The Paulist Center

The most warm and welcoming Catholic church I’ve found in Boston. It’s intimate feel creates a beautiful sense of community whether or not it is your first visit. Uplifting music and everyone is so so nice. Great place to attend mass if you are in town for the weekend or you live in the area and are looking for a refreshing service.

It’s odd to write a review of a church since religious experience varies from person to person. This church is technically the chapel of the Paulist Fathers, an order of priests founded by Fr. Isaac Hecker in the 19^th century as the first American order of priests. They have a mission of living out the Gospel message within a uniquely American context. The congregation comes from everywhere — most people travel from outside the immediate neighborhood, so it’s an «intentional» community.
The Paulist Center is a beehive of activity; there are programs and services happening every day of the week: food distribution, the Wednesday Night Supper Club, the weekly Breakfast; adult education programs, concerts, films, Marriage Prep, etc.
Weekend Masses include the relatively quieter 5:00 Saturday, the lively Sunday 10:00 am that many families attend due to the religious education program, 12:00 and 6:00 pm which each have engaging, well played music as well. The homilies are solid, Scripture-​based and speak to modern people, and the congregation participates fully, welcoming all — stranger and friend. The music is contemporary and familiar, with about 10% traditional hymns played mainly on piano and guitars, along with flutes, cello and some percussion. We have excellent, dedicated volunteers in all of the ministries.
There’s a wonderful mix of people here from every background and life experience. We strive to be a welcoming community. I’m glad to have found this place!
To learn more about the Paulist Fathers see:
and visit the Paulist Center website for more information.

Wonderful experience with our Pre Cana (marriage course). Would recommend to anyone. We had a great time and although my fiancée is not particularly religious — he felt welcomed and never felt uncomfortable!

I went here for a concert that a friend was performing in. It was a really great venue for a piano/​vocal performance. There was amble seating and the acoustics were also really great for the occasion. There was also an area downstairs from the venue in which a reception was held with the vocalist and pianist. And you couldn’t ask for a better location right downtown across from Boston Common.

I used to come here as a kid, my mum calls herself a «lapsed catholic» but we used to come here pretty often, as I recall. It’s a beautiful building and the people that we met there were really nice and welcoming. We moved around a lot in the state when I was little, so I didn’t go back here until a few years ago — I rarely go to services, but kind of missed this place, so I went back on a sunday. It was nice.

Perfect place to attend mass if you’re visting Boston as it is directly next to the Boston Commons.
As posted on the website, mass times are as follows:
Weekdays: 7:55a.m. and 12:05p.m.
Saturday: 6:00p.m.
Sunday: 10:00a.m. 12: p.m. and 6:00p.m.
Enjoy this small, welcoming church community.

Went there for pre-​cana. It’s the place to go for all soon-​to-​be married couples. We started at 9:30 in the morning and ended at 2pm (including an hour for lunch). No «you have to go every Thursday and Saturday for 2 hours for 5 weeks.» This was just one day. They’re realistic about things which is a nice refreshing change. They understand that people have — most likely — discussed all this before and it’s nothing new (like it might have been for couples 20 years ago). Everyone needs to do their pre-​cana at the Paulist Center!

The Paulist Center is a pretty fancy church. Considering it’s situated in Beacon Hill, I’m sure they get awesome support from the local community. I went to the Paulist Center while I was in college. The masses aren’t traditional and Lauren was right about the modern (I’m not a huge fan of their crucifix). There aren’t any kneelers or mass books. They display the creed and the songs on the front wall of the chapel. which I find interesting and helpful. That way people aren’t rifling through the prayer books and they’re kind of forced to pay attention. Occasionally someone from the parish will give the homily instead of the priest. which is different but not necessarily bad. The musicians are great. I feel like they brought in a different new instrument each time I went to mass. The music is also a mix of modern and traditional. Wednesdays they have like a type of supper club/​reach out to the homeless night that is sponsored primarily by Project Bread (ie Walk for Hunger)… along with a bunch of other groups. They’ve also held music concerts which were pretty enjoyable. Hmm. what else. they use «real» bread instead of wafers for communion. and everyone pretty much joins hands during the Our Father. Something that I really admire, is that they pick a different charity every week (or at least they used to) and donate a part of the proceeds from the collection.
Strange «celebrity sightings» (not personal). John Kerry and Joe Torre and his family.

As a musician at the Paulist Center (I play woodwinds and harp, as well as piano), I have to say that this is a wonderfully warm community of people, incredibly inclusive of all, and actually dedicated to the social justice messages of the Gospel.

I apologize but I disagree completely with Mike! Growing up I went to many different churches of different faiths, even though I was Catholic, because we moved often. Living right around the corner my husband and I thought that we would try the Paulist Center. We fell in love with it the first day. This is the best church I have been to in my life. It appears that Mike has never been IN the Paulist Center! It is a very modern catholic chapel in their ideals, décor, and the technology. We attend the Sunday 6:00 mass which is the most moving! The music is amazing and EVERYONE sings! There is always at least 4 singers and about the same number of instruments that get played at any given mass. This chapel is amazing and beautiful in so many ways! If you ever happen to find yourself in the area during one of the mass times please stop in to experience for yourself.