Wednesday, September 27, 2017


Province of boston


Pope Pius IX created the Province of Boston in 1875.  The Province consists of the Archdiocese of Boston and six dioceses in Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont.  The Province has 3.3 million Catholics, 33 percent of the total population.  It has the fifth highest percentage of Catholics of the 32 U.S. provinces.  There were 3.7 million Catholics in the Province in 2000 or 41 percent of the total population.

I have seen most of these cathedrals.  I visited the Portland cathedral a few years ago and the Manchester cathedral many years ago.  I have not seen any of the basilicas.

Map of the Province



 Massachusetts

Catholic History of Massachusetts


Various European explorers visited what is now Massachusetts, possibly as early as the year 1000, but colonization did not occur until the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth in 1620 and the Puritans established the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1628.  The Pilgrims and the Puritans were Protestant fundamentalists who thought the Church of England had not done enough to rid itself of all vestiges of Catholicism and thus they were highly intolerant of Catholics.  Early laws prohibited any practice of Catholicism, which meant that there were few Catholics in the colony until after the American Revolution.  Although Massachusetts became the sixth State in 1788, Catholics were not allowed to hold public office until 1821.

There were enough French and Irish Catholics in Boston to establish the first parish in New England in 1788.  Pope Pius VII created the Diocese of Boston in 1808—one of the first six U.S. dioceses—to serve all of New England.  Boston was then the fourth largest city in the United States.  Large numbers of Irish came to Boston in the first half of the 19th Century and especially in the 1840s.  By 1853, Catholics made up 40 percent of Boston’s population, and by 1900, well over half the population of Boston was Catholic.  The population of the State doubled between 1810 and 1850 and more than tripled between 1850 and 1910.  Pope Pius IX raised Boston to an Archdiocese in 1875. 

Catholics settled in other parts of Massachusetts as well.  Irish immigrants started arriving in western Massachusetts by the 1820s to build railroads and canals and to work in factories.  Massachusetts Catholics received full political liberty in 1820.  By 1840, parishes had been established in Worcester and Chicopee.  The Irish were followed by other immigrants, including French Canadians, Italians, Lithuanians, and Poles.  Pope Pius IX created the Diocese of Springfield in 1870 to serve the western part of the State.  Pope Pius XII created the Diocese of Worcester in 1950.  Catholics had settled in southeastern Massachusetts as well.  Parishes were established in New Bedford in 1821 and Fall River in 1838.  Large numbers of immigrants, especially from Portugal and Cape Verde, came to southeastern Massachusetts around 1900.  Between 1890 and 1910, eight parishes were established in both Fall River and New Bedford to serve the new immigrants.  Pope Pius X established the Diocese of Fall River in 1904—Fall River was the State’s third largest city at that time.

Archdiocese of Boston


The Archdiocese of Boston consists of 4 counties and part of Plymouth County in eastern Massachusetts. The Archdiocese has 1.9 million Catholics (47 percent of the total population) in 289 parishes.

Bishops of Boston

John L. de Cheverus (1768-1836), first Bishop of Boston (1808-1823).  
  • Born in France and ordained a priest in France in 1790.
  • Also served as Apostolic Administrator of New York (1810-1815), Bishop of Montauban, France (1823-1826), and Archbishop of Bordeaux, France (1826-1836).  Pope Gregory XVI named him a Cardinal in 1836. 
John de Cheverus went to England in 1792 to escape the French Revolution and came to Boston in 1796.  He and another priest ministered to a small number of French and Irish Catholics in Boston and a group of Native American Catholics in northern Maine—he spoke several Native American languages.  Cheverus built Holy Cross Church on Franklin Street in 1803, which became his Cathedral in 1808 when he was named the first Bishop of Boston.  Bishop Cheverus traveled, often on foot, throughout his Diocese, which included most of New England, to spread the Faith and administer the Sacraments.  Perhaps his greatest accomplishment was gaining the respect of Boston’s Protestants, who had often viewed Catholics negatively.  Cheverus first earned Protestants’ respect for his care of all people during a yellow fever epidemic in 1798.  Over the years, he befriended John Adams and other political leaders and several Protestant ministers.  Many non-Catholics financially supported the construction of Holy Cross Church.  He also made a number of converts to the Faith.  Cheverus supported the establishment of the first U.S. chartered savings bank in 1816 to inspire thrift among Catholics.  He returned to France in 1823 at the request of the French king and was appointed Bishop of Montauban, France in 1824.  He later became a Cardinal.  

