St. Mary of the Angels is a Roman Catholic parish at 377 Walnut Avenue in Roxbury's Egleston Square. Its motto is “The Heart of Egleston Square,” a name grounded in a century of neighborhood worship, bilingual parish life, and direct service. Founded in 1906, the parish is known for Sunday Mass in English and Spanish, formation for children and adults, a food pantry operating since 1974, and sustained organizing around justice and the needs of Egleston Square residents.
A Church Rooted in Egleston Square
St. Mary of the Angels was created in 1906 from an area that had been part of St. Joseph's Parish in Roxbury. Rev. Henry A. Barry was its first pastor, and the first Mass was celebrated at the Egleston Square Car Barn at the corner of Amory Street and Columbus Avenue. Construction of the basement church began in 1907 on the former Schuman Estate. Original plans called for a larger upper church to be built later, but that upper church was never built.
The parish's life changed with the people of Egleston Square. The African American population grew dramatically during the late 1950s and 1960s, while the Hispanic population increased substantially during the 1970s. The first Spanish Mass was celebrated in 1971. In 1974, the parish held its first Via Crucis, a Good Friday procession through the parish streets, and parishioners opened a food pantry. Other activities included youth programs reaching newly arrived Hispanic and Khmer families, an Egleston Square health van, visits to prisons, and trips for high school seniors.
Parishioners also helped reopen the Egleston Square Library in 1984 after an earlier economic downturn had closed it. As crime became more prevalent in the early 1990s, St. Mary of the Angels responded through “Taking Back the Streets,” a program of neighborhood night walks. The parish then joined the cooperative effort “Hands Around Egleston,” bringing together local residents and agencies concerned with the well-being of the area. Those efforts forged ministerial partnerships with Barbara McInnis House, Shattuck Hospital, the Rogerson Complex, and New Academy Housing.
These strands of history give the parish motto a practical meaning. The food pantry, visits to homebound neighbors, neighborhood walks, youth formation, and justice work all keep the identity of St. Mary of the Angels tied to the place it calls home.
Sunday Mass in English and Spanish
Sunday Mass is celebrated at 9:00 a.m. in English and 11:00 a.m. in Spanish at 377 Walnut Avenue. The two languages are a defining part of parish worship, and major feasts bring the congregation together for a bilingual Mass. For families with children, the K-8 religious education class at 10:15 a.m. falls between the two Sunday Masses.
Parishioners describe their goal as living their faith in joyful worship. The liturgies are planned and carried out by a dedicated team of musicians, lectors, Eucharistic ministers, altar servers, greeters, and artists working with the pastor and visiting celebrants. This broad participation gives the English and Spanish Masses a shared communal character while respecting the languages in which people gather.
The parish also has an English choir led by John Rood. Its prayer life extends beyond Sunday worship through retreats, Gospel reflections, the Rosary, Eucharistic Adoration, bilingual adult formation, and a Spanish prayer workshop. These activities make room for worship, conversation, and quiet prayer within one parish life.
The Sacrament of Reconciliation is offered from 3:00 to 4:00 p.m. on Saturdays in the St. Thomas Aquinas chapel as part of the collaborative's shared worship life.
Children Learn in a Bilingual Parish House
Religious education for children in grades K-8 meets at 10:15 a.m. on Sundays from September through June in the parish house. The program is designed for St. Mary of the Angels' bilingual community. Children and young people are taught and supported in their relationship to Jesus and his teachings, with families recognized as the first teachers of their children and welcomed as participants in both classes and liturgies.
Catechists have a distinctive role in this formation. They support the Sunday program, share their faith with children, and prepare for their teaching responsibilities through classes and retreats. The emphasis is not only on classroom learning but on connecting religious education with family life and the worship of the parish.
Sacramental preparation is built around that weekly program. Preparation for First Communion and First Penance generally takes two years and is offered in conjunction with religious education. Confirmation preparation also takes about two years and helps students participate more fully in the Christian life of the parish community. Preparation for Baptism and Holy Matrimony is arranged through consultation with the parish staff.
