USA > Massachusetts > Suffolk County > Boston > Metropolitan Boston; a modern history; Volume V > Part 3
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der the title of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin in 1873, but in the meantime, in 1870, a parochial house had been built close to the church. A parochial school was then built, planned to ultimately serve for the religious and secular education of both boys and girls, called the School of the Assumption, and placed under the supervision of the Sisters of Notre Dame, and until 1889 only girls were received there, but since that time both boys and girls at- tend the school. In 1922 Father Barry provided for the accommodation of more pupils by con- verting the old rectory into two additional class- rooms, thus providing for the present enrollment of four hundred and fifty girls and boys, who receive instruction and guidance from ten sisters and one lay teacher. The parish now numbers twenty-five hundred souls. The buildings of the church equipment now (1928) number six separate structures, and Father Barry is as- sisted in his work by two priests.
REV. MICHAEL J. SCANLAN-In June, 1922, Rev. Michael J. Scanlan succeeded Rev. William F. Powers as pastor of St. Rose's Roman Catholic Church of Chelsea, Massachu- setts. He is the seventh pastor of the parish, and since taking charge here he has worked faithfully for the advancement of the spiritual and the material interests of the parish and has made for himself a large place in the hearts of his people.
Though the first permanent pastor of the Catholic community in Chelsea was not ap- pointed until 1849, and St. Rose's Church was not dedicated until 1866, the history of the par- ish goes back to a much earlier date. As early as 1833 a few Catholics had settled in the Chel- sea district. In that year there came also from Ireland, Michael McLaughlin, the first Catholic of this district of whom there is definite in- formation, with Michael Farren. Mr. McLaughlin came directly to Chelsea, but Mr. Farren lived
in Boston for a decade before settling here. Hugh Gilmore, another Irish settler, lived in North Chelsea, now known as Revere, as early as 1834. During the following ten years came Bernard Fanning, Bernard Foley, Matthew Smith, John Kyle, John Golden, John O'Hara, and many others whose descendants have been identified with the history of the parish for many years. This little handful of Irish Catholics early gathered in certain homes of the com- munity for worship and in the fall of 1844 the first mass was celebrated in the home of Orestes Augustus Brownson, the well-known writer, who had been successively a Congregationalist, a Unitarian, a Universalist, and had finally been baptized into the Catholic church in 1844. Rev. Nicholas O'Brien, first Catholic pastor of East Boston, officiated, and after the service it was announced that thereafter mass would be said occasionally in the home of Bernard Fanning on Pine Street. When no services were held here the people attended St. Nicholas Church in East Boston, or St. Mary's Church at Charlestown, though prior to 1844 they had attended St. Mary's at Charlestown, or St. Mary's, North End, but all baptisms, marriages, and sick calls were referred to St. Mary's at Charlestown. When the famine of 1845-46 in Ireland drove great numbers of the Irish people to this coun- try the Chelsea district received many of the immigrants, and the Catholic congregation grew rapidly.
In August, 1845, Father Radigan came to Chelsea and lived at the home of Bernard Fan- ning, where for three months he said mass regularly. An accident caused his return to New York, and in the spring of 1847 Rev. John O'Beirne came to look after the people of Chel- sea and Lynn. He lived on Walnut Street and said mass in Guild Hall, corner of Winnisimmet and School streets. In December, 1847, he was succeeded by Rev. John O'Brien, recently ar- rived from Virginia, who took charge, February 5, 1848, of the Catholics of Chelsea, Lynn, and Newburyport. There were now about two hundred Catholics in Chelsea, and within a few months Father O'Brien was placed permanently in Newburyport, from which place he came to
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Chelsea for a time. Then Rev. Charles Smith came to Chelsea, and in January, 1849, he was appointed permanent pastor. He was a convert to the Catholic faith and for a time stopped at the home of Bernard Fanning on Pine Street, later removing to a brick block on the same street. Steps were soon taken for securing bet- ter church accommodations, and through the aid of Bernard Fanning a large house on Cottage Street was purchased. Then a collection tour was made, netting some $300, which sum went toward the first payment on the property. A building on this lot was fitted up for church and rectory purposes. This was Chelsea's first Catholic church, or chapel. Father Smith died in 1851 and was buried in Old Cambridge.