Benedict J. Fenwick, S.J. (1782-1846), Bishop of Boston (1825-1846).  
  • Born in Maryland and ordained a Jesuit priest in 1808.
The Diocese had two priests and four churches to serve 7,000 Catholics at the time Fenwick became Bishop.  Bishop Fenwick established a seminary, schools, and a Jesuit college—Holy Cross—in Worcester.  He began a weekly Catholic newspaper (now known at The Pilot)—one of the nation’s first—and invited religious orders, including the Ursulines and the Sisters of Charity, to establish schools and orphanages and to serve the poor.  Fenwick also initiated rules and procedures for the Diocese.  Unfortunately, the large numbers of Irish immigrants coming to Boston were not always welcomed by non-Catholics—a mob burned an Ursuline convent in Charlestown, Massachusetts, in 1834.  Fenwick tried to diminish the hatred through lectures and the publication of pamphlets explaining Catholicism to Protestants.  But there were also some prominent conversions to Catholicism as well.  Bishop Fenwick died in 1846 at which time the Diocese had about 70,000 Catholics, 50 churches, and 50 priests.  

John B. Fitzpatrick (1812-1866), Bishop of Boston (1846-1866). 
·         Born in Boston and ordained a priest for the Diocese of Boston in 1840.
·         Also served as coadjutor bishop of Boston (1843-1846).

Bishop Fitzpatrick served at a difficult time for Irish Catholics in New England.  Many new Irish immigrants came there as a result of the potato famine in the late 1840s and were often met with hostility by non-Catholics.  In 1854, mobs burned three churches in Massachusetts, Maine, and New Hampshire, and tarred and feathered a priest in Maine.  Bishop Fitzpatrick urged Catholics to obey the law and he resorted to legal action to protect the rights of Catholics.  Catholics (especially the Irish) became more socially prominent and financially prosperous after the Civil War and Bishop Fitzpatrick was able to get Catholics to serve on Boston’s school board to prevent further mistreatment of Catholic students in public schools (usually administered by Protestants).  Fitzpatrick established orphanages and over 70 new churches and was responsible for founding Boston College in 1863.  He also established lay organizations in the Diocese such as Sodality and the Society for the Propagation of the Faith and started building more parish schools. Fitzpatrick appointed James Healy, the first African American to be ordained a priest, as the first chancellor of the Diocese in 1855.  Bishop Fitzpatrick died in 1866.

Archbishops of Boston

John J. Williams (1822-1907), Bishop of Boston (1866-1875) and first Archbishop of Boston (1875-1907).  
  • Born in Boston and ordained a priest for the Diocese of Boston in 1845.
  • Also served as coadjutor bishop of Boston (1866). 
Williams became Bishop of Boston upon the death of Bishop Fitzpatrick in 1866 and was appointed the first Archbishop of Boston in 1875 when the Archdiocese was created.  Archbishop Williams spent much of his time accommodating the large numbers of immigrants coming to Massachusetts.  His diocese grew from 300,000 Catholics in 1866 to 600,000 thirty years later, despite the creation of new dioceses, and he often dedicated as many as ten new churches each year.  These immigrants were not only Irish, but included French Canadian, Italian, Portuguese, Scottish, German, Syrian, Lithuanian, and Polish Catholics—all of whom wanted priests that spoke their language and parishes that respected their culture.  Archbishop Williams often stood up to those who oppressed the new immigrants.  A sign of changing times was the election in 1885 of Hugh O’Brien, Boston’s first Catholic mayor.  Williams established many new schools, hospitals and orphanages, St. John's Seminary at Brighton, and dedicated the new Cathedral of the Holy Cross.  He created a marriage tribunal and centralized control of Catholic schools.  He was one of the bishops most responsible for the establishment of the North American College in Rome.  Archbishop Williams died in 1907.  He was one of 19 U.S. bishops to serve more than 40 years as bishop of a single diocese.

