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 9
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 9
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 9
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 9
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 9
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for a new church on the Previer estate, and the work was in sight of completion when his final call came, after over thirty years in this one assignment. His successor was Rev. Eugene To- her, under whom a staggering mortgage was quietly paid, a new parish school was erected. temporary convent and rectory were formed from the sturdy buildings on the Previer estate, and, after more than a quarter of a century in Leo- minster, where he celebrated the golden jubilee of his ordination, Father Toher passed to his re- ward with the love and respect of Catholic and non-Catholic alike. The present pastor is Rev. Michael T. Slattery, of whose exceptional work we speak elsewhere. in the review of his North- bridge activities. He has already made extensive improvements by renovating the rectory and beginning the construction of a modern convent to house the teaching Sisters.
T THE opening of the present century saw the French speaking population of Leominster sufficiently increased to call for a new parish, and it was established under Rev. Wilfred Balthasard in 1900. He purchased a tenement house for rec- tory, held divine service in an inexpensive frame building, but erected a sightly brick school for the Catholic education of his parish children. The parish was dedicated under the title of St. Cecilia. and supported a flourishing school from its earli- est days. Father Balthasard's successor, and the present pastor, is Rev. J. E. Chicoine, who found his work doubled by a conflagration which destroyed the school. The hundreds of children then thrown out of classrooms received scant sym- pathy from the public school authorities of Leo- minster, who invoked the anti-aid provision of our state constitution to avoid giving any assist-
Church of Our Lady Im- maculate. Athol. Rev. M. J. Curran, D.D., Pastor.
John W. Donohue. Architect
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ance to the unfortunate parish. Father Chicoine and his parishioners met the crisis courageously, obtained school accommodations wherever they could in private hall and dwelling, and carried on with a minimum loss of school time. They set to work to raise funds for a new school, and, in a remarkably short period, the new St. Cecilia's appeared bigger and better than ever with a hall large enough to be employed for divine service. Of course, the school disaster has retarded the erection of a parish church, but Father Chicoine looks for that in the near future. Long years of fruitful leadership have won for him the full confidence and co-operation of an appreciative people, and the new St. Cecilia's is a consumma- tion soon to be realized.
W ORCESTER, Otter River, Winchendon and West Fitchburg, in turn, looked after the Catholics of Ashburnham, where the Worces- ter missionaries established a station as early as 1846, and the first church of St. Denis was dedi- cated back in 1871, an old Methodist church remodeled for Catholic services. In 1893, Father Tarpey, of West Fitchburg, erected the mission church of St. Ann's, in South Ashburnham. Two years later, Rev. Dr. David Moyes became first pastor of the two Ashburnhams, with St. Ann's as the parish church. Since then the population has not increased, but a series of zealous pastors, includ- ing Rev. Patrick Morrissey and Rev. Francis O'Malley, who died there, and Father Curran. now of Athol, have kept the little churches in good repair and kept the faith of the people alive and active. The present rector is Rev. James R. McCarthy, who, in his first pastorate, is showing praiseworthy care, especially of the young and their instruction, and is "carrying on" from where his industrious predecessors left off.
T HE most recent additions to the family of parishes in northern Worcester are St. Francis' Lithuanian parish in Athol and St. Joseph's Polish Parish in Gardner, St. Francis' was founded by Rev. G. Meskanas, but he was succeeded almost immediately by Father A. Petrai- tis, who remained fourteen years and built and dedicated the present church. His successor, Rev. A. Daugis, has just departed for other fields of labor, and the present pastor is Rev. Pius Juraitis. who earlier saw service under Soviet Russia.
The present pastor in charge of St. Joseph's Polish flock in Gardner, established in 1907, by Father Rodziewicz, is Rev. S. J. Chlapowski. Father Krzywda erected a combination church and school, though only the church is in use up to the present. The zeal of Father Chlapowski is being seconded by his people, so that soon the financial status of the flock will enable him to erect a suitable church and open his school for the edu- cation of the little ones of his fold.
