Queen of Peace Church was the third Catholic parish to be established in Salem, under the direction of Rev. Joseph E. Vanderbeck, pastor of St. Joseph Church. The land was purchased from the Browning family for $10 and in 1961, Joseph Dodd chaired a committee to raise money for construction of a new parish. Work on the buildings began in 1963.

Queen of Peace was selected as the name of the parish. Queen of Peace is another name for the Blessed Virgin Mary and Salem is derived from the Hebrew word “Shalom” which means peace. The first church was in what is now the gym of our current building. The first sanctuary was on the west wall of the gym, but after Vatican II, the sanctuary moved to the north wall.

On September 3, 1963, Fr. Francis J. Hanley was named the first pastor of Queen of Peace Church and would serve until 1966. The parish consisted of 400 families.

Work also began on a school, parish office, and a convent for the Sisters. Fr. Hanley would use the school office as a rectory until two houses were purchased on Friendship Ave. One house would serve as the rectory for the priest, the other was used as a parish office.

By the early 80’s, Queen of Peace had about 600 families and by the early 90’s that number had grown to 999 families. At this point, it was decided that more space would be needed to accommodate the growth of our parish, so another plan for expansion began. When Fr. George became pastor at Queen of Peace in 1994, a building fund was already established and plans for construction of a new sanctuary, gathering area, and chapel were already underway. The new space was dedicated in October 1997.

Queen of Peace Church and School continue to grow. Another expansion was completed in 2020. Today, Queen of Peace has 1300 families registered. The number of families has more than tripled since the church first opened 60 years ago.

Pastors and associate pastors who have served at Queen of Peace over the last 60 years.