USA > Massachusetts > Suffolk County > Boston > Metropolitan Boston; a modern history; Volume V > Part 10
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Rev. Mark E. Madden was born in Water- town, Massachusetts, March 18, 1868, and re- ceived his early and preparatory education in the public schools. When his high school course was completed he entered Boston Col- lege, and upon graduation he entered St. John's Seminary, at Brighton, Massachusetts, from which he was ordained a priest Decem- ber 18, 1896. Immediately after his ordination he was appointed an assistant to Monsignor Magennis, at Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts, and there for a period of , eighteen years he gave faithful service, gaining for himself the experience and confidence which was to fit him for the more responsible position of pastor. When, after eighteen years as an assistant he was made a pastor, and appointed to Hough's Neck, which was then an unorganized parish. Father Madden laid the foundations of this parish, erecting the church which he completed in 1918. In addition to this he accomplished a vast amount of work and securely laid the foundations upon which has been built the the present prosperity of the parish. At the end of that time, in 1918, he was assigned to St. Philip's Church, in Boston, but three months later he was again transferred, this
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time to his present charge, St. John's, at Can- ton, Massachusetts.
For the past ten years Father Madden has been very active in forwarding the interests of this parish. All the various societies have been stimulated, and the parochial school has received a large amount of attention. As it has grown steadily in numbers and in influ- ence, its teaching force has been increased, and this necessitated better accommodations for the Sisters who have charge of the school. Father Madden built a convent which would provide not only for the needs of the time but would allow for future increase, and now thirteen Sisters, who have charge of the four hundred and fifty pupils of the school, are comfortably housed there. In all departments of the parish interests and activities, Father Madden has been a leader and an inspiring guide. The twenty-three hundred souls of the parish find ample opportunity for expression of their religious life and interest in the usual sodalities and other organizations, including a Sacred Heart and a Holy Name Society, and in addition to the usual varied interests of the parish, St. John's Church also has an in- terest in the State Hospital School for Crip- pled Children, and Masses are said there every Sunday.
Faithful work and simple devotion to his charge have enabled Father Madden to accom- plish a vast amount here during the past decade, and while attending to his duties as a pastor he has built up for himself an affection and esteem in the hearts of his many parish- ioners which has steadily grown with the pass- ing years. The community recognizes the value of his achievements here, and gives him the sincere respect which is the due of worth.
REV. EUGENE J. VINCENT-St. Zephirin's Roman Catholic Church at Cochitu- ate, and St. Ann's at Wayland, Massachusetts,
are both under the direction of Rev. Eugene J. Vincent, who has been located here since July, 1927. St. Zephirin's Church was built in 1889 by Rev. Alphonsus Rainville. This seats about three hundred and fifty people. He also purchased an old house which he re- paired, built a sun parlor and this is now used for the present rectory. The parish includes a large territory and in the summer months many campers who reside here together with visitors increase materially the size of the con- gregations. There is a Sunday school with an enrollment of sixty children, and St. Zephirin's has a spirit of cooperation and willing service which enables the pastor and his assistant to accomplish much for this section.
The parish at Wayland formerly held serv- ices in the Town Hall, but in 1904 St. Ann's Church was built, and this has since been oc- cupied as their place of worship, and while the congregation is not large there is a very ac- tive Sunday school. The members of the parish are active and enthusiastic, and one Mass is said in the church each Sunday by Father Vincent's assistant, and the members of the parish find that, as in the small college, individuals have greater opportunity for carefully directed service than is sometimes the case in larger congregations. Both St. Zephirin's and St. Ann's are fortunate in their pastor, and though he has only been located here for about a year and a half he has already made his influence felt for good, inspiring the young people of his parish and directing wise- ly the activities of all the various organizations of the church.
