Above: Rev. John Ronaghan, pictured in his rectory home on Monday. Seth Daniel photo
Coming full circle is an understatement for about the life Rev. John Ronaghan, the pastor of St. Teresa of Calcutta Parish in Dorchester – a congregation he grew up in during the 1950s and 1960s when it was known as St. Margaret’s Parish.
With Holy Week underway and preparations for Good Friday and Easter in full swing, the 75-year-old Ronaghan reflected on the joy of celebrating his eighth Holy Week in his home parish, which is a rarity for Catholic priests.
“I’m happy to be here,” he said from his home in the rectory at St. Christopher’s Church at Columbia Point, which was absorbed into St. Teresa’s parish in 2021. “It’s a blessing. I’ve had great assignments in my career – I loved Wollaston and others, but I’m happy to be here where I started. I don’t know if it’s because I’m from here, things have definitely changed since I was growing up, but it’s still here.”
It’s uncommon for a Catholic priest to serve at home, but Ronaghan said he was asked to return because the archdiocese needed someone familiar with the area. Having grown up there and served two previous assignments in Dorchester, he said, “I guess I fit the bill.”
“I think there are very few of us who have done that,” he said. “I think there are two of us I know of, and I’m one of them.”
Ronaghan arrived home in 2018 to preside at St. Margaret’s Church at St. Teresa of Calcutta Parish. The youngest of three siblings – the baby of the family by almost 17 years – he grew up on Howell Street off Boston Street at a time when there were just three Irish families in a sea of Polish folks within the Triangle.
His family had left Ireland for Canada’s Prince Edward Island (PEI) before moving to Boston, making him a first generation American.
Father Ronaghan welcomed a large crowd to the Mary Ann Brett Food Pantry St. Patrick’s Day Breakfast on March 14, 2026 in the parish hall. Seth Daniel photo
He grew up in the parish at a time when most attended St. Margaret’s (K-8) School – now Saint John Paul Academy Columbia Campus – and a few went to the William E. Russell Elementary on Columbia Road.
Girls in the neighborhood went on to Monsignor Ryan High School on Boston Street, and the boys would go to Boston College High School, Cathedral High School, or, like Ronaghan, Gate of Heaven High School in South Boston, Class of 1968.
In those days, he said, “Everything was centered on the parish, and St. Margaret’s was no exception,” he said. “On St. Margaret’s Street alone, just about every home had a Sister of Charity in the community…In 126 years, the parish has had more than 200 women who entered the Sisters of Charity of Halifax or some other community, and 53 men who become priests.”
Ronaghan said he knew he wanted to be a priest in high school. After a short period of teaching, he entered the seminary and was ordained in 1980 – the same class as his long-time friend and fellow Dorchester priest, Pastor Jack Ahern of St. Gregory’s Parish. He credits the devotion of his parents, and the Sisters of Charity of Halifax, who ran St. Margaret’s School, for nudging him toward a life of serving God.
After stints in Brockton and Norwood, he came back to Dorchester in 1984 to serve at St. Mark Parish on Dorchester Avenue. At the time, waves of Irish young men were flooding into the area, many of them undocumented and facing hardship. He recalls being summoned to say Mass at a home on Florida Street that was teeming with young Irishmen who couldn’t leave to go to church.
That’s where he conceived the idea of forming the Irish Pastoral Centre (IPC), which recently celebrated its 40th year of offering relief and services to the immigrant community.
“So, I was the founder of the IPC and Father Dan Finn was my assistant, which is ironic because I was the American priest and he was the Irish priest…It was only supposed to be in place for five years, but it just hit 40 years.”
Ronaghan was also chaplain at the now-closed Carney Hospital on Dorchester Avenue for three years, which he described as a “wonderful place to be,” before going on to serve in Melrose, Wollaston, and Randolph, before coming back to his home parish.
Now, many of the parishioners he sees during Mass are childhood friends, such as Jim Brett, who was in his grammar school class. There’s also Ronaghan’s pastoral associate, Sister Marianne, who also grew up in the neighborhood.
“She was about eight years behind me, and I had heard of her, but I knew her brother pretty well, and he also became a priest,” he said.
As he walks the corridors of the school, he often recalls olden times, such as that day in second grade when he messed up the all-important ‘May Procession’ by going the wrong direction with the wrong colored cape.
He remembers being an altar boy and has fond memories of the wonderful shows and plays put on at the church and school. And, he noted, “When I was a kid I worked at the Polish travel agency, which is now the Baltic Bakery on Dorchester Avenue,” he said, laughing.
The parish has changed dramatically, starting with the name change, but also with St. Christopher’s, St. William’s and part of St. Kevin’s parishes absorbed.
“When I came back, it was about 30 percent of the original people I knew still here,” he said. “I would say it’s 15 percent now. While we have the remainder of some families, because of the proximity to UMass Boston and other areas, we have young families moving in and different immigrant groups. What used to be 90 percent Irish and 3 percent Italian and the rest a mix – now we have five different language groups.”
Ronaghan benefits from the help of Father Nicanor, who is originally from Venezuela and helps with the vibrant Spanish-speaking congregation at St. Christopher’s, and a large number of Vietnamese who have made St. Margaret’s Church their home – thankfully, said Ronaghan.
“It’s good because you build on the past,” he said. “The parish has been here 126 years and there’s always been stability.”
The differences between his youth and today, he said, will be on full display during Holy Week and Easter. Whereas the Roman Catholic teachings have not changed, the worshipers in the pews have.
“Now we try to be more inclusive in our liturgies,” he said. “On Holy Thursday and Holy Saturday, our readings will be recited in English, Spanish, and Vietnamese. And we’ll have five or six members of the Hispanic community who will become Catholic Christians at the Easter Vigil.”
Indeed, coming full circle, Father Ronaghan has found welcome change in a very familiar place.
