USA > Massachusetts > Franklin County > Century of Catholicism in western Massachusetts; being a chronicle of the establishment, early struggle, progress and achievements of the Catholic church in the five western counties of Worcester, Hampden, Hampshire, Berkshire and Franklin > Part 10
USA > Massachusetts > Worcester County > Century of Catholicism in western Massachusetts; being a chronicle of the establishment, early struggle, progress and achievements of the Catholic church in the five western counties of Worcester, Hampden, Hampshire, Berkshire and Franklin > Part 10
USA > Massachusetts > Hampden County > Century of Catholicism in western Massachusetts; being a chronicle of the establishment, early struggle, progress and achievements of the Catholic church in the five western counties of Worcester, Hampden, Hampshire, Berkshire and Franklin > Part 10
USA > Massachusetts > Hampshire County > Century of Catholicism in western Massachusetts; being a chronicle of the establishment, early struggle, progress and achievements of the Catholic church in the five western counties of Worcester, Hampden, Hampshire, Berkshire and Franklin > Part 10
USA > Massachusetts > Berkshire County > Century of Catholicism in western Massachusetts; being a chronicle of the establishment, early struggle, progress and achievements of the Catholic church in the five western counties of Worcester, Hampden, Hampshire, Berkshire and Franklin > Part 10
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The Birth of Springfield. From painting by J. J. LaValley.
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John W. Donohue, Architect
SACRED HEART SCHOOL, SPRINGFIELD
Rev. John D. Sullivan, Administrator. Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur in charge.
nearly eighteen years, he spent and was spent for the parish of his love. The new Sacred Heart gradually raised its towers to the skies, and, at the
time of Father McDermott's death in 1891 was near enough to completion to have his funeral the first service in the church to which he gave his life's best labors. For thirty-six years thereafter. Rev. Thomas Smythe, the last appointee of Bishop O'Reilly before his death, was pastor of Sacred Heart, Under him, the church was dedicated and the parish unity developed by his predecessor was preserved. Sacred Heart has just lost its third pastor in nearly sixty years, Rev. John F. Griffin, whose brother served as a curate at Sacred Heart. and founded its daughter church, Our Lady of Hope. Father Griffin was a man of exceptional eloquence, proven administrative ability and a recognized leader in Catholic education. His death occasioned sincere regret far beyond the confines of the parishes which he served so loyally.
Sacred Heart has been subdivided twice to
John W. Donohue, Architect
MEMORIAL TO REV. JAMES J. MCDERMOTT, FIRST PASTOR, SACRED HEART CHURCH, SPRINGFIELD The Memorial marks his last resting-place in the churchyard.
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HOLY NAME GROUP, SPRINGFIELD -CONVENT, CHURCH, SCHOOL AND RECTORY Rev. Thomas A. McGovern, Pastor. Sisters of St. Joseph in charge of School.
form new English speaking parishes and twice to form others-once a parish for the Assyrian, the other a parish for the Polish speaking people.
T TWENTY-FIVE years ago. Our Lady of
Hope Parish was organized by Rev. Michael Griffin, who, within a year, had church and rectory practically out of debt. The effort, however, cost him his life, and he went to a well earned reward with the love and respect to which his rare qualities of charity and energy so richly entitled him.
His successor, the present pastor, is Rev. James M. Cruse, who has already become the second founder of the parish. so rapidly has it grown. On the heights above the north end rises the sight- ly campanile of his new Gothic church, overlook- ing and commanding a view of the whole city. Father Griffin's pretty frame structure is now a parish hall. A new school is crowded to the doors, and the old rectory has been nearly trebled in size to furnish a home for four priests where, only a generation ago, Father Griffin worked alone.
Father Cruse has built slowly and surely to meet the needs of a growing population. He has
Airplane View, Holy Name Parish Buildings
The original Holy Name Parish building, which in the beginning served as church and school.
John W. Donohue, Architect
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Patrick C. Keiley, Architect
MAIN ALTAR AND SANCTUARY, ST. MICHAEL'S CATHEDRAL, SPRINGFIELD Rev. George S. L. Connor, Rector.