William H. O’Connell (1859-1944), Archbishop of Boston (1907-1944).  
·         Born in Lowell and ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Boston in 1884.
·         Also served as Bishop of Portland (1901-1906) and coadjutor archbishop of Boston (1906-1907).  He was named a Cardinal by Pope Pius X in 1911.  He and Archbishop John Farley of New York were the third and fourth U.S. cardinals.

Cardinal O’Connell served as Archbishop at a time when Irish-Americans became a force in the politics and culture of Massachusetts.  He used his position to protect and advance the interests of Catholics in the Archdiocese and was noted for being outspoken on the issues of the day.  (Until Pearl Harbor was attacked, O’Connell tried to keep the United States out of the Second World War).  He upheld the Catholic Faith as being the defender of traditional moral and cultural values, a role previously held by Protestants.  He was not timid in wielding influence among politicians, especially those who were Irish Catholic.  He was noted for being a strong administrator and he greatly increased the number of parishes and priests in the Archdiocese.  Cardinal O’Connell opened dozens of new Catholic high schools, knowing that education would bring respectability to Catholics.  He placed the Catholic newspaper and St. John’s Seminary under Archdiocesan control.  He allowed one of his priests to start the Maryknoll Fathers and he opened three colleges for women.  O’Connell made one notable mistake by appointing his priest-nephew as chancellor of the Archdiocese.  The nephew was secretly married and was forced to leave the priesthood when this was discovered.  Cardinal O’Connell died in 1944.

Richard J. Cushing (1895-1970), Archbishop of Boston (1944-1970).  
·         Born in Boston and ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Boston in 1921.
·         Also served as auxiliary bishop of Boston (1939-1944).  Pope John XXIII named him a Cardinal in 1958.

Cardinal Cushing was perhaps best known for being a friend to the Kennedy family and for presiding at President John F. Kennedy’s funeral mass.  He was Archbishop during a time of growth in the Archdiocese and he increased the number of parishes by one-third and opened many new schools, colleges, hospitals, and other institutions that served the needs of the handicapped (especially children), aged, and homeless.  He supported greater lay involvement in Church activities and supported the reforms of the Second Vatican Council.  Cushing played a major role in the Council’s document that made clear that we are all responsible for the death of Christ—not just the Jews.  He served on an ecumenical committee with Protestants and Jews, started a mission that lent priests to other dioceses, and established a seminary for older men. He was noted for his strong anti-Communist views and did not hesitate to state his views on the political issues of the day.  He died of cancer in 1970 shortly after his retirement.

Humberto S. Medeiros (1915-1983), Archbishop of Boston (1970-1983).  
·         Born in the Azores and ordained a priest for the Diocese of Fall River, Massachusetts in 1946.
·         Also served as Bishop of Brownsville, Texas (1966-1970).  Pope Paul VI named him a Cardinal in 1973.

Cardinal Medeiros, a Portuguese-American, served as Archbishop during a time when growth in the Archdiocese was negligible and when the laity did not always agree with the Church on key issues, such as school integration and public funding for abortion.  Medeiros spoke out against racism, abortion, and the Vietnam War.  He also refused to allow students to attend Catholic schools just to avoid being bused to schools outside their neighborhoods.  Medeiros also inherited a large debt from the building boom of previous decades, which he successfully paid off.  He encouraged greater lay involvement in the Church through the authorization of eucharistic ministers in each parish.  He also established the permanent diaconate program in 1976 and reinvigorated campus ministry.  Cardinal Medeiros spoke six languages and was noted for his piety.  He died during open heart surgery in 1983.

