St. Lawrence Martyr Parish
110 Summer Street, New Bedford, Massachusetts Online GivingJoin Our ParishWelcome!
St. Lawrence Martyr is one of three parishes in the Whaling City Catholic Community Collaborative in New Bedford, MA. St. Lawrence Church is an inner-city parish, proud of our diversity, our history, and of our parish school. The mission of St. Lawrence Martyr Parish continues as we are blessed with our patron St. Lawrence’s great example of serving those in need as he did believing that they were the true treasures of the Church. We hope that this website will be an interactive and informative tool of our Parish sacramental and social life and we pray that you will join us as we worship, learn, and grow as a community of faith!
OFFICE HOURS
Mon-Fri 9am – 3pm
(Closed on all major holidays)
CHURCH ADDRESS
565 County Street
New Bedford, MA
(Corner of North St)
RECTORY/MAILING ADDRESS
110 Summer Street
New Bedford, MA 02740
PARISH HISTORY
St. Lawrence Martyr Church was originally established as St. Mary’s Church on the Feast of St Joseph, March 19, 1821 and is the fourth oldest Catholic Church in Massachusetts.
From the pitiful little wooden church mentioned in the diary of Bishop Benedict J. Fenwick of Boston, the congregation erected, to the glory of God, a magnificent granite structure with a bell and a clock tower. The church was designed by architect P.C. Keeley, who also designed St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York. St. Lawrence Martyr is a memorial to the founding members and the generations that have followed who earnestly believed.
The parish established a Catholic Cemetery, three parochial grammar schools, the first Catholic High School, and a Catholic hospital – all of which had been staffed by the Sisters of Mercy. The parish has been the seedbed of many priestly and religious vocations, even to today, as well as the site of a miracle attributed to St. Therese of Lisieux. In 1995 Blessed Teresa of Calcutta visited and worshipped at St. Lawrence. The convent of the Missionary Sisters of Charity is located directly across the street from the church.
The territory originally encompassed in 1821 has been divided many times. St. Lawrence is the mother Church of the Diocese of Fall River. The parish continues as a stronghold of faith, promoting the principles of Catholicism throughout the community. We celebrated our bicentennial celebration in 2021.
On Sunday January 15, 2023 City Councilor Naomi Carney, on behalf of the members of the New Bedford City Council, presented Fr. Michael Racine with a citation for their recognition of St. Lawrence Parish for the 200th Anniversary of the Parish. Fr. Mike read the citation with some very detailed history of St. Lawrence at our 11:30 am Mass at St. Lawrence that same day. Listen here.