A Collaborative of Two Parishes on the Same Block of Town
St. John the Evangelist Parish sits at 9 Glen Road in Wellesley, Massachusetts, a short walk from St. Paul Parish at 502 Washington Street. The two parishes have shared a single pastoral team, staff, and pastoral plan since 2015 as the St. John - St. Paul Catholic Collaborative. Together they serve the Catholics of Wellesley and parts of neighboring Newton under the Archdiocese of Boston, with one pastor, one set of ministries, and a weekly Mass schedule that draws on both church buildings.
What sets the Collaborative apart is how fully the two parishes function as one community while keeping their distinct identities. Masses rotate between the two churches by the month and by the Sunday of the month. Saint John School, a pre-K through grade 6 elementary school, sits on Ledyard Street a few steps from St. John the Evangelist Church. Family Faith Formation, youth ministry, adult formation, music, and outreach programs all operate across both campuses under one leadership team. Parishioners register at one parish or the other but worship, learn, and serve together.
Mass Schedule and the Rhythm of the Week
The Collaborative celebrates the weekend Mass schedule below from the weekend after Labor Day in September through the weekend before Memorial Day in May. A separate summer schedule (Memorial Day through Labor Day) offers one morning Mass at each parish.
Saturday Vigil
4:00pm Mass at St. Paul
5:00pm Vigil Mass at St. John
Sunday
7:30am Mass - at St. John from September through December, at St. Paul from January through May
9:00am Family Mass - rotates: St. John on the 1st, 3rd, and 5th Sundays; St. Paul on the 2nd and 4th Sundays
11:00am Mass at St. Paul
12:00pm Mass at St. John
5:00pm Youth Mass - rotates on the same schedule as the 9:00am Family Mass
Weekdays
Monday, Wednesday, Friday: 9:00am Mass at St. Paul
Tuesday, Thursday: 7:00am Mass at St. John
Three Masses each week are livestreamed for the homebound and the ill: the Saturday 5:00pm Vigil from St. John the Evangelist Church, the Sunday 11:00am from St. Paul Church, and the 9:00am weekday Mass from St. Paul. Recordings are kept on the Collaborative's YouTube channel, which holds an extensive archive going back several years.
The Sunday 9am Family Mass and the Sunday 5pm Youth Mass
The Sunday 9:00am Family Mass is the heart of the Collaborative's Family Faith Formation program for children in kindergarten through grade 5. Children serve as greeters, ushers, and gift bearers. Older children who have made their First Communion serve at the altar. A Children's Choir of singers in grades 3 through 7 leads parts of the liturgy, and homilists break open the Gospel in ways meant to land with both children and adults. After Mass, the community gathers in Powers Hall at St. John or the Parish Hall at St. Paul for Coffee and Donuts.
The Sunday 5:00pm Youth Mass is the centerpiece of the high school youth ministry program and the Confirmation preparation program. Music is led by the Youth Music Group, a band of teens in grades 8 through 12 who rehearse at 4:00pm before Mass. Young people serve as lectors, Eucharistic Ministers, ushers, and greeters. The Collaborative describes the liturgy as deliberately youth-centered, Spirit-filled, and full of participation, with the goal of helping young Catholics grow in a lived connection to Christ and the Church.
Both special liturgies rotate between the two parishes by the Sunday of the month from early September through mid-May, and both take a summer break from Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day weekend.
Sacraments of Initiation, Healing, and Vocation
The Collaborative celebrates all seven sacraments. Infant baptisms are normally celebrated communally, either with other families on a Sunday afternoon or with the parish community at one of the Sunday 9:00am Family Masses. First Reconciliation is prepared through the Family Faith Formation program, and First Communion is celebrated at the 9:00am Family Mass so children receive it within the assembly where they will continue to worship. In the Archdiocese of Boston, Confirmation is ordinarily conferred in grade 8, and the Collaborative prepares teens through small groups with adult mentors, gathering at the Sunday 5:00pm Youth Mass.
