Pilgrimage: Sacred Spaces in New Hampshire

Join us as we travel across New Hampshire to pray, tour, and celebrate our Catholic faith in three hidden gems of our diocese: Saint Joseph Cathedral (Manchester), and the churches of Ste Marie (Manchester) and St Anne (Berlin). Learn more about the origins and history of our Catholic faith in NH. You needn’t travel far to experience the wonder and awe of beautiful architecture, exquisite sacred art, and breathtaking interiors of these three sacred spaces.

For more information and to register, please view the itinerary and registration form. A signed waiver form is also necessary to attend.

Learn more about the churches:

Saint Joseph Cathedral

Completed in 1869 after only two years of construction, Saint Joseph Church was designed as a Victorian Gothic church and built mostly by parishioners who worked in the mill yard by day. When the Diocese of Manchester was formed in 1884, Saint Joseph was selected as the Cathedral. As Manchester grew in the 19th Century, so did the needs of the Cathedral, which was expanded significantly in 1892. It has undergone multiple renovations since then, the most recent one concluding last year.

Read more about the history of Saint Joseph Cathedral.

Ste Marie Parish Church

Founded in 1880 to serve the growing Québécois population emigrating to the United States, the first Ste Marie Parish church burned down in 1890. The church that stands there now was completed in 1899. It was purposely designed and built to be visible from the Manchester mill yard across the Merrimack River. Many of its surrounding urban institutions, including Notre Dame Hospital (now Catholic Medical Center) and St Mary's Bank (the nation's first credit union), were established to support the large Catholic community, with Ste Marie Parish leading the way.

Read more about the history of Ste Marie Parish Church.

St Anne Church

St Anne Church was Berlin's first Roman Catholic parish, founded in 1867. The original wood-framed building was moved in 1899 to become the parish school, and the current church was designed (and construction began) the next year. Berlin, similar to Manchester, was a mill city; furthermore, like Ste Marie Parish, it served a French-Canadian Catholic population and has a predominantly brick exterior, although the interiors of the churches differ greatly.

St Anne Church was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.