Rev. Eugene J. Vincent was born in Canada, September 16, 1887, and received his early and preparatory education in public and private schools in his native district. Eventually, he entered Joliette College, in Canada, and when his course there was completed came to the States, located in Boston, and entered St. John's Seminary, at Brighton, Massachusetts, where he was graduated and ordained a priest April 6, 1914. His first assignment was to the French Church of St. Louis, at Lowell, Massa-
Pig John Sullivan
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chusetts, and there he served as an assistant for a period of fourteen years. At the end of that time, in July, 1927, he was made a pastor and assigned to his present charge, St. Zephirin's and St. Ann's, at Cochituate and at Wayland. Here he is giving splendid service in both churches, with the help of his able assistant, and his kindly and courteous manner, together with his ability and his genuine worth of character, has won for him many friends in the community. He is popular among all those who have been brought into contact with him, either in church work or in civic enter- prises, and there is every indication that his pastorate here will be a most successful one.
REV. JOHN P. SULLIVAN-One of the oldest Catholic churches in the archdiocese of Boston is the Church of St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception, of Salem, Massachu- setts, which Rev. John P. Sullivan has served as pastor since 1911, a period of eighteen years, during which time he has rendered dis- tinctive service.
The Church of St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception, of Salem, had its beginning back in 1790, when the first Catholic congregation in Salem was formed by Rev. John Thayer, of Boston, out of descendants of the exiled Acadians, together with a handful of foreigners from various maritime countries. For thirty years this little "gathering of the faithful" was kept together by the personal attention of Father Thayer, Dr. Matignon, and Bishop Cheverus. The congregation was without means to erect even the humblest church. Land was bought in 1813 but sold four years later, and it was not until 1821 that a chapel, simple and small, unpainted without and unplastered within, was finally built-the fourth house of Catholic worship in all the province. This was St. Mary's Church, for more than twenty- five years the only Catholic church in Essex
County. For a time it was served by the Bishop of Boston, but in 1826 Rev. John Ma- honey was appointed the first resident pastor of the parish, the boundaries of which included Lynn on the south, Dover, New Hampshire, on the north, and Lowell and Waltham on the east. In 1831 Father Mahoney was trans- ferred to the new St. Patrick's Church in Lowell and was succeeded at St. Mary's by Rev. William Wiley. The church was finished and dedicated during his ministry of three years, and twenty-two converts were baptized by him. In 1834 Rev. John D. Brady took charge. He was relieved by the setting off of Dover as a separate parish, and in 1836 he purchased the first parochial residence, near the church, on Mall Street. In 1841 Rev. James Strain, an elder brother of Monsignor Strain of Lynn, succeeded Father Brady. He was transferred in 1842, and Rev. Thomas J. O'Flaherty, the fifth pastor, took charge. He was a physician and a writer, as well as a priest, and was engaged in laying out a ceme- tery when death ended his pastorate in 1846. During the next eleven years Rev. James Con- way, who had been educated as a surveyor and had served among the Indians of Maine, led the parish through a period of great development. The congregation so enlarged that a second church of the city, St. James, was erected under his supervision. The Sis- ters of Notre Dame were brought by Father Conway and installed in a school house and a convent in 1855, and the present Church of St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception was brought almost to completion by this able pas- tor. In 1857 this beloved pastor died, and even the far-away Penobscot Indians held memorial services in his honor.
The next pastor was Rev. T. H. Shahan, who had charge of both parishes in Salem, St. Mary's and St. James', until 1861. He completed the new church of St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception, which was dedicated in 1858. Rev. Michael Hartney, the eighth pastor, converted the old church into a school house for boys, for which purpose it was used from 1863 to 1866, and then abandoned.
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In 1877 the timbers were torn down, and in 1880 the granite foundation removed, portions of both base and superstructure being pre- served to make part of the tower of the present church. In 1886 the land on which this ancient tabernacle once stood was sold. In 1864 Father Hartney erected an altar of Caen stone, which added much to the interior fittings of the church. He died in 1868 and was succeeded by Rev. William Hally. During his pastorate a French congregation was gathered in the basement, and in 1877, because of poor health he retired in favor of Rev. P. J. Hally, the tenth pastor. The latter in- troduced the practice of holding services for Catholic prisoners in the county prison and almshouse. The interior of the church was improved and the parish school enlarged by him, but in 1896 he resigned to take up mis- sionary work among the negroes. He was succeeded by Rev. John D. Tierney, who im- proved the church property, especially the parochial residence on Union Street, and bought land on Lafayette Street. During his pastor- ate sixteen Sisters of Charity from New Jersey, who had superseded the Sisters of Notre Dame, took care of the six hundred and thirty boys and girls enrolled in the parochial school. Rev. Timothy J. Murphy was the twelfth pastor, and he was very active in forwarding the interests of the parish until 1911, when the present pastor, Rev. John P. Sullivan, took charge.