TUST outside of Worcester is an almost forgot-
ten chapter of church history-almost forgotten because almost wiped out by the Metropolitan Water Works. West Boylston is no more, but it has an honorable place in our diocesan annals. The first Mass was offered in 1844 by Father Riordan, of Springfield, and in 1846, the priests of St. John's, Worcester, began their ministra- tions. A little later the energetic Father Meig- neault of Webster cared for the French speaking people. The first chapel, completed in 1854, was called St. Luke's. Then West Boylston became a mission of Clinton until 1869, when, thanks to the influx of Catholic shoemakers, it became a parish under Rev. A. J. Derbuel, who had Shrewsbury and Holden as his missions. The increasing popu- lation soon outgrew St. Luke's, and, in 1882, the new church of St. Anthony of Padua was dedi- cated. It was located on the highway between West Boylston and Oakdale. Father Derbuel's successor was Rev. D. F. Feehan, now Bishop of Fall River, who, in admiration, erected a fitting memorial to Father Derbuel and carried on his work zealously until his promotion to Fitchburg. Fire destroyed the church in the pastorate of Father Campeau, but the generosity of the stricken people soon erected a more imposing house of worship. Scarcely had the new St. Anthony's been dedicated when the Massachu- setts Legislature voted to wipe out West Boyls- ton for the new Metropolitan Reservoir, and all the church property was taken by the state. West Boylston is no more, but its memory is a pleasant one in the early days of our diocese.
O AKDALE, previously a part of the West Boylston Parish, became successively a mission of St. John's, Clinton, and Holy Rosary, Worcester, under the title of Our Lady of Good Counsel, until its formation asan independent parish,
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SISTERS' CONVENT, ST. BERNARD'S PARISH, FITCHBURG
in 1929. This new church has the altar, windows. and pews of the old St. Anthony of Padua Church. which was dismantled. The first pastor is Rev. William F. Smith, who has already done much to mold his flock into parish unity. He is an eloquent. energetic pastor, who gains and keeps the con- fidence and affection of his people. His charge includes the neighboring town of Sterling, where he says Mass in the Town Hall.
T THE name of West Boylston suggests the early days of the Church in Holden, once a mission of West Boylston, though it had earlier been a charge of Worcester and later reverted to the care of the Immaculate Conception Parish in the same city. The first Mass was said by Father Gibson, of Worcester. in 1850. in a private house. Eighteen years later, the late Monsignor Griffin. of Worcester, had the first church dedicated in Holden Center. In 1884. Holden became a sepa- rate parish. with Rev. James McClosky in charge. He acquired a rectory adjacent to the church. His successor, Rev. Thomas F. Joyce, died a martyr to duty, passing away after the exposure of a long. cold sick call to a distant town. Rev. John D. Mc- Gann. now of St. Paul's, Worcester. changed the site of the church to Jeffersonville. where the bulk of the Catholic people reside. He purchased a con-
venient plot on which he erected the sightly Roman- esque church of St. Mary's. Fathers John F. Lee and James M. Prendergast followed in this pas- torate. The present pastor, Rev. Thomas H. Mc- Namara, has charge of the State Sanitarium and the mission of St. Patrick's, at Rutland, and in summer conducts services in Princeton. He suc- ceeded Rev. James Prendergast, under whom he served as a curate. By a happy turn of events, Father Prendergast died in the parish where he was born, and where, three quarters of a century earlier, his father assisted at Father Gibson's first Mass, in the house of Michael McLaughlin, whose son and two grandsons entered the priesthood of our diocese.
When Father Robert Walsh, of the Immacu- late Conception, Worcester, took charge of Hol- den, he purchased a Congregational church in Rutland. and dedicated it to Catholic service under the title of St. Patrick. It is still in use. Father McNamara covers a wide territory in his pastoral jurisdiction. He is an active. en- thusiastic worker. much loved by his parishioners and his state charges at the Rutland Sanitarium.
Sacred Heart of Jesus School, Gardner. Rev. John I. Foley, Administrator.
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Reberend Patrick Thealp, V.B.
IN MEMORIAM
Reverend Patrick Healy, Y.B. First Dicar General of Springfield Diocese
Pastor of Holy Name, in Chicopee, for a quarter of a cen- tury, under whom Holy Name was consecrated, founder of parish school education in our diocese, shepherd of Springfield, Indian Orchard, Mittineague, South Hadley and Ware, able financial administrator, fearless champion of the faith, unfailing in kindness to poor and needy.
HAMPDEN COUNTY
Courtesy Springfield Newspapers
Photo by Frank S. Hatch
HAMPDEN COUNTY MEMORIAL BRIDGE, SPANNING THE CONNECTICUT RIVER AT SPRINGFIELD
PAROCHIAL CHRONICLE
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P. C. Keiley, Architect
HOLY NAME CHURCH, CHICOPEE The oldest Catholic church in the Connecticut Valley. Rt. Rev. Msgr. John F. Conlin, P.R., Pastor.
Seed that Fell on Good Ground in the onnecticut Valley
ATHOLICISM in Hampden County goes well back beyond a century. Father Fitton, the great-souled missionary of Hartford and Worcester, found Catholic fami- lies in what is now Springfield and Chicopee as early as 1828. Irish laborers came in large numbers in the early thirties, when the mills opened at Chicopee and the dam was constructed at Holyoke. They continued westward with the lines of railroads. We have passed the centenary of Father Fitton's first labors. which carried him to the seat of our present epis- copal see and west to the then great open spaces of Berkshire.