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OUR LADY OF HOPE SCHOOL, SPRINGFIELD Rev. James M. Cruse, Pastor. Sisters of St. Joseph in charge.
conducted systematic drives for funds and pro- ceeded carefully to the consummation of his parochial plan. Yet, despite the demands of a busy parish, he has found time to lend a hand as chap- lain to Catholic organizations, and has taken prac- tical interest in all civic affairs for the common good.
THE second English speaking division of Sacred Heart is All Souls, of which the first pastor was the present Rt. Rev. Msgr. W. E. Foley. of Holyoke, who came in 1908, and used a mission chapel built by Father Thomas Smythe for divine worship. For about three years, beginning in 1904. the present All Souls and St. Thomas constituted a mixed parish under Father A. A. Landry. Rev. Charles Boylan succeeded Father Foley, and built the present church of All Souls. The late Rev. Owen McGee saw longest service here, built the mission chapel of the Blessed Sac- rament, and did much to improve the parish's financial status and increase the devotion of his people. He was succeeded by Rev. Florence A. Lane, who has added a sightly
rectory to the parish buildings and made his parish the local center of devotion to the Little Flower. Father Lane has proven himself eminently capable in handling financial problems, and most devout in meeting the religious needs of his people.
T HE Assyrian people since 1905 have been entrusted to Rev. Paul Abi-Saab and his nephew, Father Michael. who have erected a pretty
Our Lady of Hope Church, Springfield. Rev. James M. Cruse, Pastor.
John W. Donohue, Architect
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James Murphy, Architect
SACRED HEART CHURCH, SPRINGFIELD Rev. John D. Sullivan, Administrator.
John W. Donohue, Architect OUR LADY OF MT. CARMEL CHURCH, SPRINGFIELD Rev. Erminio Lona, C.S.F., Pastor.
John W. Donohue, Architect ALL SOULS' CHURCH, SPRINGFIELD Rev. F. A. Lane, Pastor.
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ST. THOMAS AQUINAS GROUP, SPRINGFIELD-SCHOOL. CHURCH AND RECTORY Rev. W. J. Choquette, Pastor. Sisters of the Holy Cross in charge of School.
chapel of St. Anthony for their Eucharistic King. while Father Michael covers most of New Eng- land, preaching missions to scattered Assyrian settlements. The parish was originally erected un- der the title of SS. Peter and Paul, and was changed to St. Anthony when the present chapel was erected.
THE Polish parish, Our Lady of the Rosary, was established in 1917 under the direction of Rev. Stanislaus Orlemanski, who is still pastor. True to Catholic tradition. he realized the need of a school to train the future builders of his parish. Hence, he first erected a school building and uses the hall for his religious services. He has developed a parish loyalty that augurs well for the future of his Polish flock, and has succeeded in making the parish church the center of his people's life.
M EANTIME, the Cathedral again had found its growing population getting beyond the supervision of one parochial household. The late Father Sherry was called to form the present Holy Family parish in September, 1901. He began with the training ground of future generations, a parish school, which was flourishing and crowded when this good and holy priest was called to his
St. Joseph's Church and School, Springfield. Rev. A. J. B. Cayer, D.C.L., in charge. Sisters of the Holy Cross and the Seven Dolors in charge of School.
reward, before his church, the goal of his ambi- tious labors, was completed. Rev. C. A. Sullivan was appointed to carry on Father Sherry's work and nobly has he accomplished it. Once the beauti- ful new House of God, pride of his people, was completed, he cut up the school hall into needed classrooms. Only when church and school and convent were all that could be desired did this zealous builder turn to consideration of his own needs, and replace the inadequate rectory with the present commodious and artistic structure. In recognition of a difficult task superbly performed, and a life of fidelity to the best traditions of his
מו על עג עג נע נענו וגב
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O. E. Nault, Architect
ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST SCHOOL, LUDLOW Rev. J. E. LaRochelle, Pastor, Sisters of St. Ann in charge.
priestly office, Bishop O'Leary recommended Father Sullivan for the honors of the purple, and Pope Pius XI graciously acquiesced in so merited an honor.