Rev. John P. Sullivan was born in Rockland, Massachusetts, August 3, 1863, and educated in the local public schools and in Boston College. He received his theological training in St. John's Seminary, at Brighton, Massachusetts, from which he was graduated, and was or- dained a priest June 22, 1889. After serving as a curate for about six months at St. Michael's Church in Hudson, he was sent to a church in Marlborough, where he served as a curate for nineteen years. At the end of that time he was appointed pastor of the Church of the Sacred Heart in Middleboro, October, 1909. This included the State Farm in Bridgewater, for three years, and during that time he also
ministered to the Lakeville Sanitarium. In October, 1911, he took charge of the church and parish of St. Mary of the Immaculate Con- ception, at Salem, and here he has for the past eighteen years been devoting his talent and his energy to furthering the many-sided interests of the parish. He is the thirteenth pastor of this historic congregation, and since taking charge he has purchased $60,000 worth of prop- erty for the parish.
The church is located on the Hawthorne Boulevard, between Essex and Charter streets, and seats about one thousand people in the body of the church and about five hundred more in the balcony. The choir loft, furnished with a very beautiful toned organ and lighted by three handsome stained-glass windows, seats about one hundred and twenty-five singers. The pews are of solid oak, and eighteen stained- glass windows admit softened light to the main body of the church. The central altar of mas- sive Caen marble, beautifully designed, attracts the attention of all visitors, and two smaller altars at the sides of the church are also of marble, one of these being a memorial presented by Miss Ann Mains, in honor of her parents. The ceiling is beautified by nine magnificent paintings representing Scriptural events and typifying Scriptural lessons. At the end of the main aisle, facing the altar, is a beautiful memorial window portraying Christ on the Cross, and around the sides of the church are fourteen beautifully painted Stations of the Cross. In front of the church on the boule- vard is a very beautiful park in which stands a marble monument bearing on the face of it a bronze tablet inscribed "A Memorial to the Boys of the Immaculate Conception Parish who Served in the World War." Below the tablet are the names of those of the parish who served. In the park are life-size figures of Nathaniel Hawthorne and Father Mathew, the latter Father Sullivan had removed to its pres- ent position from a point near the police sta- tion. Since coming to the parish Father Sulli- van has completely renovated the rectory and has built a chapel. The parish numbers about
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4,200 souls, and the parochial school has an enrollment of seven hundred children, who are instructed by eighteen Sisters of Charity. The Sisters are housed in a Convent which provides accommodation for twenty-five. In the gen- eral work of the parish Father Sullivan is assisted by three priests, who also aid him in the work of saying Masses and holding services in the County Jail. The church has the usual number of sodalities and charitable organiza- tions, including St. Mary's Guild, Society of St. Vincent de Paul, Holy Name societies, and League of the Sacred Heart, a number of which were organized by Father Sullivan. There is also a Father Mathew Total Abstinence Society, Ancient Order of Hibernians, Knights of Columbus, and in all of these Father Sullivan takes a very active part. The long term of years during which Father Sullivan has minis- tered to this one parish has made him a vital part of the lives of his people and brought him the respect of the residents of Salem, regard- less of religious affiliations.
The fortieth anniversary of Father Sulli- van's ordination to the priesthood was observed June 22, 1929. He was one of a class of twenty- two, eleven of whom are now living. A private Mass was celebrated in the morning and later many friends called to extend their good wishes, and flowers in abundance were sent as a token of the high regard in which he is held. In honor of the occasion there were held several reunions of parish organizations.
REV. DANIEL C. RIORDAN, pastor of St. Patrick's Church in Watertown, Massachu- setts, has to his credit more than four decades of effective service in various parishes, fifteen as curate and twenty-nine as pastor. He came to St. Patrick's in November, 1928.