Hampden's first parish foundation was at Cabotville, then a part of Springfield, but now the City of Chicopee. The cradle of organized Catholicism in the Connecticut Valley of our diocese was St. Matthew's, now Holy Name Parish, of Chicopee, whose early priests extended their missionary travels to Ware and Palmer, to Great Barrington and Mill River. Father John Brady established this parish in 1841. From this mother parish, St. Joseph's, of Pittsfield, was cut off to become, in turn, the centre of Berkshire's Catholic growth, and St. Michael's (at first St. Benedict's ), in Springfield, from which the strong, sturdy flocks of the episcopal city and its suburbs were gradually granted independent parochial life.
It is a far cry from the scattered families of a century ago to the compact, united, flourishing parish units of today, and it would require many a volume to depict the struggles, rebuffs, discourage- ments and "triumphs in failure" by which the then desert of Catholicism was made to blossom as the rose, in such Catholic centres as Springfield, Chicopee, Holyoke, and Westfield. Undaunted, indeed, must have been the spirit of priest and people to hew through that wilderness of dis-
couragements to the light of today. But man did his full part and "God giveth the increase."
Under the guidance of Father Brady, in the forties, Father Blenkinsop in the fifties, and Father Healy in the sixties and seventies, Holy Name was a real source of light and leading. Christian education early received here the atten- tion it merits everywhere. Lay teachers used the galleries of old St. Matthew's to unfold the doc- trines of the Master. Scarcely had St. Matthew's made way for the larger and more imposing Holy Name when Father Healy opened the first parish schools in our diocese, in 1867, under the Sisters of Notre Dame, who celebrated their golden jubilee in Chicopee fourteen years ago.
In 1872, Father P. T. Stone became pastor of the second Chicopee parish, St. Patrick's, at Chicopee Falls. Within ten years, he was ready to open his schools, and by a happy coincidence, his schools were the first opened in our diocese by the Sisters of St. Joseph, of Flushing, Long Island, destined to become our diocesan teaching Order, and crown their system, nearly half a century later, by open- ing our first Catholic college for girls.
By another happy coincidence, the present pastor of Holy Name, where our first parish school opened, is Msgr. John F. Conlin, diocesan super- visor of schools for more than a quarter of a
Holy Name Grade School. Chicopee, one of three splendid parish school buildings. Rt. Rev. Msgr. John F. Conlin, P.R .. Pastor. Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur in charge.
TH Catholic Mirror
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George P. Dion, Architect
ST. STANISLAUS' SCHOOL, CHICOPEE
Rev. L. M. Cyman, O.M.C., Pastor. Sisters of St. Francis, O.M.C., in charge.
century. During his pastorate, Monsignor Conlin added to the Holy Name group the first high school building in our diocese dedicated exclusively to the teaching of science. He has enlarged the boys' school, renovated the church, school and rectory, beautified the parish grounds and made the oldest parish in our Connecticut Valley one of the most complete plants within the limits of our diocese.
T HOUGH St. Patrick's was organized in 1872, nearly sixty years ago, its present pastor, Rev. John R. Murphy, is the immediate successor of the founder, the genial and gentle Father Stone. In our priesthood are four golden jubilarians : Mon- signor Sheehan, of Ware, the dean of all in point of service, Father Murphy of Chicopee, Father Carroll of Palmer, and Father Langlois of Fitch-
burg. Father Murphy has passed over a quarter of a century among the people of his present charge, who have long since learned to love him for his qualities of mind and heart.
T HAT the Canadians early came to Chicopee and were cared for by the priests of Holy Name was recently recalled by the facts brought to light by the episode of Rev. Patrick J. Power. After a lapse of over sixty years, the events at his grave in Malden called attention to his baptismal and marriage records at Holy Name and the Cathedral. It was noted that most of those to whom he ministered were French Canadians, whose language he knew from his studies at Quebec and Louvain. A current account said that Father Power was assistant at St. Matthew's Church in Chicopee, but St. Matthew's had given way to the Holy Name seven or eight years before the ar- rival of the saintly Boston levite. Holy Name was dedicated in 1859. Father Power's fluency in French is another tribute to the prudent foresight of the great Father Fitton, who thus had his protégé trained at Quebec and Louvain, to minister to our first Canadians.
Holy Name Primary School, Chicopee. Rt. Rev. Msgr. John F. Conlin, P.R., Pastor. Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur in charge.