The Sacrament of Reconciliation is offered Tuesday evenings from 7:00 to 8:00pm at St. Paul and Saturday afternoons from 1:00 to 2:30pm in the Lower Level Chapel at St. John, and by appointment with either parish office. Anointing of the Sick is celebrated on the first Saturday of the month following the Vigil Mass or by arrangement with one of the priests. Couples preparing for marriage are asked to contact the pastor at least six months before the wedding. Adults who have not been baptized or who wish to complete their initiation join the OCIA process.
Saint John School
Saint John School, located at 9 Ledyard Street, welcomes children from preschool through grade 6 under Principal Siobhan Mahoney. The school shares the Collaborative's commitment to academic excellence, faith development, and community. Students attend Mass at St. John the Evangelist Church several times during the school year, including the Sunday 9:00am Family Mass, and take part in liturgical ministries as greeters, lectors, and gift bearers. Courtney Sullivan serves as Director of Enrollment and Advancement. Tuition is set by the school and may be paid online through the WeShare giving portal.
Family Faith Formation: Parents as the First Teachers of the Faith
The Collaborative's Family Faith Formation program is built around the conviction that parents are the first and best teachers of the faith for their children. In place of a traditional classroom model, families gather at the parish six times a year for catechesis and community, and the rest of the formation happens at home through grade-level books from the RCL Benziger "Be My Disciples" series and family conversation.
Children are grouped into three cohorts that meet on the same monthly theme so families with children in multiple grades can share what they have learned at the dinner table:
- Mustard Seeds (kindergarten through grade 2)
- Loaves and Fishes (grades 3 through 5)
- Salt and Light (grades 6 and 7)
Children preparing for First Reconciliation and First Communion, usually in grade 2, take the Mustard Seeds sessions plus five special sacrament preparation sessions using the "Blessed" curriculum from Dynamic Catholic. Teens in grade 8 and above preparing for Confirmation gather in small groups led by adult mentors.
Registration for 2026-2027 is open through the Collaborative's online registration form, with tuition of $100 per child and a $300 family maximum. Additional fees apply for First Communion ($75 per child) and Confirmation ($100 per child) preparation years. Rachel Sexton directs Family Faith Formation.
High School Youth Ministry
The high school youth ministry team - Luke DelVecchio, Katie Mears Wilson, and Christian Wilson - centers its work on the Sunday 5:00pm Youth Mass and the Sunday Night Youth Group, which meets in Powers Hall at St. John or the Parish Hall at St. Paul after the liturgy. All three team members came up through the parish's youth program, journeying from the pews of St. Paul Parish through Boston College and back to the Collaborative.
The program offers service opportunities, retreats, an annual camping trip to Vermont, and pilgrimage experiences such as the trip to NPH (Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos) homes in the Dominican Republic. The Collaborative is preparing for World Youth Day Seoul 2027, with teens and parents invited to information meetings. The youth ministry team also coordinates the Sunday 5:00pm Youth Music Group, which has traveled to concerts at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross in Boston.
Adult Faith Enrichment
Adult Faith Enrichment gathers adults from both parishes for Bible study, retreats, lecture series, and seasonal programs under the care of Sister Colleen Gibson, SSJ, Coordinator of Pastoral Care, and the Adult Faith Enrichment Commission.
Standing offerings include:
- Wednesday morning discussion groups on the video series "The Chosen" at St. Paul
- Friday morning Bible study, often on Pauline epistles, at St. Paul rectory
- A Collaborative Book Club meeting on the 2nd and 4th Thursday evenings of each month at St. Paul
- Evening for Women, gathering on Tuesday evenings at 6:30pm in Powers Hall and the Lower Chapel at St. John for reflection, sharing, and a potluck
- Young Adult Ministry for adults 21 to 40, with a regular "Theology at the Table" series and seasonal prayer gatherings such as "Practicing Lent"
- Care for Creation/Laudato Si' programming on the first Wednesday of each month
- Seasons of Hope, a six-week grief support group based on the Catholic tradition of mourning, meeting on Monday evenings in Powers Hall at St. John
The Collaborative has also partnered with Temple Beth Elohim and Hebrew College on interfaith study, including a 4-week exploration of Creation narratives in Judaism and Christianity and a 7-week study of the Psalms team-taught by a Catholic theologian and a rabbi.
