About Our Parish

About Our Parish

Deeply committed to Jesus Christ and the teachings of the Church He founded, we endeavor to be a multi-cultural faith community. With a deep devotion to Our Lady, we strive to be a warm and caring parish in which the gifts and talents of all, young and old, are recognized and graciously used to nourish others.

In 1964, as a result of an influx of immigrants from Portugal, who were facing social and religious problems acclamating to a new society and who are accustomed to seek guidance through their spiritual leader, sought to form a Portuguese Catholic Mission led by a pastor who spoke the same language.

On the 6th day of January 1965, the Portuguese Catholic Mission of Peabody was founded to be led by a Pastor of Portuguese ancestry - Reverend Charles Medeiros Saudade.

From the beginning, Father Saudade and the Portuguese speaking community had a dream - to build a house of worship in the heart of their community. For that purpose, fund raising committees were formed. Its members, with unsurpassed dedication and determination, sacrificed all of their intellectual and physical capabilities to realize their dream.

On the 2nd of April 1975, with the construction in great progress and its completion in sight, unexpectedly, death struck, taking the physical life of the beloved Father Saudade, before he could rejoice in the company of his flock, in the realization of the dream he so much loved.

The hopes to finalize the construction of the church were rejuvenated on the 1st day of May 1975 with the news that the community was going to have a Portuguese priest to continue its dream. The Reverend Jose da Silva Ferreira. Also, most rewarding, this new and young Pastor seemed to have inherited the dream and hopes of his predecessor and without delay encouraged and continued the hard struggle to conclude the construction of the church.

Finally, on the 11th day of October 1975, the dream came true with solemn dedication of the "Our Lady of Fatima Church," erected by the Portuguese Community of Peabody. Hopefully, to last centuries in this land of America, this historic landmark would remind future generations of the unshakable faith of the Portuguese immigrant.

Father Ferreira with his great vision and boundless energy and devotion seemed the perfect Pastor to lead the faith community of Our Lady of Fatima during its transition from a mission to parish. He did so until the 3rd of July 1981.

The parishioners of Our Lady of Fatima Church have been blessed with the following priests who have served with great love and devotion:

Reverend Antonio Medeiros: July 4th, 1981 - October 1st, 1996. (Pastor)

Reverend Aristide Zacharias Arruda: Advent season of 1988 - October 1st, 1996. (Vicar)

Reverend John Mendonça: October 1st, 1996 - 2003. (Pastor)

Reverend Albert Sylvia: 2003 - July 31st, 2008. (Pastor)

Reverend Richard T. Burton August 1st, 2008 - April 11th, 2010. (Administrator)

Reverend Christopher Gomes: April 12th, 2010 - present day. (Pastor)