New Bedford Hosted the First Portuguese

New Bedford can claim the first Portuguese-American Catholic parish in the United States. Unfortunately the church, St. John the Baptist, is no longer in business.

St. John the Baptist parish was founded in 1871 to serve the Portuguese community. The parish was the second established in New Bedford under the Roman Catholic Diocese of Fall River.

NewBedfordHistory.com says, "New Bedford was one of the pioneer places in New England in the Catholic faith, as early as 1820 having established St. Mary's Church on Allen Street."

The first St. John the Baptist Church was dedicated in 1875 but destroyed by fire in 1908. The present church building at 344 County Street was built in 1913 by a Boston architect named Matthew Sullivan.

With a decline in immigration from Portugal, the migration of Portuguese Americas away from the city and into the suburbs, the clergy sex abuse scandal, and other factors contributing to a decline in parishioners, the Diocese closed St. John the Baptist Church in November 2012.

Father Jack Oliveira celebrated the final mass at St. John the Baptist Church in Portuguese and English.

The high cost of maintaining the church was another factor in determining the fate of the historic church. The Diocese reported steep debt and a need for $1.5 million dollars for repairs to the church.

Then Bishop George Coleman said, "I can imagine how difficult will be for some. We grow attached to communities and churches."

The St. John the Baptist parish merged with Our Lady of Mount Carmel parish in 2012.