St. Patrick's Church of Watertown was orig- inally a mission of the Waltham Church, which was founded about 1830. When the Waltham
church was destroyed by fire, Rev. P. Flood, pastor at that time, transferred his residence to Watertown and held services in a Reading Room at Watertown Square. Soon a discarded Methodist Chapel was purchased and later the congregation acquired land and erected a plain brick building which seated, with its galleries, about one thousand people. This was dedi- cated in 1848. Upon the death of Rev. P. Flood in 1863, he was succeeded by his brother, Rev. Bernard Flood, who had come to the town as curate in 1851. In 1864 Father Flood was transferred to Waltham and Rev. John W. McCarthy served as pastor at Watertown until 1871. From 1871 to 1879 Rev. M. M. Green was pastor, but when the Newton par- ishes were formed he was transferred to that town. His successor was Rev. Robert P. Stack, one of the most loved clergymen of the archdiocese. During Father Stack's pastorate a fine brick school house was erected near the brick church, and opened in 1888, with the Sis- ters of St. Dominic in charge, and the old wooden church was remodelled as a convent, serving as the home of the Sisters. A high school department was added to the school in 1891. On Chestnut Street Father Stack erected a parish house. In January, 1895, he was called to his reward, having served the parish, as assistant and pastor, for twenty-one years, the entire period of his priestly life.
Rev. John S. Cullen, from South Framing- ham, was appointed to continue the work for which Father Stack had so well prepared the parish. Father Cullen acquired land on Main Street for a much-needed new church, and at once set about the task of building. The lower church was completed in 1898 and the upper church in 1901. The church building is a beautiful piece of architecture, in the Gothic style, surmounted by two beautiful towers or pinnacles which are of most symmetrical pro- portions and terminate in four golden tips. Twelve burned-glass windows mellow the light as it enters the building which, in its interior appointments resembles an old English cathe- dral. A beautiful sandstone altar is an object
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of interest to visitors, and the solid oak pews of the upper church provide seating for about eleven hundred people. The lower church has a seating capacity of about one thousand,-mak- ing, in all, seating provision for twenty-one hundred people.
In 1908 Rev. Ambrose F. Roche was ap- pointed pastor of St. Patrick's, and he turned his attention to the building up of the schools, in which task he achieved marvelous results. There are now (1929) three parochial schools in the parish, a primary school, a grammar school, and a Commercial Institute. The lat- ter having an enrollment of one hundred and forty-nine pupils, presided over by the Domini- can Sisters. This institution, which was the creation of Father Roche, is housed in a beau- tiful building, modern in all its appointments and providing most completely for the health and comfort of students and teachers. Enter- ing the building from the front, one finds on the left the principal's room, while on the right is a room fitted for the use of Sisters, parents, and children, for consultation. Passing along the main hall, one finds on the right and left, along the walls, small compartments provided with hooks for the clothing of the students through which warm air is passed for drying when the weather is damp. The seven class- rooms, each providing accommodations for forty pupils, are thoroughly lighted by large windows, and the desks are fitted on iron stand- ards which can easily be moved about and can be adjusted to the individual needs of the pupils. Eight double doors provide means of exit and the building can be emptied in three minutes. In its completeness the building reflects the care and the wisdom which created the Insti- tute. When this place was completed and opened in 1924 Father Roche felt that one of his aims had been achieved. In this Commer- cial Institute all branches of a thorough busi- ness education are taught, including stenog- raphy, typewriting, business deportment, all forms of business letters, proper methods of meeting people in offices, proper manners in entering a place of business, and every possible
kind of instruction which can be of use in business life. Before graduation each pupil is required to pass a most rigid examination in all subjects taught and must have an excellent standing before they can receive their diplomas. Father Roche also purchased a dwelling house which he enlarged, with an addition of twelve sleeping rooms, into a convent which provides excellent accommodations for twenty Sisters. In the rear of the Institute a large lawn, sur- rounded by walls, provides the Sisters with a secluded place for exercise and rest, and in all appointments the buildings and grounds are planned for efficiency. The parish buildings total twelve, built upon three acres of ground within the city of Watertown, and in 1923 thir- teen additional acres were purchased for a Catholic cemetery. There a beautiful receiving vault has been built for the reception of bodies
during the winter season. Father Roche also purchased a fine old estate in Lexington, and this he transformed into Sacred Heart Acad- emy, which provides accommodation for one hundred and fifty girls under the instruction of the Dominican Sisters. In November, 1928, Father Roche was succeeded by the present pastor, Rev. Daniel C. Riordan.