Adults seeking to become new members of the Catholic Church can receive preparation through the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults. Youth also have a place within the parish's broader formation life, including a youth group and a Youth cluster that helps guide the parish's work. For a bilingual community, this combination of family participation, sacramental continuity, and a place for young people is central to how faith is handed on.
Retreats, Gospel Reflections, and Spanish Prayer
Adult retreats are planned and implemented by parishioners with the support of the Jesuits. They are bilingual in English and Spanish, and each retreat follows a theme associated with the liturgical season. Prayer, discussion, and activities allow participants to consider a theme in depth while experiencing the support and friendship of other parishioners. The retreat program presents spiritual development as something shared rather than carried alone.
Bilingual Evenings of Reflection are held weekly during Advent and Lent. Rooted in the Gospel, these gatherings use listening, prayer, and sharing to consider the words of Pope Francis, Cardinal Sean O'Malley, and other bishops. The reflections connect questions of goodness, love, justice, solidarity, racism, and human dignity with the Christian life of the parish.
The Spanish-language Taller de Oración y Vida offers a 15-week course based on the prayer method of Father Ignacio Larrañaga. It meets on Wednesdays from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. in the parish house. Participants explore the art of prayer through meditation on the Word, intensive prayer, communal reflection, and exercises in silence. The course is offered without charge and is intended to help people deepen their personal relationship with God and their life as disciples.
Friday prayer provides another recurring rhythm, with the Rosary at 6:30 p.m. and Eucharistic Adoration from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. Together, the retreat, reflection, and prayer programs give adults several ways to participate in the spiritual life of St. Mary of the Angels.
The Wednesday Pantry: A Parish Practice Since 1974
St. Mary of the Angels food pantry operates on Wednesday evenings. It provides wholesome, nutritious food obtained through the Greater Boston Food Bank and parishioner donations to parishioners and other residents within the parish boundaries who are in need. The pantry began in 1974, making food access one of the longest-running expressions of the parish's commitment to Egleston Square.
The pantry reflects the relationship between worship and service described throughout the life of St. Mary of the Angels. Food is gathered through institutional and parish channels, then made available to neighbors within the community. What began as a response to local need has become a consistent weekly ministry rather than a one-time collection.
Food access is joined by the parish's fair-trade sales. Coffee, tea, cocoa, nuts, and chocolate bars are offered after Masses and at special events. Purchases support small farmers in places including the Dominican Republic, Mexico, El Salvador, Ethiopia, and Colombia, while a portion of the proceeds supports the Social Justice Cluster's activities. This connects the economic choices of parishioners with both international farming communities and work in Egleston Square.
Taking Justice Into Egleston Square
The Social Justice Cluster seeks to live the faith through the promotion of justice in the neighborhood, the church, and the broader world. Its work extends beyond direct assistance to include education, advocacy, solidarity, and public witness. Parishioners are invited to connect these efforts with daily life as well as with parish meetings and worship.
One major area is racism. Cluster activities have included listening to the life stories of African American parishioners, reading, films, and reflection on white privilege and institutional racism. Workshops on race, culture, and class help participants examine both obvious and less visible expressions of racism. The goal is to challenge racism through personal awareness, parish action, and cooperation with others in the community.
Immigration is another central concern. Working with neighbors and interfaith groups, the parish has explored steps to welcome, understand, and protect immigrants in its midst. Advocacy and solidarity include collaboration with community organizations, participation in rallies and meetings, prayer services, and concrete discussion of legislative proposals. Outreach also takes the form of neighborhood events and gatherings at the church, parish house, and front yard.
Neighborhood walks and peace vigils have allowed parishioners to walk through the area, speak with neighbors, and stand with a community sometimes threatened by violence and fear. Vigils have taken place near Walnut and Columbus Streets, with prayer, flags, and posters affirming the resources and life of Egleston Square. These actions have also joined the wider work of the Mothers' Walk for Peace.
