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 We as the parish of Saint John the Baptist began as a
dream. The dream became a mission to build a Roman Catholic Church for Riverside Catholics. On July 10, 1947, a
group of twelve people met to discuss the establishment of a Catholic parish in the Riverside section of Haverhill, Massachusetts.
The meeting focused on the necessity of raising funds. Under the guidance and leadership of the
committee and Rev. Frederick J. Mulrey, Pastor of Saint James Parish, their efforts were not in vain; but the struggle ahead
required many sacrifices and prayers.
Almost eight years later, in
June of 1955, an important event occurred in the parish history. Father Mulrey informed the committee that
Father James P. Ryan, a Haverhill native, was assigned by the Archdiocese of Boston to be our first Pastor. Father
Ryan was directed to establish a parish and build a church in Riverside. Through the efforts of Father
Ryan and many others the first of three Masses was celebrated by parishioners, in the Haverhill stadium, on July 11, 1955.
Well over a thousand people attended these services. Because of the dreams
of those special people, today we are a thriving parish with over 600 families. Many of
us have been baptized, received first penance, Holy Communion, confirmation, been married, and attended funerals at Saint
John the Baptist church.
On June 26, 2005 we were blessed to begin celebrating
our fiftieth anniversary as a parish, due to the insight, dedication, and leadership of our founding members. During
our latest rebirth as a parish, we have reestablished the parish council, finance committee and reactivated many of our past
programs. Added to our food pantry, coffee hours, spaghetti or ham and bean suppers and the Tree of Need,
have been the traditional May crowning, Lenten services including the Washing of the Feet and Stations of the Cross, and enhanced
children’s and adult’s choirs, and a newly renovated church hall. One of our programs, the
Tree of Need, has been successfully running for over twenty years and annually collects and distributes over 400 presents
to five local agencies. Our monthly food pantry aids in feeding many of our community’s less fortunate.
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