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Riley and Steinbeck, Architects
ST. STANISLAUS' CHURCH, CHICOPEE
Rev. L. M. Cyman, O.M.C., Pastor.
In the early eighties, the Canadians had in- creased in numbers sufficiently to justify the estab- lishment of an independent parish. of which Father E. Pelletier became the first pastor. in 1885; and in 1893, Father A. Delphos became first resident pastor of the French speaking flock at Chicopee Falls. Father Frederick Bonneville succeeded
Father Pelletier and remained at Chicopee thirty- five years until the close of his life, in 1927. He had the misfortune to lose his church through a fire, but turned misfortune to advantage by building an imposing new church and rectory in a more central location, nearer to his people and the parish schools which he had founded. His successor. the
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UM CORPS
POLISH FAL
POLISH FALCON DRUM CORPS, CHICOPEE Rev. L. M. Cyman, O.M.C., Pastor, St. Stanislaus' Parish, Spiritual Director.
present pastor, is Rev. Dr. L. T. Rodier, promoted to his Chicopee parish in recognition of exceptional work at Ludlow. He has already formulated plans for new parish schools and convent.
O N THE death of Father Delphos, St. Joachim's was placed in charge of Rev. Geo. H. Gagnon, who in 1922 constructed a large, hand- some church and in 1928 opened a splendid school for the parish children, and a new convent for the teaching Sisters. At the dedication, the new church was called St. George's, and is, perhaps, the most prominent structure in Chicopee Falls, as it towers on the hill above the bridge.
TT WAS Father Healy who welcomed the first Polish people to Chicopee-a group of be- wildered strangers whom he met in the Springfield depot, and who rushed to him as he passed, seek- ing his guidance. They were under the care of Holy Name Parish until Father Chalupka or- ganized an independent congregation in 1891 and opened a parish school in 1897. In 1901, the parish was entrusted to the Franciscan Fathers, under Rev. Stanislaus Jaskolski. The principal event of his pastorate was the completion of the impos- ing brownstone church. His successor, Rev. Lawrence M. Cyman, O.M.C., completed the fur- nishing of the church and, in 1925, added a splen- did modern school to the parish buildings and purchased an extensive plot of land adjacent to the previous parish holdings. The building on this
Main Altar, St. George's Church, Chicopee Falls. Rev. George H. Gagnon, Pastor.
Geo. H. Fugere, Architect
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George P. Dion, Architect
ASSUMPTION CHURCH AND RECTORY, CHICOPEE Rev. L. T. Rodier, D.D., Pastor.
X
George P. Dion. Architect SCHOOL, NATIVITY OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY PARISH, WILLIMANSETT Rev. L. A. Simard, Pastor. Sisters of the Presentation in charge.
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George P. Dion, School Architect
ST. ANTHONY'S CHURCH, SCHOOL AND RECTORY, WILLIMANSETT Rev. Celestine Pozewicz, O.M.C., Pastor.
new acquisition was transformed into a com- munity house for the people. Father Cyman's leadership has been kindly, capable and fruitful in every form of parish activity. Today, under Father Cyman, O.M.C., and his assistants, St. Stanislaus is the largest parish in Chicopee; its school has nearly thirteen hundred children and a large hall and gymnasium, with quarters for its fourteen flourishing parish societies.
O VER at Aldenville and Willimansett, where once Fathers McCoy and Delphos jointly hired a hall and used it at different hours for Mass and catechetical instructions, the former for the English speaking Catholics, the latter for the French, three thriving parishes, two with church, rectory, school and convent, have taken up the Master's cause.
At Aldenville, where Rev. A. Frechette or- ganized a French speaking flock in 1909, and the late Father Brochu continued his work until his death in 1924, Rev. John B. Lamothe has com- pleted a striking modern school with large school hall, used for church services, to replace the in- adequate frame structure which his people have out- grown. The school accommodates nearly nine hun- dred pupils and the enterprising pastor looks eager- ly to the future to fulfil his dream of a church in keeping with the school and rectory. He found the parish buildings of wood and hopes to leave them all of sightly brick and stone.
At Willimansett, where Father H. Hamelin as- sumed the pastorate in 1897, with Aldenville as a mission, Rev. L. A. Simard has erected a sightly
St. John the Baptist Church, Ludlow. Rev. J. E. La Rochelle, Pastor.
Alderman Brothers, Architects
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ST. GEORGE'S CHURCH, CHICOPEE FALLS
Geo. H. Fugere. Architect Rev. George H. Gagnon, Pastor.