R EV. THOMAS A. McGOVERN, whose re- markable success in organizing the great Holy Name Society at Sacred Heart had at- tracted attention, was designated by the late Bishop
Beaven to form a new parish in the scattered dis- trict around Forest Park, in 1909. Here, again, we have the story of a growing population and an ener- getic program of parish building and administration which kept pace with it. Father McGovern knew modern life too well not to realize the primary value of a Catholic school, and began with that, using the spacious hall as a church. School, rectory, convent, church, convent chapel, second school, doubling of rectory-all this tells the story of a parish growth which demands the services of four priests where Father McGovern began single- handed.
Though the ultimate parish church has not yet been erected, every need of the people is met by the sightly chapel, Spanish mission style, which seats over a thousand, and the hall of the new school, in which overflow Masses are offered. The entire group gives the impression of the California missions in the heyday of their activity, and, in the completeness of its adaptation to parish needs, this group shows thought and careful planning. Father McGovern, an effective speaker, keen observer, and capable organizer, has seen his parish grow
St. John the Baptist Convent, Ludlow. Rev. J. E. LaRochelle, Pastor.
O. E. Nault, Architect
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INTERIOR, HOLY FAMILY CHURCH, SPRINGFIELD
John W. Donohue, Architect HOLY FAMILY GROUP, SPRINGFIELD-SCHOOL, CONVENT, CHURCH AND RECTORY Rt. Rev. Msgr. C. A. Sullivan, Pastor. Sisters of St. Joseph in charge of School.
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from scattered, careless members of the household of the faith, into a comparatively wealthy, en- thusiastic unit, and he has guided the growth.
THE youngest member of Springfield's family of parishes is Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, formed in 1929, with Rev. George M. Donahue as pastor. It was a division of Holy Family. Al- ready, Bishop O'Leary has dedicated the new church, a pretty one, in Spanish mission style, and Father Donahue has obtained a curate to assist him in what promises to be another center where numbers will multiply as Springfield expands.
F ARTHER out, at Indian Orchard, Father Fitzgerald had founded St. Matthew's, back in 1878. The Catholics there had previously been cared for by priests from Chicopee, Chicopee Falls and the Cathedral. Father Healy of Chicopee erected the present St. Matthew's Church, in 1864. This is one of the missions which knew the ministrations of the saintly Father Power. In a later day, Rev. John Kenny remained nine years, and then fol- lowed its pastorate of longest duration, that of Father William Power, who opened the parish schools and purchased a convent. The late pastor was Rev. William F. Hartigan, who came here from South Deerfield. Father Hartigan, a good administrator, a forceful speaker, with an un- usually good musical voice, won the good will
BLESSED SACRAMENT CHURCH, SPRINGFIELD Rev. F. A. Lane, Pastor.
and confidence of his people in his priestly labors at "the Orchard." Rev. J. C. Murphy is tem- porarily in charge.
SPRINGFIELD'S French speaking Catholics,
too, increased and multiplied. With the com- ing, in 1873, of Rev. Louis G. Gagnier, whom old residents remember as a patriarch, in the early years of the twentieth century, the French people were organized in old St. Joseph's. Father Gag- nier's jurisdiction extended over the whole city of Springfield, and to the Longmeadows and Indian Orchard. He built first his church base- ment, then the superstructure, then opened his school, in 1897, and when called to his reward left his people a record of nearly a half century of service and the sweet memory of a saintly life. His successor, the late Father Bissonnette, en- larged the school, beautified the church and added a parish rectory and a convent to round out an adequate parish plant. Since his death, his work has been ably carried on by Rev. A. J. B. Cayer, D.C.L. The priests in charge of St. Joseph's have accomplished much in the face of the dis- couraging fact that their parishioners are still scattered over most of Springfield.
In 1873, Father Gagnier also formed the St. Aloysius mission. congregation at Indian Orchard. He built the present brick church, which was later enlarged. In 1876, Father Landry took up his residence and parochial life began. His succes- sors were Fathers Crevier, Baudoin, Ducharme,
St. Anthony's Church, Spring- field. Rev. Michael Abi-Saab, Pastor.
