St. Peter’s Church

82 Federal Street

Built with funds raised by the Italian community, St. Peter’s Church was dedicated in 1929 to unify the community and replace an earlier chapel built in 1911. The women’s Sacred Heart Sodality meet once a month and have raised funds at an annual Christmas bazaar and at a summer bazaar celebrating St. Rocco and the Blessed Mother, whose statues were carried through the street. The church continues to hold street bazaars at different times of the year. Women serve as Eucharistic ministers, music leaders, and readers at Sunday Mass. A representative member of the Munjoy Hill Italian community, Josephine Capelluti, described St. Peter’s as the “backbone of the community.” A cook for 20 years at the Italian Heritage Center on Westland Avenue, where she was also a board member, Capelluti learned to cook from the first generation women from Italy. She especially enjoyed the summer bazaar, where the women of the church made and sold 4,000 cookies.