USA > Massachusetts > Suffolk County > Boston > Metropolitan Boston; a modern history; Volume V > Part 9
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For fifty years now, Monsignor Connolly has been engaged in the work of the church, as a priest, and during that time he has not only developed the parish of the Blessed Sacrament to its present strength and usefulness, but he has also found time for extensive travel in all parts of the world. He has been to Europe five times, has visited South America and Central America and the West Indies, and prac- tically every section of the United States. Dur- ing these journeyings he has collected thousands of rare and beautiful objects of interest, which he has carefully listed and distributed through- out the rooms of the rectory, adding greatly to the beauty and interest of his delightful home. He also has a large collection of the choicest and most beautiful engravings and oil paint- ings, including an especially fine one represent- ing "The Three Wise Men," and a library of several hundred choice volumes.
Few in the Boston Diocese have served so long and so effectively as has Monsignor Con- nolly, and now, at the age of seventy-five years, he is one of the best-known and most highly esteemed of those who serve as priests. The title of Monsignor was conferred on Father Connolly by His Holiness, Pope Pius XI, in 1926.
REV. DAVID F. REGAN-Among the younger of the parishes of the Boston district
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is St. Anne's Church, located at No. 86 Mil- ton Street, Readville, of which Rev. David F. Regan is pastor. He was born in Watertown, Massachusetts, June 15, 1872, attended the local public schools, graduating from the high school with the class of 1890. He became a student in Boston College, where he finished his course with graduation in 1894, and when his collegiate work was over he began his theological training in St. John's Seminary, located in Brighton, Massachusetts.
Father Regan was ordained December 16, 1898, and sent to St. Mary's Church at Wal- tham, Massachusetts, as an assistant, and there he remained for a period of eleven years. In 1909 he was transferred to St. Patrick's Church in Roxbury, as pastor, and in this field he rendered exceptionally fine service for ten years. He was made a pastor December 17, 1919, and assigned to the new parish of St. Anne's. The parish was duly organized by Father Regan, December 17, 1919, and for a time the congregation worshipped in a build- ing which had formerly been used as a school building. About seven months later, July 26, 1920, ground was broken for the erection of a new church edifice, and on October 26, 1921, the cornerstone of the structure was laid, with appropriate ceremonies. The church was con- pleted in 1922, and since that time the growth of the parish has been steady. The plans are now going forward to complete the upper church after which the lower church will be enlarged to accommodate about eight hundred people, and the upper church about one thou- sand. There is a school in which instruction is given to some three hundred and fifty children. The work of the school is under the care of eight Sisters of Charity of Nazareth. The par- ish has a convent which provides accommoda- tions for about .ten Sisters. The school is an excellent one and graduates its pupils into the upper classes of the grammar grades. During nearly ten years Father Regan has been de- voting his energies to the development of this parish, and has won the earnest and enthusias- tic cooperation of his parishioners.
REV. PETER H. GRENIER-The French parish of Salem, Massachusetts, is St. Joseph's, organized in 1872, and in charge of Rev. Peter H. Grenier, who has been pastor here since July, 1920. He was born in Montreal, Canada, February 24, 1857, and received his early edu- cation in Three Rivers, Canada, attending the public schools and preparing for college in the local high school. He then entered St. Joseph's Seminary, at Three Rivers, Canada, from which he graduated, and was ordained a priest on September 21, 1885. After his ordination he accepted a position as teacher in the classical courses and also acted as as- sistant in the Cathedral where he continued to serve until August, 1891. In that year he left Canada and came to the States, where he received an appointment as assistant pastor of St. Joseph's Church, Salem, Mas- sachusetts. Here he organized a new con- gregation for the French people, remaining until 1914, and giving to the parish most able and devoted service and gaining for himself valuable experience and a reputation for abil- ity as an executive and as a man of energy and of strong purpose. In 1914 he was trans- ferred to St. Mary's Church at Marlborough, succeeding Father Caisa, and he continued as pastor of that church until he was assigned to St. Joseph's Church in Salem, July 14, 1920. Since that time he has worked most effectively. The value of the church property has been vastly increased, and the equipment of the parish for effective work has been brought up to the highest standards of modern ef- ficiency.