Bernard F. Law (1931-    ), Archbishop of Boston (1984-2002).  
·         Born in Mexico and ordained a priest for the Diocese of Natchez-Jackson in Mississippi in 1961.
·         Also served as Bishop of Springfield-Cape Girardeau, Missouri (1973-1984).  Pope John Paul II named him a Cardinal in 1985.

Cardinal Law modernized the administration of the Archdiocese and established the Cardinal’s Appeal as a single fundraising effort.  He appointed lay people to key positions and established a Catholic healthcare network within the Archdiocese.  He also played an influential role in the 1994 publication of the English language version of the Catechism of the Catholic Church.  He resigned in 2002 as a result of his mishandling of the clergy sexual abuse scandal in the Archdiocese.

Current Archbishop

Seán P. O'Malley, O.F.M. Cap, was appointed Archbishop of Boston by Pope John Paul II in 2003.  He was born in Ohio in 1944 ordained a Capuchin priest in 1970.  He previously served as coadjutor bishop of St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands (1984-1985), Bishop of St. Thomas (1985-1992), Bishop of Fall River (1992-2002), and Bishop of Palm Beach, Florida (2002-2003).  Pope Benedict XVI named him a Cardinal in 2006. 

The Cathedral


Cathedral of the Holy Cross
1400 Washington Street
Boston, Massachusetts  0211

The Cathedral is the only U.S. cathedral dedicated to the Holy Cross of our Lord.  Christians believe that Jesus died on the Cross to redeem the world from its sins.  The Crucifixion is commemorated at each Catholic Mass and in a special way on Good Friday.

Assist us, O Lord our God and defend us evermore by the might of Thy holy Cross,
in whose honor Thou make us to rejoice.  Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Father Claudius Bouchard established Holy Cross as the first Catholic parish in Massachusetts in 1788 when he bought a small brick church on School Street to serve his small congregation of French and Irish Catholics.  Father John Cheverus replaced this church with a new one in 1803 located on Franklin Street.  This new church was designed by Charles Bulfinch, who designed the Massachusetts State House and helped design the U.S. Capitol.  Many non-Catholics, including President John Adams, donated to the building fund.  This 4,400 square foot Italian Renaissance church became Boston’s Cathedral in 1808.  The last Mass in the old Cathedral was celebrated in 1860 and the building was torn down in 1862.  [The Cathedral parish met in a former theater from 1860 to 1862 and in a former Unitarian church from 1862 to 1875—both were located on Washington Street.]  The Civil War delayed ground-breaking for the current Cathedral until 1866.  The Cathedral, designed by Patrick Charles Keely, was completed in 1875.

The Cathedral is designed in Gothic Revival style with one tower and was built with Roxbury puddingstone and gray limestone.  The Cathedral is 364 feet long and 90 feet wide in a cruciform shape and is the largest church in New England.  The Cathedral seats 1,700 people.  The 120-foot high bell tower has five bells recently obtained from the former Holy Trinity German Catholic Church nearby.  Holy Trinity acquired the bells in 1877 from former Army General Benjamin Butler.  Butler was the commanding general of Union forces occupying New Orleans during the Civil War and he had confiscated them from a New Orleans church.


 From Wikipedia

The Cathedral’s nave is very open with only two rows of columns.  The ceiling is made of carved wood.  To the left of the main altar is the Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament, which has a tabernacle made in Spain.  The Chapel’s crucifix contains a relic of the True Cross and was a gift from the Cathedral’s first pastor.  The Lady Chapel to the right of the main altar has a statue of Mary that was made in Germany.  The stained glass windows depict the Seven Sorrows of Our Blessed Mother.

In addition to the Lady Chapel windows, there are 25 other stained glass windows in the Cathedral.  They were made in Munich, Germany, by painting enamel on glass.  According to a description once on the Cathedral’s website, “the windows show intense colors that attract the eye, decorate the interior, and yet let in a considerable amount of light. Examine, for example, the windows of Saint Rose of Lima and Saint Brigid. A study of their robes and faces shows that the glass painter used subtle tones of blue, purple, red, and green, just as a portrait painter in oils uses such tones.”