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Riley and Steinbeck, Architects
INTERIOR VIEW, ST. STANISLAUS' CHURCH, CHICOPEE
Rev. L. M. Cyman, O.M.C., Pastor.
modern school of yellow brick which provides education for nearly seven hundred. His enter- prising initiative has kept pace with a rapid parish growth, and has given his people a completed group of buildings for parish work.
TN 1928, the Franciscan Fathers founded the new parish of St. Anthony at Willimansett, with Rev. Celestine Rozewicz, O.M.C., in charge, though the Franciscan Fathers of Holyoke had cared for Willimansett's Polish population for three years previously. Father Rozewicz has completed a rectory and school in the hall of which he holds his parish services. On Saturday and Sunday, Sisters
from Chicopee help in the instruction of the parish children.
F TROM Holy Name, in Chicopee, the mother parish of the Connecticut Valley, Catholic con- gregations multiplied most rapidly, beyond her present borders, in Springfield and Holyoke. Father Fitton said the first recorded Mass in Springfield just a century ago, as he stole a few hours from his missionary labors at Worcester to attend to Springfield and the West. The first hand- ful of Catholics also received spiritual ministra- tions from Hartford, until Father Brady remained permanently at Chicopee from 1841 to 1847.
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Hampden County SPRINGFIELD
Courtesy Springfield Daily News
Photo by Harvey & Lewis
MUNICIPAL GROUP, SPRINGFIELD, MASS.
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Reberend Michael P. Gallagher
IN MEMORIAM
Reverend Michael P. Gallagher Second Founder of the Cathedral Parish
Farsighted builder of St. Michael's Cathedral, purchaser of the superb Cathedral property. Under him St. Michael's was the first parish church consecrated in New Eng- land. "He reared a diocesan cathedral where he had at first planned a parish church."
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AIRPLANE VIEW OF DOWNTOWN SPRINGFIELD EPISCOPAL CITY OF THE SPRINGFIELD DIOCESE
U.S. ARMORY
Airplane view of Eastern States Exposition Grounds.
State Street Entrance, United States Armory, Springfield
ST. GAUDEN'S "PURITAN"
Courtesy Springfield Chamber of Commerce
Photo by Drake Studio, Springfield
P. C. Keiley, Architect
ST. MICHAEL'S CATHEDRAL, SPRINGFIELD Rev. George S. L. Connor, Rector.
THE Catholic Mirror
A CENTURY OF CATHOLICISM
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Courtesy Springfield Chamber of Commerce
RIVER FRONT, SPRINGFIELD
N THE year 1847. Father Riordan. of Worcester, dedicated the first Catholic church in Springfield. St. Benedict's on Union Street, a name perpetuated in the first cemetery, the old "God's acre" on Liberty Street. Father John J. Doherty, the first resident pastor, came in 1848. After three years of zealous work for souls, he left, and Springfield was for some years without a shepherd. Then came Rev. Michael P. Gallagher, the real founder of the Cathedral Parish, a far-sighted, courageous apostle, who must have visualized Springfield's brilliant Catholic future. He amazed his congregation, which was liv- ing far from the present St. Michael's, by purchas- ing the superb property on State Street. He proved himself a financial genius by purchasing mcre land than he needed, selling the surplus for more than he paid for the whole, and laboring day and night until he consecrated the present structure, a real marvel for those days, in 1867-the first parish church consecrated in New England. Within three years, his dream come true had be- come the cathedral of a new diocese, partly, doubt- less, because a suitable cathedral church was pre- pared and consecrated.
At the time, this selection created a surprise. Worcester had been looked upon as the logical seat for the head of a new diocese. Rome, however. decided otherwise, and the choice was ideal : it gave us an episcopal see in the heart of our most thickly populated section and about equally distant from the two extremities of the western counties. The Cathedral has been blessed with a line of able rectors. of whom several are still doing yeoman service in the Springfield vineyard. One is now our Vicar General. The present rector, a man of action, energy and courage, is the famous war
chaplain, Rev. George S. L. Connor, successor of the late Father James F. Ahern, of blessed memory. Father Connor has multiplied the in- terests of the Cathedral High School pupils, has installed a new heating system and a superb organ in this historic church, and proven himself an in- spiring and competent organizer and leader.
FROM the beginnings of Bishop O'Reilly's reign, the Catholic population of Springfield spread to every corner of the city and new parish lines had to be drawn. The Rev. James J. McDer- mott, first rector of the Cathedral, was sent to or- ganize the parish of the Sacred Heart, at the north end. He was a staunch believer in the importance of Catholic education, and, first in our diocese. built the school before the church and used the school hall for divine worship. The school opened in 1877. the church was dedicated in 1896. For
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