The first attempt to unite the Canadians of Salem and instruct them in the language with which they were most familiar was made by Rev. Matthew Harkins, while he was curate at the Immaculate Conception Church. In 1872 he began assembling them for special services in the basement of the church, and this practice was continued by Rev. George Talbot, a French-Canadian priest, and later by Father Harkins again until 1873. In that year, with the consent and approval of the
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Canadians, whose deep regard he had won, Father Harkins secured for their use a Sailors' Bethel, on Herbert Street. A few months later Rev. Olivier Boucher took charge of his fellow-countrymen in Salem, and he remained with them until he was transferred to Law- rence in 1875. Father Talbot then returned for a time, but he was finally succeeded, in 1878, by Rev. J. Z. Dumontier. The term of service of this pastor did not exceed a few months, and in September of the same year Rev. Octave Lepine became pastor. In 1879, he, too, left for other fields, and Rev. F. X. L. Vezina was made pastor. He began at once a vigorous administration. An estate on Lafayette Street was purchased in 1881, in South Salem, where most of the Canadians were living, and on this site a church was erected and opened for services in 1884. The dedication took place August 25, 1885, and on that day Rev. J. O. Gadoury came to the parish as assistant priest. During the follow-
ing year Father Vezina retired to Canada to rest, and Father Gadoury, during the pastor's absence, purchased and remodeled the paro- chial residence beside the church. In May, 1886, Father Vezina returned from Canada, but a year later he resigned in favor of Father Gadoury, who, during that time had founded the French church in Lynn, and then returned
to Canada. Father Gadoury continued his work at St. Joseph's as vigorously as he had begun it. In 1892 he founded a large school on Harbor Square, in the rear of St. Joseph's Church, erecting a four-story brick building with a hall on the ground floor and twelve large class rooms. Near this he erected a wooden convent for the Grey Nuns, who were teaching both boys and girls, and the city donated a short street as a playground. A boarding department was added and by 1899 about fifty boys and sixty girls from outside the city had been received. In that year the enrollment of the day school was more than nine hundred pupils, and the average mem- bership of the congregation and parish was 5,000, most of whom came from the region of Quebec. The church of that time, which was
of wood, seated, with the aid of the galleries, 1,000 worshippers, and in the basement was a grotto dedicated to Our Lady of Lourdes.
The great fire of 1914, however, which de- stroyed nearly all of this section of the city of Salem, entirely destroyed the original church, but Father Reinville, who was then pastor, rebuilt the basement of the church as it now stands, and over the basement he built rooms for a school, which are still used for this purpose. On July 14, 1920, the present pastor, Rev. Peter H. Grenier took charge of the parish, and in the spring of 1921 he began the task of building the beautiful school struc- ture on Harbor Square, which he completed that same year at a cost of $142,000, and fur- nished and equipped at an additional cost of $30,000. Two years later, in 1923, he began the erection of another school building. This school cost more than $200,000 and was fur- nished at a cost of $75,000, and both are fully equipped with every convenience and with the latest and best systems of ventilation and sani- tation. Both are three-story structures, built of brick, with gray sandstone trim, and the two combined contain thirty-four class rooms and make provision for the present attendance of about fourteen hundred children. The schools are presided over by thirty Sisters of the Church of the Assumption, brought from the Mother House at Quebec, and there are also six lay teachers. The extensive enlarge- ment of the school facilities, with the need of additional teachers, made enlargement of the convent necessary in 1927, and this work was done in such a manner as to make St. Joseph's Convent one of the largest and finest in the State, costing $35,000, and providing accommodation for fifty Sisters, for whom there is every convenience, including a private chapel. The beautiful rectory, which contains about thirty rooms, was built in 1915, a three- story brick building of imposing appearance, the grounds of which extend to Harbor Street. Beautiful trees, plants of rare varie- ties, and a well-kept hedge on three sides add greatly to the beauty of the property, which extends from Dow Street to Harbor
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Street on Lafayette. The people of the parish are justly proud of the beautiful buildings and grounds of the church plant, and proof of their interest and loyalty is found in the fact that during the last few years they have contributed more than $500,000.