Rev. Patrick Strain, who had been ordained at St. Sulpice Seminary, in Paris, France, a few months before, succeeded him. A man of cul- ture, he carried himself with dignity and tol- erance through all the agitation of this period against Catholics. On January 25, 1855, he purchased six hundred feet of land on Broad- way, at the corner of what is now Armory Street. The house upon this property was re- modeled as a rectory, and in May of the same year another parcel of land extending from near the railroad bridge southwesterly on Broad Street for 211 feet and extending to the rear across what is now Chestnut Street, totalling 21,996 feet, was purchased. A new church build- ing was begun, and late in 1861 services were held there. On August 30, 1866, St. Rose's Church, which was 112 by 72 feet, was dedicated by Bishop Williams. During his pastorate of fifteen years, 1852-1867, Father Strain cared for Lynn as well as Chelsea, but in February, 1867, the two districts were separated and Father Strain then took up his residence in Lynn.
Rev. James McGlew, a native of Navan, County Meath, who had been ordained in Ire- land in 1848, had come to this country two years later, had served in the diocese of Buf- falo for fifteen years, and then in Randolph, Massachusetts, was the next pastor. The parish at this time included Chelsea proper, what is now Revere, Beachmont, Everett, and a portion of Malden. For thirty-six years Father Mc-
Glew ministered faithfully here. A series of purchases and improvements, including the en- largement of the church by the addition of a vestry; the purchase, June 10, 1868, of the present rectory; the construction in 1871 of the original girls' school and convent; and the bringing of the Sisters of Notre Dame to con- duct the parish school, were his work. Also the building of the boys' school, completed in 1889, and the coming of the Sisters of Provi- dence (of St. Mary-of-the-Woods), August 20, 1899. In 1867 Everett and Revere were set aside as a separate parish. Father McGlew died in 1902, after fifty-four years of service as a priest.
Rev. Thomas Addis Emmet Power was the next pastor. He added a lower chapel to the church, extended the building some thirty feet, arranged for the building of the present con- vent on Tudor Street, organized the Polish peo- ple of Chelsea and purchased for them their church, and crowded his few years at St. Rose with good works and inspiring service to the time of his death in June, 1907.
Rev. Thomas F. Cusack, who had been pastor of St. Michael's Church in Hudson, Massachu- setts, for almost a quarter of a century, came next, and during his pastorate, on Palm Sun- day, 1908, a fire swept away half of Chelsea, including all of the church and parochial school property south of the railroad bridge. Father Cusack never recovered from the effects of this disaster. He tried to rebuild, but died in Febru- ary, 1909.
Rev. William F. Powers was the next pastor, serving from 1909 to 1922. He took up the work of reconstruction with vigor and within three years erected the present beautiful mod- ern parish school of eighteen rooms. In 1917 he voluntarily returned to the old rectory, giv- ing up the spacious building on Tudor Street to the Sisters of Providence, and in 1920 he be- gan the task of replacing the stained glass win- dows which had been destroyed by the fire. Before engaging the contractors he made a special study of stained glass art, with the result that the windows of St. Rose's Church follow closely the best of medieval stained glass
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Rev. No A. Ryan
Lewis Historical Pub Co
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traditions. Every emblem or attribute is es- sentially medieval in origin and significance. Nothing has been introduced without legiti- mate precedent. Unity and harmony char- acterize all the work, and the quality of the glass is the best obtainable. In the twenty windows that range along the sides of the church and glorify the Apostles, the Evangelist, and the eight Great Doctors, all medieval sig- nificances have been used, both in color and in form. The Apostles' windows are epitomized and fused in the great rose windows of the façade, which expresses the Holy Ghost send- ing his fire upon the twelve Apostles for the con- version of the nations, and the lines of all the windows converge in an upward direction, toward heaven. So with many windows in the other parts of the church, all have their sig- nificance, all are true to the medieval symbolism, and all are worthy of study for the meaning as well as for the beauty of line and color. Few churches have windows so carefully worked out as has the Church of St. Rose, in Chelsea. The completion of the reconstructed church and the erection of the splendid parish school beside the church represent the material accomplish- ments of Father Powers, and in the spiritual work of the parish he was as effectual. A man of exceptional talents, sodalities and societies re- vived under his encouragement, the enrollment of the schools increased, and the interest in the work of the parish waxed steadily stronger. On May 16, 1922, Father Powers passed to his re- ward, leaving behind him loving gratitude for the great service he had rendered. None de- serves a higher place than he in the esteem and memory of his parishioners.