Workshops and speakers address worker rights, refugees and immigration, racism, and housing. The cluster also functions as a clearinghouse for new service and advocacy opportunities, helping the parish identify priorities and coordinate responses. Participation in the Archdiocesan Social Justice Convocation allows the small parish to share its experiences and hear the stories of other Catholic communities working on similar concerns.
Earlier justice efforts included a film and discussion connecting immigration with U.S. economic policies, support for a minimum-wage and earned-sick-time ballot initiative, and a prayer vigil outside the Suffolk County House of Correction in solidarity with immigration detainees. These efforts reflect the same neighborhood-centered approach that shaped “Taking Back the Streets” and “Hands Around Egleston.”
Care for Neighbors Who Cannot Come to Mass
Pastoral care at St. Mary of the Angels includes visits and transportation for sick, elderly, and homebound parishioners who cannot easily attend Mass or take part in the active life of the parish. Volunteers bring the Eucharist, respond to other sacramental needs such as the anointing of the sick, and offer presence, prayer, love, and support to neighbors facing sickness or the limitations of aging.
The parish's bereavement ministry is similarly practical. Bereaved families are accompanied with care and compassion. Volunteers assist with coordination, setup, and cleanup for funerals and funeral receptions, and they offer family grief support. In this ministry, the responsibilities of the parish extend beyond the celebration of a funeral to the care of those who are grieving.
Lay Leadership, Transparency, and Shared Stewardship
Pastoral leadership includes Pastor Rev. Carlos Flor and Parochial Vicar Rev. Andrea Povero. The parish's formation team includes Religious Education Coordinators Luzdary Pelaez and Shauna Townsend, while John Rood leads the English choir. Fr. Ken Hughes, SJ, has also authored many of the parish homilies.
The Parish Coordinating Council is a 14-member body with nine members selected at large and one representative from each of five working clusters: Liturgy, Spirituality, Social Justice, Youth, and Finance. It meets monthly to plan and review parish activities, while subcommittees handle specific work. The council advises the pastor and staff about the day-to-day life of the parish and helps shape its future direction.
The Finance Council works with pastoral and administrative leadership to develop the annual budget, set financial policy, plan fundraisers, and keep parishioners informed about parish finances. Transparency is central to this work. Financial health is reviewed quarterly, parishioners help count the weekly offertory, and fundraising has included a bazaar, raffle, and hymnal bookplates. Even as a small and relatively poor parish, St. Mary of the Angels has not required a financial subsidy from the Archdiocese for more than 30 years. A Saturday cleaning group also contributes regular hands-on care for parish buildings and grounds.
A Shared Family of Faith
St. Mary of the Angels shares clergy and ministries with St. Thomas Aquinas and Our Lady of Lourdes in a three-parish collaborative serving Roxbury and Jamaica Plain. Its collaborative vision describes the three parishes as “salt, light, and leaven” in their communities. As one large family of faith, they seek to celebrate diversity in unity, help vocations flourish, and make worship reverent, joyful, and prayerful so that faith shapes every part of life.
That shared identity is reflected in the homilies from Fr. Ken Hughes, SJ, along with earlier homilies by Fr. Francis Herrmann, SJ. Parish videos and online Mass are also shared through the collaborative's YouTube channel.
The collaborative rectory is at 97 South Street, Jamaica Plain, with office hours from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Monday through Thursday at St. Thomas Aquinas Church. The telephone number is 617-524-0240 and the fax number is 617-524-1840. The mailing address for the three parishes is 97 South Street, Jamaica Plain, MA 02130, and parishioner gifts can be made through online giving. At 377 Walnut Avenue, St. Mary of the Angels continues to gather English- and Spanish-speaking Catholics in worship, form children and adults in faith, feed neighbors, and bring the concerns of Egleston Square into prayer and public action.