When The Saints Come Marching In

In Boston's North End, in a little alley tucked away just out of street view, hundreds of saints make their home, piled on top of each other, adorned with flowers and colors as far as the eye can see. The Virgin Mary’s Mexican counterpart, Our Lady of Guadalupe, shines her gentle smile above St. Joseph and St. Francis, each making unending eye contact with visitors down below.

This is All Saint’s Way, the folk shrine turned bohemian love child of longtime North End resident Peter Baldassari, who founded Boston’s arguably most unique attraction nearly 25 years ago.

What began as holy cards of Roman Catholic saints collected by Baldassari as a child has now become a sprawling display of community folk art. Scores of saints from all ages and all over the world adorn the walls of the little brick alleyway on Battery Street, just off the main drag of Hanover Street in the North End neighborhood of Boston. It is one of the most traditional oldschool Catholic enclaves left in a city teeming with youth.

Baldassari can often be found just inside the black gated entrance to All Saint’s Way. He especially loves telling the stories of the saints on his walls; chances are, if you can spot it, Baldassari has got the facts behind it.

Jacob Sifuentes (CAS ’19) recalled meeting Baldassari with his family the summer before his freshman year at Boston University.

“Every time you see him, he’s just as excited to see you,” Sifuentes said. “And the alley itself is so beautiful. You can get lost in all the portraits if you’re not careful.”

Now a junior, he makes sure to stop by the shrine every time he’s in the North End, to catch a glimpse of the saints and maybe even Baldassari himself.

Baldassari would be smart to be careful; with the neighborhood becoming a deeply coveted real estate epicenter, the Way is a rare example of pure North End spirit. Now nearly 70 years old, Baldassari is not only a neighborhood icon, but a symbol of the clash between the antiquity of the richly storied and deeply Catholic area and the highly valuable property market that draws more and more out-of-towners every year.

Nevertheless, he is determined to keep All Saint’s Way open to locals and tourists. Baldassari is tireless in every sense of the word and does his best to keep the Way in top quality condition. He even changes the decorations surrounding the portraits and frames a new patron saint as the holidays come and go; stop by around Halloween and you’ll find light up skulls and merry jack-o-lanterns decorating the somber saints staring down.

by Sarah Cristine Burrola illustration and design by Samantha West