Welcome to the English-Speaking Roman Catholic Parish of Geneva. Officially established in 1971, it is made up of Parishioners from more than 136 countries, who come together to share the journey of faith in Christ Jesus.

In 1956 an English-Speaking Roman Catholic Chaplaincy in Geneva was established to provide for the spiritual needs of the growing English-speaking community. It was primarily concerned with the international business sector, the expanding inter-governmental and non-governmental organisations, and diplomatic representations to the United Nations Office in Geneva.

Officially, this Roman Catholic Mission became a parish in 1971 within the Diocese of Fribourg, Lausanne and Geneva. The seat of the diocese lies in Fribourg. Mgr. Farine is the Episcopal Vicar for Geneva. The Pope John XXIII Centre lies within the boundaries of the Parish of Saint Nicolas de Flüe (the Patron Saint of Switzerland) located at Rue Montbrillant 57-59 in Geneva.

Mass is celebrated in French at the Centre on Saturdays at 17:15 and on Tuesdays at 8:30. In addition to the Masses celebrated in English at the John XXIII Centre, Mass is also celebrated in English at the Basilica of Notre-Dame, near the main Geneva railway station Gare Cornavin. Both Parishes maintain close relations

The Parish of John XXIII is made up of individuals and families from over 136 countries. As such, our community is a microcosm of the universal Church.

The members of the Parish of John XXIII are from all walks of life, including the international business sector, governmental and non-governmental organisations, diplomatic representations to the United Nations, students, individuals involved in service industries, and many others.

There are some 1,300 registered and active families and single persons to date, and on any Sunday, there is an average of around 1,400 persons attending our Masses. Although the numbers above generally reflect the true diversity of our Parish, there are still a good many unregistered parishioners. We encourage all parishioners to register with the Parish Office (but they do have the option of choosing whether they wish to be formally included in the Parish Directory or not).

John XXIII Centre is a Geneva Cantonal Parish, without any defined boundaries. About 9% of our parishioners reside in the Canton of Vaud, 78% in Geneva, and 12% in neighbouring France.

The John XXIII Centre was built through the generosity of the late Leon Vermot (1890-1968), a Geneva citizen who so admired the ecumenical spirit of Pope John XXIII that he left a bequest for the construction of a parish church in Petit-Saconnex, to be named after the Pope.

The architectural firm of Bordigoni and Fleury designed the building. Construction started in May 1981 and the Centre was dedicated on October 2, 1982. In 2007, we celebrated the 25th anniversary of the inauguration of the Centre.
The Centre has room for 250 people with additional seating for 50 in the side Chapel. The Centre also includes a large meeting room, a Reconciliation Room,a Sacristy and a kitchen.

In 1984 the adjoining house was acquired as the residence of the parish priests. Due to the increasing needs of our Parish, we expanded our Centre and Parish House facilities to add counselling, meeting and administrative space. We now all reap the benefits of that expansion and renovation project, finished in 1998.