About St. Rose of Lima · New Haven, Connecticut
St. Rose of Lima is a Roman Catholic parish in the Fair Haven neighborhood of New Haven, Connecticut, founded in 1907 to serve the immigrant Catholic population of the neighborhood. The parish belongs to the Archdiocese of Hartford and is one of the historic anchor institutions of Fair Haven, having operated a parochial school staffed by the Sisters of Mercy from 1916 until 1990. The parish merged with St. Francis of Assisi Parish in 2017 to form Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish, and on July 1, 2023, all New Haven city parishes were consolidated into the city-wide Blessed Michael McGivney Parish administered from St. Mary Church. As of the 2023 consolidation, the St. Rose of Lima church building had already been closed for regular worship following the 2017 merger, while the school building was repurposed for religious education and faith formation.
- Established
- 1907
- Patron
- St. Rose of Lima (Santa Rosa de Lima), the 17th-century Peruvian Dominican tertiary and the first person born in the Americas to be canonized
- Rector
- Parish closed / consolidated. At the time of the 2017 merger with St. Francis of Assisi to form Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish, Rev. James Manship was the listed pastor of St. Rose of Lima. Since July 1, 2023, St. Rose of Lima has been part of the city-wide Blessed Michael McGivney Parish administered from St. Mary Church, New Haven.
- Diocese
- Archdiocese of Hartford
Why belong here
St. Rose of Lima has long been the Catholic heart of New Haven's Fair Haven neighborhood — a parish where worship is offered in both English and Spanish and the congregation reflects roughly eighteen countries of origin, with an average age around 35. Its ministries of faith formation, the combined St. Francis & St. Rose of Lima School, and its pastoral outreach to Fair Haven families have shaped the community for more than a century. Even though the parish has now been merged into the city-wide Blessed Michael McGivney Parish, the St. Rose legacy continues through the school, alumni networks, and the many families whose Catholic identity was formed within its walls.
Mass times at St. Rose of Lima
Weekly Mass schedule
Parish History
Founded September 18, 1907 by Bishop Michael A. Tierney as the Catholic parish of Fair Haven. The parish worshipped at four successive temporary locations — Polar Star Hall on Grand Avenue (from September 29, 1907), St. Andrew Methodist Episcopal Chapel on Townsend Avenue (October 1907 – April 1908), the basement of St. Francis Church, and a temporary church on Saltonstall Avenue dedicated May 10, 1908 — before its present church on Blatchley Avenue was completed. The cornerstone was laid October 6, 1912 and Bishop John J. Nilan dedicated the new church on April 20, 1913. From the outset the parish paired worship with Catholic schooling: a four-room school opened in September on Richard Street and Saltonstall Avenue, and a permanent school building was blessed on September 3, 1916.
- Founded: September 18, 1907 by Bishop Michael A. Tierney
- Founding pastor: Rev. John J. Fitzgerald
- First Mass: September 29, 1907 at Polar Star Hall, Grand Avenue
- Temporary church on Saltonstall Avenue dedicated May 10, 1908
- Cornerstone of present church blessed October 6, 1912
- Present Blatchley Avenue church dedicated April 20, 1913 by Bishop John J. Nilan
- Parish school blessed September 3, 1916; Sisters of Mercy staffed the school 1916–1990
The Church Building (115 Blatchley Avenue)
The current St. Rose of Lima Church is an early-20th-century Roman Catholic parish church in the Fair Haven neighborhood, built in traditional European-cathedral style with a prominent front-facing gable/bell tower over the main Blatchley Avenue entrance. Following the 2017 merger with St. Francis of Assisi Parish, the building was no longer used for regular Sunday worship; it was not among the eight New Haven churches designated to remain open for regularly scheduled worship in the July 1, 2023 city-wide consolidation into Blessed Michael McGivney Parish.
