Our Story
Faith carried across the Pacific, rooted in Boston
Who we are
The Filipino Apostolate of Boston is a lay-led ministry of the Archdiocese of Boston serving Filipino Catholics throughout Greater Boston. We exist so that the traditions our lolos and lolas carried from Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao — the dawn Masses of Simbang Gabi, the Santo Niño novena, the Flores de Mayo procession — continue to be lived out here, together.
Our mission
We gather Filipino Catholics for worship in Filipino and English, form the next generation in the faith of their grandparents, and extend hospitality and material support to newly arrived immigrants, caregivers, seafarers, and elders across the community.
Three decades of gathering
1994
A handful of Filipino families begin meeting for a monthly rosary in a Roxbury living room.
1999
The Archdiocese of Boston formally recognizes the group as the Filipino Apostolate, granting use of Our Lady of Guadalupe Chapel.
2008
The first Simbang Gabi novena draws over 300 attendees across nine dawn Masses.
2016
Youth and young adult ministry launches, led by second-generation Filipino-Americans raised in the apostolate.
Today
Over 200 families from Roxbury, Quincy, Malden, and beyond call the apostolate their spiritual home.
Our chaplain & leadership
The apostolate is guided by Fr. Bienvenido Reyes as chaplain, alongside a lay coordinating council elected every two years from the ministry leads in music, catechesis, outreach, and hospitality.