Within a month of the death of Father Powers His Eminence, Cardinal O'Connell, appointed the Rev. Michael J. Scanlan pastor of St. Rose's Parish. Father Scanlan had been a member of the staff of Holy Cross Cathedral for seven- teen years, and a director of the Diocesan Char- itable Bureau for more than ten years before coming to St. Rose's, and during the seven years of his pastorate here he has made for himself a very large place in the hearts of his people.
In November, 1924, under the direction of Father Scanlan, St. Rose's Parish celebrated the seventy-fifth anniversary of its founding. The program, as sanctioned by Cardinal O'Con- nell, provided for the holding of a bazaar, the proceeds of which were to be set aside as a foundation for a high school building fund; a four weeks' mission by the Jesuit Fathers, a solemn high jubilee mass, and a jubilee ban- quet. This program was successfully carried out in every detail, the bazaar bringing in more than $20,000 for the school fund. Over 4,000 adults attended the mission, and at the close of the fourth week 4,233 adult confessions had been heard. On Sunday, November 23, Cardinal O'Connell was present at the jubilee solemn high mass, at the conclusion of which Father Scanlan delivered an address of welcome to the Cardinal and the Cardinal responded with an inspiring address, after which Rev. Mortimer E. Twomey delivered the jubilee sermon. The jubilee banquet was held in the local State Armory, and the Diamond Jubilee of St. Rose's Parish closed with the singing by all present of the hymn, "Holy God We Praise Thy Name."
As the years pass Father Scanlan is bringing to St. Rose's Parish and Church the rich offer- ing of a cultured mind, a heart filled with the love of his fellows, and a consecrated person- ality. The influence of his Christian character is felt increasingly throughout the parish and his place in the regard of the community in general is a high one.
REV. WILLIAM A. RYAN-One of the most imposing groups of buildings used for religious purposes in Dorchester is that which includes the various structures erected for the service of St. Margaret's Roman Catholic Church, located on the corner of Columbia Road and Dorchester Avenue. St. Margaret's parish was set off from the older parish of St. Peter's, June 10, 1893, the latter located on Meeting House Hill, in Dorchester. The
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present pastor of St. Margaret's, Rev. William A. Ryan, has been engaged in the work in this section of the city for nearly thirty-six years. He is among the oldest in point of service of the Catholic pastors in the Boston Diocese and none are better known or more loved than Father Ryan; and certainly no other has ren- dered greater service than he. All the beautiful buildings of St. Margaret's have been erected under his supervision.
Rev. William A. Ryan was born in Law- rence, Massachusetts, May 1, 1856, and received his early training in the public schools of his native city. Later he became a student in St. John's College, at Fordham, New York, and when his course there was finished he went to St. Joseph's Seminary, Troy, New York, from which he was ordained to the priesthood, December 20, 1879. His first as- signment was at St. Peter's Church, Cam- bridge, subsequently he labored in Newbury- port four years and in Brookline, eight years; and from there in June, 1893, he came to Dorchester, his present parish, and began the work of building up the parish of St. Mar- gareť's. Ground was purchased for a new building, but worship was conducted in a hall for some time after the parish was set off from St. Peter's in 1893. The hall was located on Cottage Street, Town Meeting Square, and at the time Father Ryan took charge the attendance at services averaged fifty persons, this being all the hall would accom- modate, although the parish contained 1500 souls. The first Mass was said on July 16, 1893. Meantime, in June of that year Father Ryan had begun the erection of a wooden church edifice, and this was completed in No- vember of the same year and here they wor- shipped until 1900. The congregation grew steadily, and in 1897 Father Ryan began the building of the rectory, which was completed in 1898. This is a beautiful sixteen-room house, well planned, well equipped, and most comfortably furnished. In 1899 the founda- tions of the present imposing church building, seventy-eight feet wide and one hundred and sixty feet deep, on Columbia Road, were laid
and as soon as the lower church, or first story, was completed, it was used for the regular church services. That was in 1900, and the lower church served all the purposes of the religious services and worship until 1904. The earnestness with which the work was carried forward is indicated by the fact that the cornerstone of the upper church was laid June 25, 1899, by Archbishop Williams, and in November of 1904 the edifice was com- pleted.
