St Patrick’s Parish

Good church in Stoneham. They have a 12pm mass during the week and some masses on Saturdays and Sundays. On Sunday morning at 10am, there is a family mass. They also offer CCD and have a kids bible camp in the summer. All in all, good church.

We had our wedding here in April, 2007. We chose St. Patrick’s because of a family connection to the parish and their flexibility with the pre-​marriage requirements of the Catholic church. We were living in Michigan at the time but wanted to be married near home. Many churches require you to complete your pre-​Cana classes with them directly, but the folks at St. Patrick’s were willing to allow us to complete the courses in Michigan and provide proof of completion.
The church itself is lovely, and was a beautiful background to our wedding. It was also a good church for wedding photography (lots of options for camera position, side aisles so the photographers could move around without being in the way, etc.). I appreciated the little private room outside the chapel where my dad and I were able to wait comfortably until it was time to walk down the aisle.
The woman at the church who coordinates the wedding activities and led our rehearsal was brusque and bossy, but you know what? She got the job done. The wedding party knew what to do on the day of the wedding, and the rehearsal was completed efficiently. So as much as we joked about how deadly serious she was at the rehearsal, I can’t complain about her effectiveness. She also provided us with very structured options prior to the wedding, so we were able to select songs, readings, and prayers that pulled together into a lovely and coherent Mass.
The musicians hired by the church were also great. We had a family friend provide vocals, and the organist did a nice job rehearsing with her and helping her feel comfortable with the songs.
The one kink in the wedding process was our priest. Shortly after our wedding it was revealed that he had some serious issues (you can look it up, but I don’t feel it’s appropriate to rehash in a review of St. Patrick’s). If I am reviewing my experience with the church accurately, I do have to note that the lack of connection with the priest, his inability to attend the rehearsal, and his strange homily were negatives.
Finally, although I am not a parishoner at this church myself, I have to say that the St. Patrick’s community has been wonderful for my relatives who attend here.

If you are living in Stoneham or in the area close enough, this is the church to attend. I am not just saying that because the parish community speaks for itself. They expanded the church dramatically and it is beautiful. The church; growing up was small, always packed during masses but it was cozy. The church community has grown drastically, and even though they expanded the church itself to triple the size it was, during mass, it is still packed. That is how popular this church is.
They offer a lot of masses throughout the week and there are always events and special masses going on.
I don’t attend mass as often as one should; a lot of us are guilty on that. The community is so welcoming though and to just attend one, you may enjoy it enough to go back. It’s so beautiful inside and new. Lots of details, very large inside and seating is a semi circle around the alter. Give it a try.