- Address: 115 Blatchley Avenue, New Haven, CT 06513-4206
- Dedicated: April 20, 1913
- Status: closed for regular worship after 2017 merger; not among churches remaining open in the 2023 consolidated parish
Parish School
St. Rose of Lima School opened in September on the corner of Richard Street and Saltonstall Avenue, with a permanent school building blessed on September 3, 1916. From 1916 until 1990 the school was staffed by the Sisters of Mercy. The 1916 school building was still standing and in active use decades later — described in 2016 as 'looking like a museum' in 'really good shape' — and as of that year was being used on weekends for religious-education classes and teacher preparation. The school merged with neighboring St. Francis School in 2009 to form the combined St. Francis & St. Rose of Lima School on Ferry Street, which today enrolls roughly 200 mostly Latino pupils in pre-kindergarten through eighth grade and is among the most affordable Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Hartford.
- 1916 school building blessed September 3, 1916
- Staffed by the Sisters of Mercy, 1916–1990
- Merged with St. Francis School in 2009 to form St. Francis & St. Rose of Lima School
- Located today at the Ferry Street campus
- Tuition around $2,500 per year — described as among the lowest in the archdiocese
Faith Formation and Religious Education
The parish continued its catechetical mission even after the 2017 merger. The old 1916 school building was used on weekends for religious-education classes and for catechist in-service days — a 2016 report noted that 71 catechists attended a single formation session there. Parish sacramental preparation (Baptism, First Communion, Confirmation, Marriage) was coordinated at the parish level, and the 100th anniversary Mass of the parish school (October 8, 2016) was celebrated at the church by retired Auxiliary Bishop Peter Rosazza.
- Weekend religious-education classes held in the former school building
- Catechist formation / in-service days (71 teachers at one recent session)
- 100th anniversary Mass of the school celebrated October 8, 2016 by Bishop Peter Rosazza
Parish Consolidation and 2023 Reorganization
In 2017 the parish merged with St. Francis of Assisi Parish to form Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish. On October 2021 Archbishop Leonard Paul Blair announced a further consolidation of all New Haven city parishes into a single municipal-style parish administered from St. Mary Church. That city-wide Blessed Michael McGivney Parish was formally erected on July 1, 2023. Because the St. Rose of Lima church building had already been closed for worship following the 2017 merger, it is not among the eight New Haven church buildings that continue to be used for regularly scheduled worship in the new consolidated parish.
- 2017 — merged with St. Francis of Assisi Parish to form Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish
- October 2021 — Archbishop Blair announces city-wide New Haven consolidation
- July 1, 2023 — all New Haven parishes consolidated into Blessed Michael McGivney Parish at St. Mary Church
- St. Rose of Lima church building: closed for regular worship before the 2023 consolidation
Parish Identity and Demographics
St. Rose of Lima was a notably diverse parish in its later years: a 2010s parish profile described the congregation as drawing from some 18 countries of origin, with an average age around 35 and a strong Spanish-language worship life alongside the historic English-speaking community. The parish's self-description — 'a community that worships, learns, and acts together' — reflected its combination of Sunday worship, parish school, and outreach to Fair Haven families.
- Congregation from approximately 18 countries of origin
- Average congregant age around 35
- Bilingual English/Spanish worship life
- Located in Fair Haven, a historically Italian- and Irish-American neighborhood with growing Latino presence
Visiting and Contact
The parish office and church are located at 115 Blatchley Avenue, New Haven, CT 06513. The listed parish phone number was (203) 865-6149. The parish's own website at strosoflimaparish.org has continued to host bulletins and a Mass-schedule page (including PDFs of weekly bulletins) even after the 2017 and 2023 mergers.
- Address: 115 Blatchley Avenue, New Haven, CT 06513-4206
- Phone: (203) 865-6149
- Parish website: stroseoflimaparish.org
- Listed in Archdiocese of Hartford parish locator (2026)
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Rev. John J. Fitzgerald1907–
Founding pastor; appointed by Bishop Michael A. Tierney on September 18, 1907; celebrated the first parish Mass at Grand Avenue's Polar Star Hall on September 29, 1907; led construction of the 1908 temporary Saltonstall Avenue church and the present 1913 Blatchley Avenue church, and the 1916 parochial school.