About St. Teresa of Calcutta Parish - St. Christopher · Boston, Massachusetts
St. Christopher Church is one of two worship sites of St. Teresa of Calcutta Parish, a Roman Catholic parish of the Archdiocese of Boston located on Columbia Point in Dorchester, Massachusetts. Founded in 1956 to serve the residents of the Columbia Point Housing Project, the parish has long welcomed newcomers — university students, public employees, and neighbors drawn to the peninsula — and remains a warm, spirited, multi-cultural faith community. Today it shares a single pastoral team with St. Margaret's Church, and Sunday worship at St. Christopher is celebrated in both Spanish and English, with a Spanish Mass at 10:00 a.m. and an English Mass at 12:30 p.m., alongside active campus ministry to nearby UMass Boston.
- Established
- 1956
- Patron
- St. Christopher
- Rector
- Rev. John Ronaghan
- Diocese
- Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston
Why belong here
St. Christopher is a small, warm, multilingual Catholic community on Columbia Point that has welcomed newcomers for nearly seventy years. With Spanish-language and English Sunday Masses, daily weekday Masses, a campus ministry reaching UMass Boston students, OCIA/RCIA for adults seeking initiation, religious education for children, a parish food pantry, and a vibrant charismatic prayer group (Grupo de Oración Carismática), the parish offers real ways to worship, learn, and serve. Newcomers are encouraged to introduce themselves to a priest or to Sister Maryanne and to register using the green forms at the back of the church.
Mass times at St. Teresa of Calcutta Parish - St. Christopher
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Saturday 3:00–3:30 PM at St. Margaret's (or by appointment)
About St. Christopher Parish
St. Christopher Church sits on Columbia Point in Dorchester, at 265 Mt. Vernon Street, and is a worship site of St. Teresa of Calcutta Parish in the Archdiocese of Boston. The parish describes itself as a warm, spirited, multi-cultural community that has welcomed newcomers to the peninsula — including residents of the Columbia Point Housing Project, students at UMass Boston, and neighbors at the J.F.K. Library, Massachusetts State Archives, Bayside Expo Center, and Harbor Point apartments. The site is shared by a vibrant Spanish-speaking congregation and an English-speaking community, with Mass celebrated in both languages each Sunday.
- Founded 1956
- Roman Catholic, Archdiocese of Boston
- Multi-cultural, bilingual (English & Spanish)
History of St. Christopher's
The parish was created in 1956 by the Archdiocese of Boston to serve the new Columbia Point Housing Project. For decades it was led by Rev. George A. Carrigg, M.S.W., and through him welcomed successive waves of newcomers to the Point. In the 2010s, the parish entered the Archdiocese's Disciples in Mission pastoral planning process; in 2021 it merged with St. Margaret's to become St. Teresa of Calcutta Parish. In July 2024 the Archdiocese announced a Request for Proposals for the potential sale of the 1956 church building, with conditions to reserve parish worship space on any redeveloped site and to invest a portion of proceeds in St. John's Seminary.
- 1956: Parish established for Columbia Point Housing Project
- 2017: Archdiocese explores redevelopment around the site under Disciples in Mission
- 2021: Merged with St. Margaret's to form St. Teresa of Calcutta Parish
- 2024: Archdiocese issues Request for Proposals for potential sale of 265 Mt. Vernon Street building
Clergy & Staff
The parish is led by Pastor Rev. John Ronaghan, a Dorchester native who returned in 2018 after decades of ministry elsewhere in the Archdiocese. He is assisted by Parochial Vicar Rev. Jose Nicanor Vivas, OSA (originally from Venezuela and a key minister to the Spanish-speaking community), Pastoral Associate Sister Maryanne Ruzzo, SC, Deacon Paul, and Admin Assistant & Campus Minister Cindy Reeves. Parish office hours are Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., at 73 RoseClair Street.