Becoming Catholic: OCIA
The Order of Christian Initiation of Adults (OCIA) is the formal process for adults exploring the Catholic faith, including those never baptized, baptized Christians from another tradition, and Catholics who have not received Confirmation or Eucharist. The Collaborative's OCIA coordinators Svea Fraser and Alan LaFleur welcome inquiries at any time and emphasize that there is no obligation to join as participants discern. Adults are typically received into the Church at the Easter Vigil.
Music Ministries
William Endicott directs music for the Collaborative, overseeing the St. Paul Choir, the St. John Choir, and the Children's Choir that sings the 9:00am Family Mass. Christian Wilson coordinates the Sunday 5:00pm Youth Music Group. The choirs sing at the major liturgies of the year, including Christmas Eve Masses at 4:00pm and 10:00pm, Christmas Day, Holy Week, and Easter. The Collaborative Christmas Pops Concert, the Saint John School Spring Concert, and a Service of Lessons and Carols during Advent are part of the musical calendar.
Care for Creation / Laudato Si'
The Collaborative's Care for Creation committee, led by Deacon Rick Vatcher, Barbara Pyles, and Jane Materazzo, helps parishioners respond to Pope Francis's encyclical Laudato Si' and its call to integral ecology - the conviction that environmental care, justice for the poor, and the way Christians live are inseparable. The committee meets on the first Wednesday of each month on Zoom, hosts discussions during the Season of Creation each fall, marks Laudato Si' Week in May, and connects parishioners with Sustainable Wellesley and the Wellesley MLP Sustainability Initiatives. Deacon Vatcher has written a short reflection titled "Care for Creation Theology, Simply Put" as an introduction for new participants.
Service and Outreach
Service is organized through the Collaborative Service Commission, chaired by Sr. Colleen Gibson and staffed by parishioners from both parishes. The Collaborative runs a yearly Collaborative Lenten Gift, with a special second collection each year supporting one organization or community. The 2026 Lenten Gift supports the MassBay Community College Textbook Assistance Fund, helping students at the Wellesley-area community college afford required course materials. Recent prior gifts have supported the St. John Paul II Christian Community in Bamenda, Cameroon (2025), Capuchin Mobile Ministries (2024), Ukraine Forward (2023), Boston Healthcare for the Homeless Program (2022), and the Collaborative's POWIR refugee resettlement program (2020-2021).
The Society of St. Vincent de Paul - The SJSP Conference of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul provides emergency assistance to neighbors in need. Over the past year, the Conference provided $40,000 in direct assistance to 47 families (117 people) and connected many more with partner organizations for help with food, housing, auto repairs, and household items. Each fall the Conference runs a Fill-A-Truck drive in the St. Paul lot for clothing, soft home furnishings, and books. Assistance requests are kept completely confidential and can be made by emailing SVDP@sjspwellesley.org or calling either parish office.
POWIR: Parishes Organized to Welcome Immigrants and Refugees - In partnership with Catholic Charities Boston, the Collaborative runs a POWIR ministry to assist newly arrived refugees and immigrants. The program has helped families settle into housing, find work, learn English, access pro bono legal and medical services, and integrate socially. Recent updates describe supporting three young adults from Afghanistan and a family from the Democratic Republic of Congo who arrived after thirteen years in a refugee camp in Rwanda.
Food Pantry Collections - The Collaborative collects non-perishable food on the first Sunday of each month at St. Paul for the Wellesley Food Pantry and on the third Sunday of each month at St. John (Glen Road entrance) for the Saint Katharine Drexel Food Pantry in Roxbury.
Christmas Wish and Giving Tree - Each Christmas the parishes gather gifts for neighbors in need through the St. John Christmas Wish and the St. Paul Giving Tree.
