Our Lady of Good Voyage, a Roman Catholic chapel founded to serve dockworkers and sailors visiting Boston, is embarking on its maiden journey.
The relic of the waterfront’s nautical heritage will be rebuilt on a new site at the corner of Seaport Boulevard and Sleeper Street.
The chapel opened on Northern Avenue in 1952 to serve cargo ship workers and sailors, as part of a group of chapels serving various vocations built in the Boston archdiocese under Cardinal Richard Cushing.
Since then, the congregation has expanded to include a mix of working-class families and young professionals, Mayor Martin Walsh said.
"There is no more special groundbreaking for all of us in political life to see what this parish means to the South Boston community," Walsh said at a groundbreaking Friday. "It’s a symbol of new merging with the old, and this historic chapel carries the spirit that led to the foundation and creation of this community."
Boston Global Investors and Morgan Stanley acquired the Northern Avenue chapel property in 2006 amid plans for the 23-acre Seaport Square development, which will include 6.3 million square feet of offices, retail space, a theater complex and residences.
A 5,000-square-foot chapel will be rebuilt at the new site and donated to the archdiocese, with a projected December 2015 opening. Cardinal Sean O’Malley was a strong supporter of the church’s continuing presence in the Seaport District, Boston Global Investors CEO John Hynes said.
"I admire the Cardinal’s foresight about how valuable this venture could be for the archdiocese … and for his commitment that the church continue to be a meaningful part of the community," Hynes said.
The new church reflects the spirit of Pope Francis’ call for a "culture of encounter" to combat isolation, O’Malley said.
"We hope the church will be here to find friendship with the Lord and one another and a sense of community," O’Malley said.
Designs for the new chapel contain a variety of nautical elements, including diamond-patterned glass evocative of shipping nets and a wood ceiling resembling an overturned hull.
The new structure was designed by architects ADD/Stantec and will be built by Tishman Construction.
The existing chapel site is slated for construction of a 450,000-square-foot office building which could break ground in early 2016.