St. Margaret's is a beautiful structure, stand- ing on the corner of Dorchester Avenue and Columbia Road, next to the rectory. Two beautiful transept windows over the altar and twelve memorial windows, all of rich and beau- tiful design, given by the members of the church, soften the light as it enters. The decorations are of that rich simplicity which characterizes the best in the art of interior decoration. The pews are large and roomy and of solid oak, and there is seating for about 1200 people. At the end of the centre aisle is a massive marble altar, exquisitely hand carved, also two smaller altars, one on the right and one on the left. The altar is lighted by three beautiful stained glass windows. The roof of the church is supported by ten mas- sive arches, resting upon ten columns, gilded at the top. All the wood trimmings of the church are of solid oak, including the altar rail which extends all the way across the church. In the roof are ten stained glass windows and directly under these are eight beautiful paintings six by ten feet, representing principal events of the life of the Saviour. In the front of the church on right and left are two stained glass windows, composed of small- er windows, eight in the lower, and the upper, which is circular, consisting of ten. The body of the church is lighted by eight stained glass windows, each one representing a Saint or a Prophet. Between these in bas-relief around the church are the fourteen stations of the cross. The great organ loft, which will seat about one hundred and fifty, contains a beauti- ful Estey organ.
Father Ryan, in 1907, began to give his at-
ST. MARGARET'S SCHOOL-ST. MARGARET'S RECTORY-ST. MARGARET'S CHURCH
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tention and thought to the education of the children, and the building of schools for that purpose. The cornerstone of the first school was laid in 1909 by the late Bishop Anderson, and the building was completed and opened September 14, 1910. This building contains eighteen classrooms, but by 1922 it was found necessary to begin the erection of a second school structure, which was completed in 1923 and contains twelve classrooms. Now St. Margaret's parish takes care of about thirteen hundred children in the primary, grammar, and high school grades, presided over by thirty- four Sisters of Charity, of Halifax, Nova Scotia. The convent in which the Sisters live was built in 1914 with accommodations for forty Sisters, and forms another unit in the group of buildings which has the distinction of being one of the largest in the city owned by a church organization. From a small men- bership at the time of Father Ryan's coming, the parish has grown to nearly eight thousand souls, and this splendid growth, together with the erection of all the buildings, has taken place under the leadership of Father Ryan. For some years he attended to all the duties of the parish, but as time passed and the burdens grew heavier it became necessary to have an assistant, and still later two other assistants were needed until at the present time there are three in all. Father Ryan is (1928) serving his forty-ninth year in the work of the Church. He is now among the oldest priests in the city in point of service, and it is safe to say that few if any are better known than he. He is alert, active, and keenly interested in the advancement of the best and highest in- terests of St. Margaret's. In Dorchester and in other sections of Greater Boston, he is known as a man of integrity and of sincere devotion to the work to which he has given his life, and there are many who have reason to bless the kindly, helping hand which has so often been extended to them by Father Ryan. His portrait and portraits of the group of buildings found in connection with this article will, it is felt, be a source of pride and pleasure to his parishioners.
REV. FRANCIS A. CUNNINGHAM, of St. Leo's Church, which is located on Esmond Street, in Dorchester, Massachusetts, has been engaged in the work for over forty years, and is one of the well-known and highly respected clergymen of the Boston Diocese. It is a far cry from the days when Rev. John Cheverus was raised to the Episcopate as first Bishop of Boston, in 1810, to the present. Then Catholic churches were rare in New England, and church missionaries and the Apostolic Missionaries min- istered to the scattered groups of the faithful throughout this wide territory. Such conse- crated men as Father Thayer traveled about from State to State, preaching by the wayside wherever a group of Catholics could be found, and administering the sacraments in whatever building could be obtained for the purpose. It is a matter of record that in 1806 there were only two Catholic priests in New England, and that one of these was Father Cheverus, who later became the first Bishop of Boston. Little groups were organized into churches composed of congregations scattered over wide areas. As population increased portions of these wide ter- ritories were set off as new parishes and in turn beçame new centers of religious life and progress. Able men built up small parishes into strong and powerful churches, and so the great work went on until at the present time, one hundred and eighteen years after the raising of Bishop Cheverus to the Episcopate, New Eng- land is thickly strewn with Catholic churches and cathedrals, some large and magnificent enough to satisfy the most ambitious, and others small but mighty in potential possibili- ties.
