About us
Who We Are
We are the New Roads Catholic Community...
  • A community of two parishes, St. Joseph and St. Luke in Belmont, MA, that work together to offer experiences of worship, welcome, and conversation through which you can encounter God and grow in your relationship with God 
  • A family that welcomes all who search for God, that will meet you where you are and help you take your next steps in developing a relationship with God, whether you are 5, 15, 25, or 105
  • A spiritual home for those who do not currently practice the Catholic faith; for those who have questions, struggles, and doubts; and for all people who are looking for a sense of meaning and belonging 
What We Believe
We believe that...
  • True joy and fulfillment are found in knowing and following Christ (and we want to share that joy and fulfillment with as many people as possible!) 
  • We are called to share God’s love in bold, creative, and exciting ways (and we choose to do that even when it means facing our fears and getting out of our comfort zones!) 
  • It is up to us to build God’s Kingdom of justice and peace (and we find strength and power for this work in community, especially when we celebrate the Eucharist together!)
What We Offer
An invitation to encounter Christ and grow as his disciple, no matter where you are on the journey, through...
  • Meaningful worship experiences, including a relevant message, inspiring music, and radical hospitality
  • A fresh, modern approach to preparing for and celebrating the sacraments
  • Dedicated children’s worship experiences (Kids' Church) for children ages two and up
  • Small groups for teens, young adults, and older adults--a place to grow, learn, share, and support one another
  • Weekly email to help you connect your faith to your life and take your next steps as disciples
  • Two worship sites and four weekend Mass times, as well as three weekday Masses and a mid-week opportunity for silent prayer
  • A safe place to ask questions and explore the Catholic faith

A Brief History of New Roads

In 2012, under the leadership of Cardinal Seán O’Malley, the Archdiocese of Boston entered into a new Pastoral Plan called Disciples in Mission. Under this plan, parishes were grouped together into collaboratives sharing one pastor, one pastoral staff team, one pastoral council, and one pastoral plan, while maintaining their own identity and finances. Disciples in Mission is a response to the undeniable reality in St. Joseph and St. Luke parishes, parishes throughout Boston, and parishes around the country, which have been experiencing a decades-long decline in the number of priests, the number of lay ecclesial ministers, the amount of money raised, and the number of people coming to Mass. In recognition of this reality, the goal of Disciples in Mission is to “revitalize the Church in Boston by positioning our parishes more solidly for the task of evangelization, the work of reaching out to our brothers and sisters and drawing them more fully to Christ Jesus.”

On July 1, 2013, the collaborative of St. Joseph and St. Luke parishes was officially formed and inaugurated as one of the first 13 collaboratives in Phase 1 of Disciples in Mission. In 2014, the collaborative adopted the name “New Roads Catholic Community,” drawn from the words of Pope Francis in one of his first interviews after becoming Pope: “Instead of being just a church that welcomes and receives by keeping the doors open, let us try also to be a church that finds new roads, that is able to step outside itself and go to those who do not attend Mass, to those who have quit or are indifferent. The ones who quit sometimes do it for reasons that, if properly understood and assessed, can lead to a return. But that takes audacity and courage.”

The need to reach those who have “quit or are indifferent” is a driving force in the mission of New Roads, which is to create new roads to connect people to God. The vision of New Roads to be a growing community of people, growing in relationship with God, and reaching out to friends and neighbors. In the surrounding local communities of Belmont, Watertown, and Waltham, there are hundreds and thousands of people who don’t have a relationship with God and have drifted away from the church. All too often, churches have introduced people to religion that is devoid of a relationship with God. Relatedly, so many people have experienced church as something that is unengaging and irrelevant to their lives. It is New Roads’ vision to solve that problem, and to be bold and creative in our approach.

Certainly this shift in focus involves (and will continue to involve) change for St. Joseph and St. Luke parishes, corporately as a church and individually as disciples. As New Roads moves forward with a renewed focus on evangelization and discipleship, the future of our church may well be determined by the “audacity and courage” Pope Francis said this journey would require.