The usual societies and sodalities are well organized and vigorous, and there is also a large and active St. Vincent de Paul Society, which looks after the needy of the parish. Three priests assist Father Grenier in the work of the church and parish.
REV. FRANCIS J. KENNEY, pastor of St. Monica's Church, South Boston, was born in Medway, Massachusetts, October 27, 1874, and after attending the local public schools entered a college in Montreal, Canada. After graduating he began his theological training in St. John's Seminary, at Brighton, Massachu- setts. Here he completed his course with grad- uation and was ordained a priest in 1899. He was then assigned to St. Margaret's Church, as an assistant, where he remained for ten years, following which he was assigned to Our Lady of the Rosary, where he served for twelve years, after which he was sent to Roslindale, where he remained for eighteen months. At the end of this time he was transferred to North Chelms- ford, where he was made pastor. Here he gave his attention to the forwarding of the work of that parish until 1923, when he was appointed pastor of St. Monica's Church in South Boston, where he has since developed both the spiritual life and the material resources of the parish.
The history of St. Monica's parish dates back to 1908, when it was set off from St. Augustine's parish, with Father T. J. Mahoney as its first pastor. Father Mahoney served faithfully in the work of founding the parish and starting it on its course of growth and development. In the beginning of the parish, the communicants wor- shipped in a discarded Unitarian church build-
ing, which they purchased, and which from time to time was remodeled and enlarged to meet the changing needs of the new church organization. Father Mahoney remained until 1916, a period of eight years, and then was succeeded by Fa- ther William Whalen, who remained until 1923. In 1923 Father Kenney became pastor of St. Monica's. The church has been remodeled and enlarged until at the present time (1929) it seats about seven hundred people, and the member- ship of the parish has grown to about two thou- sand souls. The rectory, which was originally a dwelling house, built about 1850, has been completely remodeled since Father Kenney be- came pastor, the alterations including the addi- tion of a number of rooms and the installation of an oil-heating system. An oil-heating system has also been installed in the church building.
These extensive material improvements are but part of the work which Father Kenney has accomplished since coming to St. Monica's. He has been very active in the various church or- ganizations which are connected with the parish, such as the Ladies' Sodality, the Holy Name Society, and various other clubs and societies. His earnest devotion to the interests of his parishioners and to the furtherance of the prog- ress of the Church have won for him a warm place in the hearts of those whom he serves, and he is very popular among his congregation. He has traveled extensively, and, being a keen observer and a man of wide knowledge of men and affairs, he is an entertaining and instructive conversationalist, and it has been said of him that he "is a gentleman whom it is pleasant to meet." Even those who are not of his flock recognize his worth, and he enjoys the respect of the community at large, as well as of his parish communicants.
REV. MARK C. DRISCOLL, D. D .- Since July 4, 1928, Rev. Mark C. Driscoll, D. D., has been the efficient pastor of St. Francis de
Rev. Mark CDriscoll D.N. St. Francis In Sales Church Bruker Hile Boston.
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Sales' Church, located on Bunker Hill, Charles- town. Father Driscoll is the fifth pastor who has had charge of the parish.
The corner stone of St. Francis de Sales' Church was laid in 1859, in those troublous times just preceding the Civil War. Completed in 1861, it was dedicated in 1862, and the lower church then became, as planned from the be- ginning, the auxiliary to the upper church. The building is one of the many fine church edi- fices designed by the famous architect, P. C. Kelly. Built in the Roman-Celtic style, of blue stone, it is supposed to have been modeled af- ter some of the notable specimens of ancient chapels built in Ireland before the tenth cen- tury.
Those chapels, though usually small and Roman in style, possessed great beauty of a very original kind, but unfortunately, Puritan zeal during the stormy days of Oliver Crom- well left very few of these old buildings stand- ing; one of the most admired of the few left being Cormac's Chapel, on the Rock of Cashel, a structure which is admired both for its compactness and for the exquisite carvings which cover every available portion of it. It is fitting that, in a community like Bunker Hill whose people come so largely from Ireland, the church buildings should be modeled after these mementoes of an age when the Island of Saints and learned men produced not only carv- ers, metal-workers and illuminators of manu- scripts, but also architects of the highest merit. In the case of St. Francis de Sales' Church no care or expense was spared, the plant represent- ing one of the most complete in the Archdiocese. The lower church provides seating for twelve hundred people, and the upper, or main church, seats eighteen hundred.