Ministry of Care and Visitation - Ministers of Care visit isolated parishioners in their homes on a regular basis, providing pastoral presence, emotional support, and Holy Communion when requested. The ministry is coordinated by Kelly Meraw, Director of Pastoral Care and Liturgy, and Sister Colleen Gibson.
NPH: Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos - The Collaborative has had a longstanding relationship with NPH USA, which supports more than 9,000 children across Latin America and the Caribbean. Each year parishioners donate to the Lenten Gift and the youth ministry has run immersion trips to NPH homes in the Dominican Republic.
Devotions and Adoration
Beyond the Mass schedule, several regular devotions anchor the prayer life of the parishes. Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament is celebrated on Friday mornings from 7:30 to 8:45am at St. Paul, with the Divine Mercy Chaplet prayed at 7:40am; it is livestreamed for those at home. The Rosary is prayed on Tuesday evenings at 7:15pm in the Lower Level Chapel at St. John. Confessions are scheduled on Tuesday evenings at St. Paul and Saturday afternoons at St. John, with the option to make an appointment by phone.
The Collaborative Pastoral Council
The Collaborative Pastoral Council is the consultative lay body that advises the pastor on planning, organizing, and reviewing the evangelization, worship, religious education, and service activities of the two parishes. Members are drawn from both parishes and serve alongside the pastor, parochial vicar, Sister Colleen Gibson, and Deacon Rick Vatcher as ex officio members. Pastoral Council Guidelines follow the structure for parish pastoral councils promulgated at the Eighth Synod of the Archdiocese of Boston in November 1988.
Clergy, Deacons, and Staff
The Collaborative is led by Fr. James J. Laughlin, Pastor, and Fr. Gabriel Afumbom Tokoh, Parochial Vicar. Fr. J. Bryan Hehir serves as Priest in Residence at St. John, and Fr. James Taah serves as Scholar Priest in Residence at St. Paul. Deacon Rick Vatcher assists across both parishes. Sister Colleen Gibson, SSJ, serves as Coordinator of Pastoral Care, working alongside Kelly Meraw as Director of Pastoral Care and Liturgy and Angela DeProspo as Volunteer and Liturgical Life Coordinator.
William Endicott directs the Collaborative's music ministries; Christian Wilson coordinates the Sunday 5:00pm Youth Music Group. Rachel Sexton directs Family Faith Formation. Jackie Welham serves as Director of Finance and Operations, with Tilde Gigliotti as Business Manager and Sarah Connolly and Donna Tosti as administrative assistants. Tricia Amend Bombara leads Technology and Communications, and George Cronin oversees facilities and property.
Siobhan Mahoney is Principal of Saint John School, with Courtney Sullivan as Director of Enrollment and Advancement.
Supporting the Collaborative Financially
Parishioners can support their parish in several ways. Online giving is available through WeShare for St. John and through ParishSoft for St. Paul, with the option to set up recurring donations using credit or debit cards, bank accounts, Venmo, or PayPal. Text-to-Give is available by texting GIVE to 781-236-7680 for St. John or 781-236-7768 for St. Paul. Online bill pay through a personal bank is also supported. Cash and checks may be placed in the collection at any Mass; loose cash remains with the parish of collection, and checks and envelopes are directed to the parish indicated. Gifts of securities are processed by the Archdiocese of Boston, and instructions for stock or mutual fund donations are available through bostoncatholic.org. Donor advised funds may be directed to either parish by name and tax identification number. For questions, contact Jackie Welham, Director of Finance and Operations.
Becoming Part of the Collaborative
New parishioners are warmly welcomed and may register with either St. John the Evangelist Parish or St. Paul Parish. Worship, formation, and service flow across both, so the practical experience of belonging to the Collaborative is the same whichever parish a family or individual calls home. The Collaborative's livestream, bulletin, calendar, and Mass schedule are all available online, and the parish offices at 39 Washington Street in Wellesley are staffed Monday through Friday during regular office hours.