Dr. Phil Budden Her Britannic Majesty’s Consul General, Boston, invites you to join him in celebrating Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee on Sunday 3rd June at a British-style Jubilee service at the Old North Church, followed by a free, public British Street Party at the Old State House. Date: Sunday 3rd June Time: [...]
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Young Catholics Take Part in Sacred Heart Mass and North End Candelight Procession
Candlelight Eucharistic ceremony and procession in North Square. Photo courtesy of Boston Catholic. The Boston Archdiocese hosted an event with approximately 500 people at Sacred Heart Church in North Square on Saturday, April 28, 2012. Boston Cardinal Sean O’Malley led a vigil Mass for the 5th Annual Eucharistic Congress for College Students and Young Adults. [...]
Memorial Mass for Mario Alfano Set for Saturday, April 21, 2012
On Saturday, April 21, 2012 at 1:00 pm, a Memorial Mass will be offered at Saint Leonard Church in memory of Mario Alfano on the first anniversary of his passing. Mario was a benefactor of the church and the North End / Waterfront community who faced, with great courage, a long battle against cancer that [...]
Lantern Ceremony 2012 – Entrance Procession and Invocation
Video: Lantern Ceremony – Entrance Procession with the Color Guard from USS Constitution, Honorary Lantern Escorts, Grand Lodge of Masons and Members of the Militia. Following the procession, the Reverend Stephen T. Ayres, Vicar of Old North Church, welcomed nearly 500 guests and performed the invocation. Old North Church hosted the Annual Lantern Ceremony on [...]
Holy Week at St. Leonard Church and Sacred Heart Church – 2012
Holy Week Schedule for St. Leonard Church and Sacred Heart Thursday, April 5th: Holy Thursday (Mass of the Last Supper) 7 p.m. Mass at St. Leonard’s Church Friday, April 6th – Good Friday 12:05 Stations of the Cross at St. Leonard’s 3:00 p.m. Liturgy of the Passion 7 p.m. Stations of the Cross at Sacred [...]
Holy Week at Old North Church 2012
April 5 Maundy Thursday Agape Supper at 6:00 p.m. in the parish house. April 6 Good Friday Service at 1:00 p.m. Church closed to tours from 12:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. April 7 Easter Saturday Baptism Service at 3:30 p.m. followed by an Easter egg hunt at 4:15 p.m. April 8 Festival Easter Service [...]
Boston Archdiocese to Hold “Town Hall” Meeting at St. Leonard Parish Hall
On Thursday, April 12 at 7PM, a “Town Hall” meeting will take place at Saint Leonard of Port Maurice Parish hall; all parishioners are invited to attend the presentation of the Boston Archdiocese Planning Proposal; Strengthening our Parishes as Primary Communities of Faith. The meeting will give parishioners an opportunity to review and give feed [...]
St. Joseph Society Celebrates St. Joseph’s Day at Hanover St. Chapel
The St. Joseph Society celebrated March 19th, St. Joseph’s Day, at the Hanover St. chapel in the North End. Members of the society cooked traditional Sicilian food and invited all to join them at the St. Joseph Table. Photos by Rosario Scabin, Ross Photography, Courtesy of Post-Gazette.
Cross Unveiled at St. Leonard’s Garden Wall
The scaffolding is down on the side of the Saint Leonard’s Peace Garden wall revealing a large red Catholic cross. The feature is a focal point given its large size and visibility from Hanover Street. The wall repair and installation continues the multi-year renovation of the garden area. The new cross faces the recently installed [...]
Italian Christmas Celebrated at St. John School
St. John School in the North End celebrated this Christmas with mass in Italian at Sacred Heart Church in North Square, followed by a party based on panettone and other typical Italian foods. Aired on Italia Chiama Italia on Dec. 26, 2011 From Boston Stefano Salimbeni Filmed by Gianni Gallo Edited by Luis Goncalves Via [...]
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Photos: Christmas Concert with Boston’s Children’s Choir at North End’s Sacred Heart Church
The Boston Children’s Choir entertained a large audience at its annual North End Christmas Concert, held on December 4, 2011 at Sacred Heart Church. The tradition is in its 7th year with the choir under the direction of Anthony Tracek King. Richard Molinari introduced the performance, sponsored by Gerald and Linda Riccio, featuring Christmas songs [...]
Blessing of the Animals Hosted by Old North Church on the Prado (Video and Photos)
The Old North Church hosted the annual Blessing of the Animals on Sunday, October 2nd on the Prado, also known as the Paul Revere Mall. The ceremony coincided with the commemoration Saint Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals. Fr. Steve Ayers and Fr. Matthew Kruger led brief readings and prayers along with individual [...]