- Rev. John Ronaghan — Pastor
- Rev. Jose Nicanor Vivas, OSA — Parochial Vicar
- Sister Maryanne Ruzzo, SC — Pastoral Associate
- Deacon Paul
- Cindy Reeves — Admin Assistant & Campus Minister
Sacraments
Infant Baptisms are celebrated on the 3rd Saturday of the month — Spanish baptisms at 11:00 a.m. at St. Christopher and English baptisms at 1:00 p.m. at St. Margaret's. Adults preparing for Baptism do so through the OCIA (Order of Christian Initiation of Adults), with initiation typically at the Easter Vigil. Couples preparing for Matrimony are asked to call the parish office. Anointing of the Sick is offered at the regular monthly times listed above, and home visits / communion to the homebound can be arranged through Sister Maryanne.
- Baptism — 3rd Saturday monthly (Spanish 11:00 AM at St. Christopher; English 1:00 PM at St. Margaret's)
- OCIA (RCIA) for adults
- Matrimony — by appointment through the parish office
- Anointing of the Sick — see Confession & Other Services
- Low-gluten hosts and hearing assistance devices available
Faith Formation & Religious Education
Religious Education classes for children are offered at both worship sites, with St. Margaret's students meeting in the lower church after the 9:00 a.m. Mass and St. Christopher students meeting in the lower church before the 11:00 a.m. Mass. Adults who have been baptized and received First Communion but have not yet been confirmed may join the Adult Confirmation program (ages 18+), led by Fr. John, Fr. Nicanor, and Sister Maryanne. Children preparing for First Communion (typically 2nd grade, ages 7–8) and Confirmation (typically 8th grade, ages 13–14) are asked to register early each fall.
- Children's Religious Education (St. Margaret's lower church after 9 AM Mass; St. Christopher before 11 AM Mass)
- First Communion preparation (2nd grade)
- Confirmation preparation (8th grade)
- Adult Confirmation program (ages 18+)
- OCIA / RCIA for unbaptized adults
- Contact: Sister Maryanne, 617-436-2190 x203 — [email protected]
Campus Ministry
Because of its location adjacent to UMass Boston on Columbia Point, St. Christopher hosts an active campus ministry that culminates in a monthly Campus Ministry Mass celebrated on the 2nd Sunday of every month at 12:30 p.m. The parish's Admin Assistant & Campus Minister, Cindy Reeves, helps coordinate this outreach. Father John Ronaghan has spoken publicly about Cardinal O'Malley's interest in seeing St. Christopher's 'even more deeply involved with the campus ministry of UMass Boston.'
- Campus Ministry Mass — 2nd Sunday at 12:30 PM
- Coordinator: Cindy Reeves, Admin Assistant & Campus Minister
- Out of weather cancellations announced on TV Channel 5
Parish Ministries & Volunteer Life
Parishioners serve the community as Lectors, Eucharistic Ministers, Choir members, Ushers, Greeters, Religious Education Teachers, and Food Pantry volunteers — and the parish bulletin explicitly notes 'there is always room for more volunteers.' The Food Pantry is a long-standing outreach to the Columbia Point community. A Spanish-language Charismatic prayer group, Grupo de Oración Carismática, gives the parish a distinctive devotional rhythm alongside its sacramental life. New parishioners are warmly invited to introduce themselves to Fr. John, Fr. Nicanor, or Sister Maryanne and to fill out the green registration forms at the back of the church.
- Lectors, Eucharistic Ministers, Choir, Ushers, Greeters
- Religious Education Teachers
- Food Pantry
- Grupo de Oración Carismática (Spanish charismatic prayer)
- Home Visits / Communion to the Homebound
- Volunteer sign-up via blue forms at the back of church
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Rev. George A. Carrigg, M.S.W.
Longtime pastor of St. Christopher's through the 2010s; oversaw the parish as the Archdiocese began Disciples in Mission pastoral planning.
- Rev. John Ronaghan2018–present
Returned in 2018 to the Dorchester parish where he grew up (then St. Margaret's); became pastor of the merged St. Teresa of Calcutta Parish in 2021.