Rev. Daniel C. Riordan was born in Quincy, Massachusetts, June 29, 1861, and received his early education in the public schools of his birthplace. He continued his studies in Adams Academy and then matriculated in Boston Col- lege. When his course there was completed he began his theological training in the Grand Seminary, at Montreal, Canada, returning later to the United States, where he was ordained a priest in the Cathedral, July 1, 1885. After his ordination he served as a curate for fifteen years and then was assigned to Middleboro, Massachusetts, where he was made a pastor. After eight years of fruitful service at Middle- boro, Father Riordan was transferred to Milton, Massachusetts, and nine years later to Newton. His next charge was at Montvale, Massachu- setts, from which place he was transferred to Marblehead. While at Marblehead he raised the money and began the building of a fine new
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church edifice, which was well toward comple- tion when he came to Watertown as pastor of St. Patrick's Church.
Father Riordan took charge here November 7, 1928, and already he has endeared himself to his parish and won the respect and esteem of his fellow-citizens in Watertown. He is a worthy successor of the able and faithful pas- tors who have preceded him in this old parish, and there is every prospect that under his leadership St. Patrick's will move steadily for- ward in the splendid work which it has so well begun.
REV. RAYMOND DALLA PORTA-As pastor of the Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, at Milford, Massachusetts, Rev. Ray- mond Dalla Porta is working at a double task. He is striving earnestly to clear the indebted- ness of the lower, or basement, church, while erecting a substantial and beautiful upper church.
In Milford, the Italian people began to set- tle about the beginning of the present century. They early felt the need of a church of their own, in which their own language should be used for general intercourse, and in 1903 a group of the faithful, headed by Mr. E. Caruso, laid before the Right Rev. T. Beaven, Bishop of Springfield diocese, the earnest plea of the Italian people of Milford, for a church of their own. After due investigation the Bishop granted their request and charged Rev. Rocco Petrarca with the task of organizing the new parish. The young priest, full of enthusiasm for the task assigned him, immediately set about raising funds for the purchase of a con- veniently located plot of land. He remodelled an old dwelling house into a chapel, and went vigorously to work developing and strengthen- ing the life of the parish. Soon the growing needs of the parish made necessary a consider- able enlargement of the chapel, and in 1905 it was embellished with a stone front and
tower. As the years passed, however, the enthusiastic young priest encountered difficul- ties of so serious a nature that he was dis- missed by the Bishop. He went to Columbus, Ohio, and the Bishop appealed to the Stigma- tine Fathers, to whom he had previously given the Italian parish of Springfield. Two new priests, duly introduced by Father R. Dalla Porta, were assigned to continue the work of Father Petrarca, Rev. E. Lona, as pastor, and Rev. A. Toniolli as assistant, the latter later being succeeded by Rev. L. Sella.
Father Lona worked hard to build up the spiritual and material life of the parish and gave special attention to the establishment of a parochial school. Although a new building was badly needed, he felt that the welfare of the children must receive first attention, and in 1920 called in the Sisters to help with the teaching and guidance of the youth of the parish. This delayed the building of the new church, and it was not until the next pastor, Rev. L. Fontana, took charge that the lower church was built. Under the new pastor the people worked hard and contributed freely, and in 1927 the generosity of Miss Elizabeth Sup- ple, who at her death willed her estate to the parish on condition that a new church be raised on the premises, made possible the building of a lower church, impressive in size and in beauty. Father Fontana served until 1928, when he was succeeded by Rev. Raymond Dalla Porta, the present pastor.
Since coming to the Church of the Sacred Heart Father Dalla Porta, who has behind him a record of splendid service, has been working diligently for the completion of the church edifice, and though the lower church was not yet paid for did not hestitate to attempt the double task of paying off the indebtedness of the lower church and at the same time erecting the upper church. The people of the parish are cooperating with him most fully, and the work is going rapidly forward. Father Dalla Porta has the full con- fidence of his people and of his superiors in the church organization, and is doing a splen- did work in Milford.
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