Today we’ve added twelve new volumes to Massachusetts: (Image-Only) Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston Records, 1789-1920 and updated eight volumes from five parishes across the current city of Boston. This update adds over 2,500 new pages to browse. The new and updated parishes include Our Lady of Ostrobrama in Boston’s West End, Our Lady of Victories (Boston), St. Cecilia in Boston’s Back Bay, St. Francis de Sales (Charlestown) and St. Gabriel in Brighton.
Our Lady of Ostrobrama was established in 1916. Parishioners first worshiped at St. Stephen in the North End before buying a church of their own in Boston’s West End. It was a mission of St. Joseph’s church before eventually becoming an independent parish.
Our Lady of Victories was Boston’s first French Canadian parish, established in 1880, and also know as Notre Dame des Victoires. In History of the Archdiocese of Boston in the Various Stages of Its Development 1604-1943, Lord Sexton, and Harrington relate, “By the end of the [Archbishop] Williams era [i.e. 1907], Notre Dame des Victoires was serving twenty thousand French-speaking people, scattered throughout Greater Boston” (Volume 3, 212).
St. Cecilia was established in 1888 in Back Bay. Many of the congregants were Irish immigrants who worked as servants for the wealthy Protestant families who lived in that neighborhood.
St. Francis de Sales was the second Catholic church established in Charlestown (after St. Mary’s). Situated on Bunker Hill, it was dedicated in 1862.
In 1908, the Passionist Fathers established a monastery in Brighton. The monastery evolved to include a parish church called St. Gabriel’s which became an independent parish in 1934.
We’d like to thank volunteers Kim Bonner, Eileen McCarthy, Katie McCarver, Katie McNally, Linda Weaver, Ross Weaver and Bill Wolfendale for their help making this update possible.
If you need help navigating this collection, please consult our how-to video. The new volumes are listed below:
Our Lady of Ostrobrama (Boston) Baptisms and Marriages, 1916-1920
- Link to Baptism Index
- Link to Marriage Index
Our Lady of Ostrobrama (Boston) Baptisms, 1920
St. Cecilia (Boston) Baptisms, 1919-1920
St. Cecilia (Boston) Confirmations, 1901-1920
St. Cecilia (Boston) Marriages, 1911-1919
St. Cecilia (Boston) Marriages, 1919-1920
St. Francis de Sales (Charlestown) Baptisms, 1908-1920
St. Francis de Sales (Charlestown) Marriages, 1908-1920
St. Gabriel (Brighton) Baptisms, 1912-1920
The following volumes have been updated. Previously they were truncated to only display records from before January 1, 1901. Now they are presented on our site through January 1, 1921:
Our Lady of Victories (Boston) Baptisms, 1898-1905
Our Lady of Victories (Boston) Deaths, 1889-1920
Our Lady of Victories (Boston) Marriages, 1899-1911
Our Lady of Victories (Boston) Various, 1880-1920
St. Cecilia (Boston) Baptisms, 1889-1919
St. Cecilia (Boston) Marriages, 1888-1911
St. Francis de Sales (Charlestown) Baptisms, 1893-1908
St. Francis de Sales (Charlestown) Marriages, 1862-1908
Please note: This database is available to all NEHGS members. Learn more about becoming a NEHGS guest member (free).