Saint Anselm Catholic Church

My name is Joseph Canavan and I was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Boston on May 23,1970. I have spent many years working with Hispanic and English populations in Woburn, Haverhill, Lynn and Cambridge. For a couple of years I also worked with Cambodian refugees in Lawrence and Lowell. In my last assignment I was the pastor of St. Mary’s Parish in Cambridge for 5 years. I asked for and was granted a year’s leave of absence in 2004 and I moved in with my sister in Tupelo, MS and worked as a counselor in a state hospital. Before I was able to return to Boston In 2005, my mother at the age of 89, a serious accident and she was forced to sell her house. She, too, moved to Mississippi since my sister and I were both living there. We moved to Florida in 2011. I had the blessing of taking care of her until her death at 103 in January 2020. I attempted to work part time as a priest in Mississippi and Florida but I was told that wasn’t possible until I returned to Boston and could participate in a four month refresher course at Pope John XXIII Seminary. I was not willing to put my mother in a nursing home since I could and wanted to care for her, so I had to wait.
I did attend Pope John XXIII from January to May of this year. As you can imagine, my return was delayed for almost a year due to the pandemic. However, I am now here and even after a few days, I consider myself to be the luckiest priest in the Archdiocese. This community has endured many challenges but rather than succumb to them, you have grown stronger. I am indeed honored to be a part of all that this community represents.

Hello- I am Lee, and I want to thank you for your warm welcome!  I am happy to introduce myself as the Pastoral Assistant for St. Anselm’s Church.  I am originally from RI and I graduated from Assumption College, now University.  

For the last ten plus years, it has been a sweet blessing to have served and worked in Youth Ministry and Faith Formation in the Diocese of Worcester.  I am thankful for this special call now to be present, serve, and teach through pastoral care work and in Faith Formation here at St. Anselm’s Church in the Archdiocese of Boston.  

Please know that I look forward to journeying with you as I begin this position in mid-July, and I  invite you to join this special journey with me to share faith and life together.  In addition to Ministry work, I enjoy reading, art, music, and nature as well as spending time with God, and my dear family and friends.  It is a blessing to have met some of you already, and I look forward to meeting more of you in the coming weeks!