Rev. Francis A. Cunningham was born in Roxbury, Massachusetts, and after attending the public schools of his birthplace, matriculated in Boston College, from which he was graduated with the class of 1884. When his college course was completed he went to Rome, Italy, where he received his theological degrees and was ordained a priest in 1889. Returning to the United States soon after his ordination his first assignment was to the Church of the Immacu- late Conception, in Malden, Massachusetts, as
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curate. Here he served for eighteen months and then he was assigned to St. John's Church in Quincy, Massachusetts. Eight years of faithful service there gave him valuable experi- ence and brought marked progress to the parish, and when he was transferred to St. Joseph's Church in Belmont, he had already become known as one of the able men of the church. Four years later he was made pastor of St. Mary's Church in Georgetown, and after a year and a half of service there he came to his pres- ent charge as pastor of St. Leo's Church in Dorchester.
St. Leo's Church and parish date back only a quarter of a century. The parish was or- ganized and the cornerstone of the church edi- fice laid on Thanksgiving Day, 1902, and the church building completed in 1903. The first pastor, Father McGoldrick, remained for two years, and his successor, Rev. Francis James Butler, served here for five years. Then, in 1909, came Father Cunningham, who for nearly twenty years has given his best effort and his deep devotion to the task of building up the parish. When he came in 1909 the congrega- tion numbered about fifteen hundred. Today (1928) the parish membership totals three thou- sand. In 1912 Father Cunningham purchased the rectory, which he remodelled, adding sev- eral rooms, and he has also greatly improved the church property, which is now valued at about $75,000. This church has long ago taken its place among the progressive parishes of New England. It has the following sodalities: Holy Name, Women's Catholic Guild, Boys' Club, and there is a Sunday school of five hun- dred children. Father Cunningham is assisted by two priests, Father Flynn, who is to take the place of Father E. A. Gallagher, who has been recently transferred to Salem, after serv- ing for seventeen years, and Father Thomas E. Conlon, who has been here five years.
In addition to his other duties Father Cun- ningham, in 1909, was appointed editorial writer on the "Pilot," and served in that capacity for three years.
CHURCH OF ST. MARY OF THE IM- MACULATE CONCEPTION-The history of the parish of St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception, in Everett, now presided over by Rev. Thomas J. McCormack, goes back to 1876, when the first services were held in the town by Rev. James McGlew, of Chelsea. There was no church building there, and for a year and a half Sunday school was con- ducted in Everett Hall. In 1877 a plot of land, containing 12,000 square feet, was pur- chased for the sum of $3,040. On this site, located at the corner of Broadway and Mans- field Place, work was soon afterward begun upon a fair-sized chapel. About the beginning of 1878 the basement of the building was ready for use, and on May 14, 1882, the com- pleted main auditorium was dedicated by Archbishop Williams. Everett was still a mis- sion of St. Rose's of Chelsea, but in 1885 Revere and Everett were set off as a separate parish, with Rev. Joseph F. Mohan in charge. In 1889 Revere was separated and Rev. James Lee made resident pastor there. Father Mohan was now able to devote more time to the interests of the people of Everett. A rectory had already been purchased in 1885, located on Webster Street, and in 1891 several lots of land near the church, aggregating 24,000 square feet, were acquired to provide for future needs of the parish. By 1899 the wooden chapel had been replaced by a larger and hand- somer brick church, which still meets the needs of the rapidly growing parish. Located on the corner of Broadway and Mansfield Street, the church building has a lower church seating about six hundred people and an upper church seating about eight hundred. Three altars appear in the upper church, which is furnished with oak pews, the beautiful central altar being supported by two side altars. There is a beautiful organ, made by Hook and Hastings, and the choir loft provides seating for one hundred and fifty singers. The school build- ing accommodates some eight hundred children, and is presided over by the Sisters of St. Joseph.
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