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Visit Notre Dame Church -
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One can't help but notice Notre Dame Church majestically watching over the town of Southbridge when driving down Main Street. Built by devoted French-Canadian mill workers and opened in 1916, Notre Dame Church has served as the home of Sunday worship for St. John Paul II Parish since the four parishes of Southbridge merged in 2011.
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Visiting Hours
Notre Dame Church will be welcoming pilgrims daily throughout the 2025 Jubilee.
Self-guided tours are available Monday through Friday from 7am-3pm.
On Saturdays, the church will be open from 10am-5pm. Along with self-guided tours, we invite you to join us for our Rosary for the Unborn at 10am, Confessions at 3pm, and Holy Mass in English at 4pm. The church will close for the day after the 4pm Mass.
On Sundays, the church will be open from 8am-5pm. Holy Mass is celebrated at 8am and 10am in English as well as 12pm in Spanish. If you wish to have a guided tour, they will be available from 2-5pm. If you're coming with a group, please call the parish office at 508-765-3701 to arrange your visit.
We also regularly worship at St. Mary's Church, the oldest Catholic church in Southbridge, just 2 blocks away on Hamilton Street. You're invited to join us at St. Mary's Church for Holy Mass weekdays at 8:45am in English as well as Mondays at 6pm in Spanish for a Mass for the Sick. St. Mary's Church, while not an official pilgrimage church, will also be available for visits from 7am-3pm daily.
Adoration is held in our Sacred Heart Chapel in the Ministry Center on Hamilton St. on Thursdays from 9:30am-6pm.
Have a blessed visit!
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Guide to a Prayerful Visit
Churches have long been designed for the artwork to help the faithful with their devotions and Notre Dame Church is no exception.
Each of the double bronze doors on the exterior of the church depicts the mysteries of the Rosary (at the time the church was built, there were 4 mysteries of the Rosary, so the Luminous mysteries are not represented). On a nice day, you may wish to pray the Rosary using the doors. There are circular medallions bordering the doors to serve as Rosary beads.
Inside the church, we have several shrines. In the front of the church, to the far left of the Sanctuary, is the Shrine to the Blessed Mother. Come offer a flower and a prayer to Our Lady.
Next to the Shrine to the Blessed Mother, is the Tabernacle. Our altar rail is still in place, allowing you to kneel close to Jesus for your prayers.
To the right of the Sanctuary is the baptismal font, with a statue of the Holy Family and the Black Madonna artwork, which came from St. Hedwig Church, one of the parishes that merged to form St. John Paul II Parish.
To the far right of the Sanctuary, is the Shrine to St. Anne, the grandmother to Jesus and our Blessed Mother's mother.
In the back right corner of the church is a shrine to Pope St. Pius X, the pope who lowered the age for First Holy Communion to age 7. This is said to be the first shrine to St. Pius X in the United States.
We also have beautiful Stations of the Cross throughout the church. These paintings were completed by the artist Gonippo Raggi in Italy and transported to the US when Raggi was unable to travel to the US during WWI. Raggi's brother installed the paintings once they arrived.
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