Blessing of the Animals Hosted by Old North Church on October 2, 2011
The Old North Church will host the annual Blessing of the Animals ceremony on Sunday, October 2 at 3:00 p.m. The ceremony, which coincides with the commemoration St. Francis of Assisi, includes brief readings and prayers and individual blessing far all attending pets and their owners. Refreshments are provided for all. The ceremony will take [...]
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Video: 2011 Saint Anthony’s Feast & Procession
Video: St. Anthony’s Grand Procession through the streets of the North End. Watch for some special cinema, black & white and vivid special effect filters starting at halfway through the video. After last week’s rainout of the “feast of all feasts,” the Saint Anthony’s Society held a special feast day on Sunday, September 4, 2011. [...]
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Video: Madonna delle Grazie Procession – July 2011
On July 10, 2011, the procession was held for Madonna delle Grazie in Boston’s North End. Featuring Saint Alfio’s Band and the Northeast Italian Band, the procession started at St. Leonard’s Church at the corner of Hanover & Prince Streets and made its way through the neighborhood with many stops along the way. Madonna delle [...]
Vicar Tells All: Sarah Palin’s History Flub, and How It Happened
Originally published in the Old North Church parish e-newsletter and posted here with permission.
Vicar tells all: Sarah Palin’s history flub, and how it happened
By Stephen T. Ayers
Here is the inside scoop on the Boston history massacre.
I had carefully set aside last Thursday to work on the sermon to be delivered at my 35th reunion at Hamilton College last weekend. Then the National Park Service called Wednesday afternoon inquiring whether we could open up early for a special visitor. No problem. We are a house of prayer for all people and we try to be hospitable to politicians of all stripes, whether or not we happen to agree with them.
I arrived around 7:45 Thursday morning and immediately fielded a phone call from the NPS police asking if they could bring a bomb sniffing dog by to secure the church. Given how freely Governor Palin mingled with the crowds later that morning, the bomb sniffer seemed like a bit of overkill, but I guess if you have a bomb sniffing dog, you take every advantage of an opportunity to use him. The intrepid hound found two suspicious looking bags, which turned out to be used clothing left in the donation box pew. The last time I saw the NPS bomb sniffer was aboard USS Constitution during a turnaround cruise. While there were no bombs aboard, the poor pup freaked out when the canons were fired.
About 8:30, we thought we spotted Governor Palin shopping by herself in the gift shop across the street. We went over to investigate, but she turned out to be a Sarah Palin impersonator, who just happened to be in the neighborhood returning a tee shirt she had purchased. Such a coincidence!
The governor’s entourage pulled up around nine, just as a school group from Waltham was entering the church. She was accompanied by her parents, her daughter, Piper, two aides and a photographer. Fifteen or twenty media people materialized seconds after. The first to greet the Governor was Dino DiFronzo of Parziale’s Bakery, who encouraged the governor to stop by for coffee and pastry after her visit to Old North. This is probably the first time a politician has gone anywhere but Mike’s Pastry in the North End, and given Governor Palin’s subsequent experience there, it may be the last.
Fr. Claude Scrima’s 50th Anniversary of Ordination of Priesthood on May 21, 2011 at St. Leonard’s
Celebration of Fr. Claude Scrima’s 50th Anniversary of Ordination to the Priesthood Fr. Claude Scrima, O.F.M., Parochial Vicar of St. Leonard’s Church in the North End of Boston and former Latin and Italian teacher at Christopher Columbus High School in the North End was ordained a priest in Wappingers Falls, NY on May 20th, 1961. [...]
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Hanover Street on Chronicle TV5: Part 4 – St. Stephen’s Church
St. Stephen’s Church and its history on Hanover St. are covered in this excerpt: Speaking in the video is Fr. Kevin Hayes, St. Stephens Church of The Missionary Society of St. James the Apostle. Read more: http://www.thebostonchannel.com/chronicle/27780279/detail.html#ixzz1M0c1GuEG View more excerpts from Chronicle’s episode on Hanover Street.
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North End Moment: Blessed for Success
Submiited by Thomas F. Schiavoni A vacationing North End neighbor asked me to look after his sidewalk planter. I later asked about the 3-inch figurine with a halo, mallet and carpenter’s plane interred beneath the greenery. He explained that he had salvaged spilled dirt from a broken flowerpot at the condo next-door. The owner had [...]
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Religious Festivals: From Ancient Italy to the Feasts of Boston’s North End
On March 27, 2011, Suffolk University’s Alumni Association hosted a lecture at the Fairmont Battery Wharf Hotel on the religious festivals from the time of ancient Italy and how they have endured in today’s North End. The well-attended event featured Suffolk University history professor Dr. Matteo Casini and Dr. Augusto Ferraiuolo, author of Religious Festive [...]