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OUR LADY OF THE ROSARY CHURCH, SCHOOL AND RECTORY, SPRINGFIELD Rev. Stanislaus Orlemanski, Pastor. Sisters of Nazareth in charge of School.
Marcoux, Edmond Graton and Langevin. Father Marcoux opened the parish schools, and the present modern school building replaced the orig- inal frame structure during Father Langevin's pastorate. On Father Langevin's death, this parochial charge was assigned to Rev. J. P. Bourassa, the present pastor, whose affable and genial nature endear him to his people.
TN SPRINGFIELD itself, old St. Joseph's re- linquished its control of the north end in favor of St. Thomas' Parish, and Father Adelard Landry was made its first pastor, in 1904. He began with a school, in this parish dedicated to God in honor of St. Thomas Aquinas, and held his parochial services in the school hall, until his finan- cial status justified the erection of a suitable house of worship. He then erected a church of the Spanish mission type, following closely the lines of Holy Name in the same city. His work was thus completed, when a sad accident led to his untimely death. He left to his people a memory of an industrious life, years of unremitting toil for ._
their spiritual and material good. His successor is Rev. William J. Choquette, a comparatively young pastor, whose buoyant nature and active capacity for parish leadership give evidence that Father Landry's work will "carry on."
MATKI . BOS
KOZANCOWEJ
Entrance to Our Lady of the Rosary Church and School, Springfield.
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John W. Donohue, Architect
OUR LADY OF THE SACRED HEART CHURCH, SPRINGFIELD Rev. George M. Donahue, Pastor.
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B EYOND Indian Orchard, in Ludlow, Rev. M. A. Desrochers became first pastor of a French speaking congregation in 1904, and built the rectory and church of St. Jean Baptiste. After the brief stay of Father Gobeille, who died at Ludlow, came the pastorate of Rev. Dr. Rodier, who re- mained nearly sixteen years. The Ludlow Asso- ciates gave him two pieces of most desirable land on which he erected a parish school in 1925, and left a splendidly equipped parish group on his pro- motion to Chicopee. The present pastor, Rev. J. E. LaRochelle, is making progress in reducing the parish indebtedness. A gifted artist, he has used his talents to lighten the financial burden of his people.
T HERE is also a Polish parish at Ludlow, which the Franciscan Fathers of Chicopee organized as a mission in 1904, and dedicated the parish church the following year. In 1907, the mission was ele- vated to the status of a parish, and Rev. Francis Kolodziej took charge. He was followed by Fathers Kielbasinski and Kwasneski and, on the latter's death, in 1913, Rev. Joseph Tomikowski came from Worcester to succeed him. Of the present buildings, the school was completed in 1910, the rectory in 1912, and the convent in 1916. Father Tomikowski is an energetic and capable parish leader, under whom the Immaculate Con- ception has become a thriving parish in which the material and spiritual interests of the people are solicitously safeguarded, and the Polish popula- tion has attained a position of honor and respect in the community.
A NEW series of parishes among our people of Italian birth began with the coming of the Stigmatini Fathers to Springfield, in 1906. Their first superior was Father Anthony Dalla Porta, who conducted services in a temporary church at Wil- cox and Union Streets, until the new church was ready for occupancy, in 1911. Thanks to his efforts and those of his co-laborers, the parish of Mount Carmel has become a flourishing congrega- tion. Its members have developed an admirable parish spirit, have entered business and the pro- fessions, and are becoming a force to be reckoned with in Springfield's civic life.
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The Fathers from Mount Carmel rectory have extended their labors to the establishment of the missions of St. Ann in West Springfield, and St.
Anthony in North Agawam. Fathers from the same house have taken charge of the Italian parish of Mount Carmel, in Pittsfield, and Sacred Heart, in Milford. All are showing solid prog- ress. The Fathers in Milford have recently dedi- cated a basement capable of accommodating a congregation of twelve hundred, upon which a beautiful temple of God will later be constructed. Realizing that the instruction of the young is of paramount importance, they have obtained the aid of the Sisters, the order of the Daughters of Our Lady of Mercy, in catechetical and day nursery work, and these Sisters are lending aid in both Milford and Springfield.
