In 1860 there were about fifty Catholic families scattered throughout the area of Chelmsford, thirty of whom resided in the North Section. There were no convenient means of travel in those days; a few drove but many trudged eight, ten or even more miles to attend Mass and perform their other religious duties at St. Patrick's Church in Lowell. Naturally, the good people longed for a church of their own, more conveniently located for their needs.
 
It seemed almost a miracle when the opportunity came through the intervention of John Morrison a farmer who lived on the Westford Road. The man was on his way to Lowell with a load of market gardening when he noticed a group of men preparing to tear down a building known as the Middlesex Village Congregational Church. With considerable astuteness, Mr. Morrison managed to delay the destruction until he could consult his co-parishioners with regard to its purchase. The response was immediate and enthusiastic. The owners presumed the farmer desired the building for a barn and the sale was negotiated for $400; this "sizable sum" was partly subscribed by the heads of families and the balance secured by mortgage.
 
The story has been told and retold in Chelmsford homes of how in 1859, the heroic men of North Chelmsford literally carried their church from the corner of Middlesex and Baldwin Streets in Lowell to its present location. Men, who toiled in factory, foundry or farm, hurried to the holy work each evening.  They struggled to move the building with the aid of horses and log rollers, a few yards at a time, for a distance of two miles along Middlesex Street. “Know Nothing” citizenry, a violent anti-Catholic group, made threats to burn the building and gained court injunctions to stop the building’s movement.  The two-mile journey was made with at least four men, armed with shotguns, and guarding the Church each night. Fr. John O’Brien, pastor of St. Patrick’s, gave his hearty support and promised to have a priest come weekly for Sunday Mass, and in the spring of 1860, Father Barretti of St. Patrick’s Lowell, celebrated the first Mass in the new St. John’s Mission. For 33 years, Masses were said regularly each Sunday and Holy Day and the Sacraments administered under very trying conditions and often at great distances. 
 
From St. John’s Mission, a house Mass was said for Catholic families in Westford.  St. John’s grew and Archbishop Williams established the new parish of St. John the Evangelist on January 1, 1893.  The Rev. John J. Shaw, an assistant from St. Patrick’s, Lowell, was appointed our first pastor. His extensive parish included all the outlying districts of Westford and Chelmsford, as far as the New Hampshire line. The Sacraments were administered under very trying circumstances and often at great distances. On rare occasions Mass was said in homes of Catholic families in Westford and Chelmsford; at such times it was a great privilege to bring an infant to the honored home for Baptism.
 
In 1903 the pastor of St. John’s was given an assistant, Father John McNamara, a French-speaking priest, because the community was integrating the French and Irish from Lowell.  By 1919 St. John’s had two missions: St. Catherine’s in Westford (built 1893) and St. Mary’s in Chelmsford Center.  At this time a second assistant, Father John J. Linehan, was assigned as pastor.  These missions were dedicated later as parishes – in June of 1922 for St. Catherine’s and in December of 1931 for St. Mary’s.
 
In 1962 St. John’s had grown to more than 1700 parishioners and was `bulging at the seams`.  We needed religious education facilities, adequate parking and a new building.  On October 20, 1963, the first Mass was celebrated in our present church building.  It was solemnly dedicated on November 13, 1963, by His Eminence, Richard Cardinal Cushing.  Our parish center and rectory were built in 1980, and then in 2009, ‘bulging at the seams’ again, a new parish center was built adjacent to the main church. This addition of 9 ‘meeting’ rooms, primarily houses our Faith Formation Program.