ABOUT US
Our Lady Queen of Martyrs in Seekonk, Massachusetts is a Roman Catholic Parish of the Diocese of Fall River,
serving portions of Attleboro, North Seekonk, and North Rehoboth.
The Parish was established in 2010 with the merger of the former
St. Mary's Parish of Seekonk and St. Stephen's Parish of Attleboro.
St. Stephen's Cemetery in the Dodgeville section of Attleboro is
administered by Our Lady Queen of Martyrs Parish.
STAFF
Reverend Thomas L. Rita, Pastor
Jim Souza and Karen Bergeron, Religious Education
Dianne Blais, Administrative Assistant
Joan Connell, Administrative Assistant
OFFICES
Our Lady Queen of Martyrs Parish Office and Rectory
St. Stephen's Cemetery Office
385 Central Avenue
Seekonk, MA 02771
508-399-8440
Fax: 508-399-7398
olqmseekonk@comcast.net
Religious Education Office
Our Lady Queen of Martyrs Parish Center
385 Central Avenue
Seekonk, MA 02771
508-399-7534
Directions
Our Lady Queen of Martyrs Church
Coyle Drive
Seekonk, MA
Coyle Drive is just off Route 152 in North Seekonk
From Downtown Attleboro: East on Route 152, 4.2 miles on your left
From the Mass./RI line: West on Route 152, 4.6 miles on your right
Parish Center, Rectory, Parish and Cemetery Offices
385 Central Avenue (Route 152)
Seekonk, MA
From Downtown Attleboro: East on Route 152, 4.4 miles on your left
From the Mass./RI line: West on Route 152, 4.4 miles on your right
St. Stephen's Cemetery
683 South Main Street (Route 152)
Attleboro, MA
From Downtown Attleboro: East on Route 152, 2.6 miles on your right
From Out Lady Queen of Martyrs Church: West on Route 152, 1.8 miles on your left
PARISH HISTORY
Our Lady Queen of Martyrs Parish was established by Bishop George Coleman in May of 2010 to serve the
Catholic families, primarily in North Seekonk, North Rehoboth and the southeast side of the City of Attleboro.
At the time of its founding, the parish had slightly more than 2000 families. The founding pastor was the
Reverend Thomas L. Rita, who previously served as pastor of St. Mary's in North Seekonk.
The new parish was founded following several years of pastoral planning to determine how to best serve the
people of the area in light of the shifting demographics and other circumstances in the diocese including a
declining number of available priests.
A task force pf parishioners and the priests of the former St. Stephen's Parish in Attleboro and
St. Mary's Parish in North Seekonk recommended the closing of those two parishes and establishment
of a new parish. The parish name was chosen by Bishop Coleman following a formal suggestion process
among parishioners. The dedication to Our Lady Queen of Martyrs connects the parish to the former
parishes through Mary (Our Lady) and Stephen (the first Martyr).
St. Mary's and St. Stephen's parishes had a shared history extending back for more than 100 years.
St. Mary's was founded in 1906 by the Rev. Samuel Patrick McGee who had been the first full-time
pastor of St. Stephen's parish since 1885. St. Mary's originally served English speaking Catholics, while
St. Stephen's served the French speaking Catholics of the area.
St. Stephen's Cemetery is located on land originally donated to the Catholic Mill workers in 1872 by the
Hebronville Manufacturing Company with the stipulation that it be used for a church and burial ground.
The current church building for Our Lady Queen of Martyrs opened as St. Mary's Church in 1957. The
church replaced a smaller church just over the town line in Attleboro which had served the area for 50 years.
The Parish Center was added in the 1960's, followed by the adjacent Rectory in 1987.