Two Lynnfield Churches Merge Into One Parish

LYNNFIELD, MA — Lynnfield's two Roman Catholic churches, Saint Maria Goretti on Chestnut Street and Our Lady of the Assumption on Salem Street, merged to become one parish with two worship sites. The name of the new parish is Ave Maria, but both churches retain their individual names.

The merger was planned before the pandemic but church officials said they hope the new arrangement will bring long-term benefits so that the parish will be in a better position to serve its faithful for generations to come.

Father Paul Ritt was the pastor of both Saint Maria Goretti and Our Lady of the Assumption parishes for eight years and is now the pastor of the merged Ave Maria Parish. In April at the height of the pandemic, he discussed the option of a merger with parish council members, the principal of Our Lady of the Assumption School, and many parishioners from both SMG and OLA, and there was overwhelming support to take this step.

With the approval of the Archdiocese of Boston's Cardinal Sean O'Malley, the new, merged was formed. In Cardinal O'Malley's decree, he stated the "need to have a single faith community, capable of more effectively sustaining itself, evangelizing and sharing the resources of the Lynnfield Catholic Community."

The next step was to find a new name for the new parish. Although Saint Maria Goretti and Our Lady of the Assumption churches retained their individual names as worship sites, a new parish name was needed. Parishioners were asked to submit ideas and a parish pastoral council subcommittee was formed to present the top three choices to Cardinal O'Malley, who enthusiastically chose "Ave Maria" as the new name.

This name celebrates the greeting of the Archangel Gabriel to the Blessed Mother at the Annunciation, and incorporates the Latin translation (Maria) of the name Mary, thereby honoring both patronesses of SMG and OLA.

To learn more about Ave Maria parish, visit their website.