and clustered in the Bennington Deanery of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Burlington. Because Stamford is a small, rural community, Mass at St. John Bosco is celebrated only on Saturdays (with a Sunday option in the cluster) and is supported by confession and Eucharistic adoration times published in the cluster schedule.
- Established
- 1963
- Patron
- St. John Bosco (Don Bosco)
- Rector
- Fr. Kevin Chalifoux (Administrator)
- Diocese
- Roman Catholic Diocese of Burlington
Why belong here
St. John Bosco is a small, family-style chapel in the southern Vermont hill country, ideal for Catholics in Stamford and the surrounding Readsboro/Wilmington area who want a quiet, rural parish home rather than a drive to a larger town. The chapel is part of a tight-knit three-church cluster, so a single pastor (Fr. Kevin Chalifoux) and one set of staff serve all three communities — confession, Eucharistic adoration, weekday Mass, holy-day vigils, and First Friday devotions are all scheduled across the cluster for easy access. Visitors and returning Catholics will find a welcoming, traditional Roman Rite celebration in English, with the Saturday vigil Mass, monthly First Friday Mass, and regular times for the Sacrament of Reconciliation and Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament right in Stamford.
Mass times at St. John Bosco
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Saturday 3:15–3:45 PM at St. John Bosco, Stamford
Adoration times
- Friday 11:30 AM at St. John Bosco, Stamford
About St. John Bosco Chapel
St. John Bosco is a Roman Catholic chapel in the small Bennington County town of Stamford, Vermont, listed by the Diocese of Burlington as part of the Bennington Deanery. Its physical address is 818 Main Road, Stamford, VT 05352, but the cluster's mailing address is P.O. Box 188, Wilmington, VT 05363. Because the Stamford community is small and rural, the chapel is administered together with the two sister parishes in nearby Wilmington (Our Lady of Fatima) and Readsboro (St. Joachim), so weekend Masses, holy days, adoration and confession are scheduled across all three buildings.
History
Catholic life in this stretch of southern Vermont began in 1886 when a priest from North Adams celebrated the first Mass in the Readsboro area in the home of Edward Goullette. The cornerstone of St. Joachim Church on Tunnel Street in Readsboro was blessed by Bishop John Michaud, then coadjutor bishop of Burlington, in 1892, and St. Joachim became the 'mother church' of the area — the first Catholic church in this corner of the diocese. Its people were French-Canadian and Italian immigrants drawn to the region's logging, paper-making, and electric-power industries. Stamford's own Catholic mission grew under St. Joachim's care; the diocesan parish register records the first Mass in Stamford in 1941. The mission was formally constituted as its own parish — St. John Bosco — in 1963, and the present chapel building on Main Road was dedicated in 1982.
- 1886: first Mass in Readsboro area (house of Edward Goullette)
- 1892: cornerstone of St. Joachim Church, Readsboro, blessed by Bishop John Michaud
- 1941: first recorded Mass in Stamford, under St. Joachim parish
- 1963: St. John Bosco formally founded as its own parish
- 1982: present chapel on Main Road dedicated
- Today: clustered with Our Lady of Fatima (Wilmington) and St. Joachim (Readsboro)
Clergy & Staff
St. John Bosco is administered by Fr. Kevin Chalifoux, who also serves as Pastor of Our Lady of Fatima, Wilmington, and Administrator of St. Joachim, Readsboro. Previously, the cluster was administered by Father Ilayaraja Amaladass of the Herald of Good News, who lived at the Our Lady of Fatima rectory in Wilmington and served all three churches. Day-to-day parish business is run through the cluster office at 96 East Main Street, Wilmington.
- Fr. Kevin Chalifoux — Administrator of St. John Bosco; Pastor of Our Lady of Fatima, Wilmington; Administrator of St. Joachim, Readsboro
- Fr. Ilayaraja Amaladass, HGN — former parish administrator of the cluster
Cluster Parish: Our Lady of Fatima & St. Joachim
St. John Bosco is one of three mission communities in the merged 'Our Lady of Fatima and St. Joachim Parishes' cluster. Our Lady of Fatima Church stands at 96 East Main Street, Wilmington, VT 05363, and serves as the cluster's main parish church and rectory. St. Joachim Church stands at 342 Tunnel Street, Readsboro, VT 05350, the 'mother church' of the area founded in 1892. Sharing one pastor and one administrative office keeps this rural Catholic community sustainable.
- Our Lady of Fatima — 96 E. Main St., Wilmington, VT 05363
- St. Joachim — 342 Tunnel St., Readsboro, VT 05350
- Cluster website: ourladyoffatima.vermontcatholic.org
Visitor & Contact Information
Parishioners and visitors can reach the cluster through the published phone number for the Stamford chapel, (802) 423-5267, or through the mailing address P.O. Box 188, Wilmington, VT 05363. The chapel's official online presence is its page on the Diocese of Burlington website; day-to-day parish information is published on the cluster website 'Our Lady of Fatima and St. Joachim Parishes'.
- Phone: (802) 423-5267
- Mailing: P.O. Box 188, Wilmington, VT 05363
- Physical: 818 Main Road, Stamford, VT 05352
- Diocesan page: vermontcatholic.org/church/st-john-bosco-stamford/
- Cluster page: ourladyoffatima.vermontcatholic.org
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Fr. Ilayaraja Amaladass, HGN (Herald of Good News)prior to 2025
Previously served as parish administrator of the Our Lady of Fatima / St. Joachim / St. John Bosco cluster from the Our Lady of Fatima rectory in Wilmington.