Thus this group of Italian priests who arrived in 1906, went to Milford in 1913. to Pittsfield in 1915, to Agawam in 1919 and to West Springfield in 1924, are giving our diocese parishes well organized and well equipped for future develop- ment, along American lines. Previous to their arrival, our Italians were far from neglected. In Springfield, they belonged to the Cathedral, and Father Kelly did good work among them. In Mil- ford, they were a part of St. Mary's, and Father James Hanrahan, now of Worcester, instructed them in their own tongue. Their own parishes, however, have developed an esprit de corps hitherto impossible, and made them an important factor in our diocesan population. Father Erminio Lona is the present superior of the Stigmatini Fathers in Springfield and West Springfield.
Sanctuary, St. Joseph's Church, Springfield. Rev. A. J. B. Cayer, D.C.L., in charge.
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Reberend Louis G. Gagnier
IN MEMORIAM
Reverend Louis G. Gagnier
Pioneer missionary among our French speaking Catholics, founder of parishes from Manchaug and East Douglas through Ware and the Warrens to St. Joseph's, in Springfield, where he labored for well over a quarter of a century, and left everywhere the cherished memory of personal sanctity and priestly zeal.
HOLYOKE HAMPDEN COUNTY
1112
HA MAMIKY QUALE ILHA
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Courtesy Holyoke Transcript
AIRPLANE VIEW OF HOLYOKE, SHOWING BUSINESS SECTION, ITS UNIQUE CANAL SYSTEM AND GREAT POWER DAM
PAROCHIAL CHRONICLE
Patrick C. Keiley, Church Architect
ST. JEROME'S GROUP, HOLYOKE
UPPER-Corner of old Institute Building, St. Patrick's Chapel, Church, Rectory. LOWER-Grammar and High Schools, Community Building, Sisters' Chapel and Convent. Rt. Rev. Msgr. John F. Fagan, Pastor. Sisters of St. Joseph in charge of Schools.
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HE story of the first Mass in Hol- yoke is lost in the haze of a cen- tury ago. Certain it is that Father Connor, an Irish priest collecting for his needy people, said Mass there as early as 1834. Certainly, too, Father Brady, of Chicopee, offered Mass there periodically in the early forties. In 1856 the restless but energetic Father Jeremiah O'Callaghan established St. Jerome's Parish.
Father O'Callaghan's life history is a romance of misfortune-the tale of a splendid priest who could not adjust his mind to new financial condi- tions. To him, all interest was usury, and he sought to prove his thesis, even at the feet of the Holy Father. In earlier Catholic days, all interest was forbidden, because loaned money did not make money, and so the medieval Church founded loan establishments, where the needy poor could borrow without interest. In modern industry, however, money makes money, and so interest is permitted, provided it be not exorbitant. To this change, Father O'Callaghan could not reconcile a delicate conscience, and so he became a wanderer, from Ireland to Rome, back to Ireland, across the Atlantic to New York and the West and Quebec, and finally the "apostle of Vermont." From Ben- nington as a mission center. the heart of an apostle carried him through our Berkshires in the hope of rescuing a stray sheep here and there. It was the day of Knownothingism, which finally burned his church at Bennington. He ended his days, still a good and earnest priest.
founder of old St. Jerome's, in whose churchyard he sleeps his last sleep.
First, however, he dedicated the church. in 1860. In the planning and financing of his project. Father O'Callaghan was encouraged and assisted by the agent of the Lyman Mills. Incidentally, the dedi- cation sermon was preached by Rev. John Bapst, who, six years before, had been tarred and feathered at Ellsworth, Maine. Father O'Cal- laghan. of course, recognized in him a fellow victim of Knownothing fanaticism.