The first pastor was Rev. George A. Hamil- ton, who remained in charge for a period of ten years, from 1855 to 1865. He was suc- ceeded by Rev. Michael J. Supple, who took charge in 1865, and served until 1888. In 1881 he built the parochial residence, and during his twenty-three years of administration in the parish he greatly developed its resources. The church was consecrated in 1884. In 1888 Rev. James N. Supple, who was born in Milford,
Massachusetts, became pastor. Born in 1850, he was educated in the Milford public schools and in Holy Cross College, and received his theological training in Troy Seminary, at Troy, New York, where he was graduated in 1870. He was ordained in 1874, and appointed a curate at St. Augustine's Church, South Bos- ton; later, was assigned to St. Francis de Sales' Church, as curate, and finally, in 1888, was appointed pastor of this church. His pas- torate was the longest in the history of the church, extending from 1888 to 1918. In 1890 he built a large school, located nearly opposite the church, and in 1891 he built a large con- vent for the accommodation of the Dominican Sisters, who were placed in charge of the school.
In 1918, Rev. Thomas J. McCormack, a grad- uate of Boston College, ordained at St. John's Seminary, and at one time Chancellor of the Archdiocese of Boston, became pastor. He served until July, 1928, when he was succeeded by the present pastor, Rev. Mark C. Driscoll, D. D. During his administration the parochial property was notably enlarged and beautified.
Rev. Mark C. Driscoll was born in Holliston, Massachusetts, May 13, 1882, son of Cornelius J. Driscoll. His father, who was born in County Cork, Ireland, and came to this country as a poor boy, before the outbreak of the Civil War, enlisted in that war and served through- out the conflict. He learned the shoemaker's trade and later began the manufacture of boots and shoes, in a small way. By close applica- tion and honest methods he slowly developed his business, installed machinery, and eventu- ally established himself in the Bigelow and Pratt Factories, at Natick, Massachusetts, be- coming one of the largest manufacturers in New England at that time, employing more than five hundred hands. He was well known in these parts, taking an active part in local political affairs, and holding at various times practically all of the local public offices. He spent his last years in Somerville, Massachu- setts, where he died in 1922. He married Lucy M. Kenney, who became the mother of seven children, and who is still living (1929), at the age of sixty-nine years.
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Dr. Driscoll was reared in Holliston, attend- ing the local public schools there, and after graduation entered Boston College, from which he was graduated in 1903. He then went to Rome, where he entered the North American College. He was ordained a priest there in April, 1908. Returning to the United States, he was assigned to St. Peter's Church in Cam- bridge, Massachusetts, where he remained until 1918. Meantime, in 1912, he was appointed assistant editor of "The Pilot"; held that posi- tion, along with his parochial duties until 1918. In that year he was made editor and manager and for the next ten years he devoted his ener- gies to the development of "The Pilot," so effectively that during the decade of his ad- ministration the publication grew rapidly, be- coming one of the foremost and strongest Dio- cesan journals in this country. During this time the company purchased the entire plant of the Boston "Record" with modern machinery and presses. "The Pilot" came to be of great usefulness to the merchants of Boston, as the company finally began the publication of "The Boston Shipping News" for the merchants of that city, the first issue being 150,000 copies, and later increasing to 250,000 copies weekly. Altogether, as assistant editor and as editor and manager, Dr. Driscoll had given sixteen years of hard and marvelously successful work to "The Pilot," when, in July, 1928, he was appointed pastor of St. Francis de Sales' Church in Charlestown. In his present charge he is doing a splendid work. Every branch of the parish activities is being stimulated by his leadership. All the usual sodalities for men and women are thriving. The parochial school has an enrollment of twelve hundred children, who are taught by twenty-seven Sisters. Three priests assist Dr. Driscoll in the administration of the parish, Rev. William H. Flynn, Rev. William V. Chamberlain, and Rev. John L. Johnson.