A NAME to conjure by in Holyoke Catholicism is the late Rt. Rev. F. J. Harkins, who came in 1866 and remained at the head of St. Jerome's until well into the present century. What a power for good he was! Aggressive. even militant, absolutely devoid of fear, yet withal kindly and forgiving, this rugged charac- ter did a great work well, and. ere his final call came, estab- lished the parishes of Sacred Heart and Holy Rosary in Hol- yoke, and St. Patrick's, South
George E. Potter, Church Architect
PRECIOUS BLOOD GROUP, HOLYOKE
SCHOOL, CHURCH AND RECTORY Rev. Gedeon Fontaine, Pastor. Sisters of St. Ann in charge of School.
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Patrick C. Keiley, Architect
ST. JEROME'S CHURCH, HOLYOKE Rt. Rev. Msgr. John F. Fagan, P.R., Pastor.
Hadley Falls. He opened his girls' school in 1868, followed it with our first boys' school in 1872, brought the Sisters of Providence to the diocese in 1876, supervised their establishment at South Hadley, Holyoke and Ingleside, and presented to the diocese the Father Harkins Home for the Aged. Rome, quick to recognize and reward un- usual accomplishments for the Master, made him a domestic prèlate in 1903.
Monsignor Harkins had the unlimited respect and confidence of his people. We once heard a college graduate, whose use of a certain word was criticized, say : "Do you know where I heard that word used? By old 'Daddy' Harkins from St. Jerome's pulpit," and apparently if the one affec- tionally called "old Daddy Harkins" used a word, it thereby became good English usage! This in- trepid priest was the champion, not only of his
people's faith, but of his people themselves. and their rapid rise to prominence in Holyoke public life was due in no small measure to a leadership which "knew its rights, and knowing, dared main- tain." His elevation to the honor of domestic . prelate was universally hailed as giving honor where honor was due.
On the death of this stalwart priest, the then vicar general, Rt. Rev. Msgr. John T. Madden, took up the reins. He put the parish property into excel- lent repair and reduced everything to that sys- tematic procedure for which he was justly famed. He received St. Jerome's in its declining years. when its people were being pushed out by the en- croachments of business, but left the impress of a skilled hand and trained mind on the institutions of the old mother parish.
Monsignor Madden was succeeded by the pres-
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AUDITORIUM, SACRED HEART COMMUNITY BUILDING, HOLYOKE
ent pastor, Rt. Rev. Msgr. John F. Fagan, whose exceptional worth has received the recognition ac- corded to his distinguished predecessors-the honor of the purple was conferred upon him on the occa- sion of Bishop O'Leary's first visit to Rome, in 1925. Under him, St. Jerome's is enjoying its "second spring." Knowing that timbers which have supported roof and towers for over half a century may not be as sound as once they were, Monsignor Fagan thoroughly renovated St. Jerome's, beautified the whole interior with frescoes, windows and lights that harmoniously blend into a glorious whole. Today, the dear old church looks her best, as though, after the service
of nigh three quarters of a century, she enjoyed the gift of perennial youth. Monsignor Fagan has been obliged to wage a stern battle against encroaching commercialism, to keep St. Jerome's the beauty spot that it is and deserves to remain. Holyoke owes too much to St. Jerome's to allow it to be ruined by establishments which can only depopulate the neighborhood.
John W. Donohue, Architect
SACRED HEART COMMUNITY BUILDING, HOLYOKE
Rt. Rev. Msgr. William E. Foley, P.R., Pastor.
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P. W. Ford, Architect
SACRED HEART CHURCH, HOLYOKE Rt. Rev. Msgr. William E. Foley, P.R., Pastor.
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LADIES' PARLOR IN THE SACRED HEART COMMUNITY BUILDING, HOLYOKE Rt. Rev. Msgr. William E. Foley, P.R., Pastor.
TN 1878, Sacred Heart was separated from St. Jerome's. Its church was already in process of construction. After the brief stay of Rev. James F. Sheehan, Rev. P. B. Phelan came in 1880 and remained in charge until his death, nearly forty years later. His long years of service resulted in a splendid Gothic church, school and school hall. opened in 1888, and large convent and rectory. This cultured, polished gentleman worked his way deeply into the affections of his people, and left one
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