Located on Bunker Hill Street, the Church of St. Francis de Sales of Charlestown stands upon most historic ground, the parochial build- ings overlooking at the rear the Mystic River, from which the guns of the British, who oc-
cupied Boston, sought to demolish the fortifica- tions which the Americans had thrown up during the night of June 16, 1775. Twice the American soldiers repulsed the British, who were attempting to ascend the slopes in the rear of the present church, and only because of the failure of their ammunition were the Americans compelled to retreat to Breed's Hill in good order and with little loss. They had been ordered to fortify Bunker Hill, near Charlestown Neck, but instead fortified Breed's Hill which is adjacent. Therefore, the battle became known as the Battle of Bunker Hill. Bunker Hill Monument stands upon Breed's Hill, which is but a short distance from the Church of St. Francis de Sales.
In Stedman's "History of the American War," a contemporary account of the Revolu- tion, written by an officer who served succes- sively under Howe, Clinton and Cornwallis, it is stated that the regulars:
Encumbered with three days' provisions, their knap. sacks on their backs, which, together with cartouche- box, ammunition, and fire-lock, may be estimated at 125 pounds weight, with a steep hill to ascend cov- ered with grass reaching to their knees and intersected with the walls and fences of various enclosures, and in the face of a hot and well-directed fire, they gained a complete victory over three times their own number of provincials strongly posted behind a breastwork, and defended by a redoubt.
The severe losses inflicted upon the regu- lars by the little handful of provincials caused the British to conclude that the Americans out- numbered them. The fact was that the British were fighting in the old artificial array of the school of Frederick the Great, according to the British manual (even carrying three days' pro- visions when there could be no possible use for it), while the Americans were fighting the modern way, without encumbrances such as weighed down the British. Each American musket was aimed to kill. Hence, the heavy losses which the British could only account for by concluding that they were outnumbered three to onc. The effect of the unprecedented losses to the British lasted throughout the Rev- olution. According to the writer mentioned above: "It shook the nerve of Howe," and
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forced him to evacuate Boston without fighting. Many times in the Revolution the memory of the slaughter of June 17, 1775, was a shield and a weapon for the Americans, a terror to the British. The splendid old church of St. Francis de Sales on Bunker Hill is, therefore, located on the site of the original conflict. Thus it occupies ground hallowed with sacred his- toric memories.
REV. MARK E. MADDEN-Ten years of active and devoted service in the interest of St. John's church and parish, in Canton, Mas- sachusetts, have closely identified Rev. Mark E. Madden with the development of this old parish and have made him peculiarly a part of its life and of its present character. Father Madden had had about twenty-one years of experience before coming to this charge and to the work here he has given the benefits of his long experience, as well as of his ability. A graduate of Boston College and of St. John's Seminary, his total service as a priest has been given to Boston diocese, and more than half of the entire period of his pastoral service has been in the parish of St. John's in Canton.
The parish of St. John's is one of the old parishes of this diocese, dating back to 1860. Among its early pastors was Rev. John Flat- ley, who built the present church edifice. Father Flatley was succeeded by Rev. Joshua P. Bodfish, who was born on the Cape and was reared a Protestant, but who later was converted to the Catholic faith and was for some years associated with the Paulist Fathers. Later, he was made chancellor of Boston Diocese, which position of honor and trust he filled most ably for a number of years. Eventually, he retired and he is now (1929) living in Pasadena, California, at the age of ninety-two years. At the present time St. John's parish numbers about twenty-three
hundred souls and has a parochial school which enrolls four hundred and fifty pupils, who are under the care of thirteen Sisters, of the congregation of St. Joseph's. The church provides seating for seven hundred, and is well built and well planned. The choir loft, pro- viding accommodation for about one hundred additional persons is fitted with an organ built by Hutchins. Twelve memorial windows, mel- low and soften the light which they admit, and fourteen tablets representing the stations of the cross add not only to the beauty but to the religious significance of the interior decorations. In 1928 Father Madden had the entire church beautifully decorated, and both the parishioners and those who visit the church find the central altar, made of oak and artistically hand carved, both unique and at- tractive, as is also the hand carved altar rail extending entirely across the church.
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