The North Transept Window depicts The Revelation of the True Cross of Christ.  According to tradition (and quoting from the website), “after the death of Christ, the three crosses of Golgotha were lost. Their rediscovery came during the reign of Constantine, the first Roman Emperor to embrace Christianity. It was Saint Helena, Constantine’s mother, who led the search for the Cross of Christ. She summoned learned Jews and questioned them about the location of Golgotha.  Finding three crosses, they laid each on the body of a person who had recently died. When touched by the True Cross, a woman is seen to sit up and praise the Wood of her Redeemer. Her child appears at her side, guided by her husband. The crosses of the thieves lie discarded by the steps. The Bishop of Jerusalem gives thanks, while Helena is recognized standing to his left, her crown and robe silhouetted against a dark stone.”

The South Transept Window depicts The Exaltation of the Cross.  Again according to the Cathedral website, “in 615, the Persian Army conquered Jerusalem and carried off the relic of the True Cross. Later, the Byzantine Emperor Heraclius attacked Persia and recovered the Cross. The scene in this window depicts the return of Heraclius to Jerusalem. Legend recounts that when the Emperor arrived at the Basilica dressed in imperial robes, an unseen force held him back until Zacharias, the Bishop of Jerusalem, told the Emperor that he must take off his imperial trappings and imitate the poverty of

Christ. So Heraclius shed his robes and then, barefoot and bareheaded, he was able to enter the Church of the Holy Sepulcher and restore the Cross to its shrine.”

A rose window showing King David is in the upper organ gallery.  The other windows mostly depict saints.  The Cathedral’s pipe organ was built in 1876 by the E. & G. Hook & Hastings Company.  The organ is a three-manual, 70 stop instrument.

The Lower church of the Cathedral contains numerous wood carved statues of saints, including one of each of the Apostles.  The altar in the lower Chapel came from the Franklin Street cathedral.  The Crypt contains the remains of some of Boston’s bishops.

Additional information can be found on the Cathedral’s website at holycrossboston.com and on the Archdiocesan website, bostoncatholic.org.

The Cathedral of the Holy Cross is located in Boston’s South End and has six weekend masses including one in Spanish, one in Latin, and one in Ethiopian (and one monthly Mass in German).  The Cathedral Grammar School has 200 students and Cathedral High School has 270 students.




Pictures are from Wikipedia

Also in the Archdiocese

Annunciation Cathedral in Roslindale is the Mother Church for the Melkite Diocese of Newton, Massachusetts—the only Melkite-rite diocese in the United States.  About 25,000 Melkite Catholics live in the United States and are served by 41 parishes in 18 states. 


Our Lady of Perpetual Help Basilica is in the Roxbury neighborhood of Boston.  Pope Pius IX, in 1854, directed the Redemptorist Order to spread devotion to Our Lady of Perpetual Help.  The Redemporists came to Boston in 1868 and built a wooden church dedicated to Our Lady of Perpetual Help.  This simple structure was replaced by the current church in 1878.  The Romanesque Basilica is made from Roxbury granite and has a 110 foot dome and twin towers that rise 215 feet above the street.  Many cures have been attributed to Our Lady of Perpetual Help whose picture is displayed prominently in the Basilica.  Pope Pius XII designated the church as a minor basilica in 1954, the ninth U.S. church to be so honored.  The Basilica is also listed on the National Register of Historic Places.  Basilica is an honorary title bestowed on a church by the Pope because of the church’s antiquity, dignity, historical importance, or significance as a center of worship.  The Basilica’s website is bostonsbasilica.com.






 All pictures are from the basilica website.

Diocese of Springfield


The diocese consists of 4 counties in western Massachusetts.  The diocese has 201,000 Catholics (24 percent of the total population) in 81 parishes.

Bishops of Springfield

Patrick T. O’Reilly (1833-1892), first Bishop of Springfield (1870-1892).  
  • Born in Ireland and ordained a priest for the Diocese of Boston in 1857. 
[From Wikipedia] Bishop O’Reilly saw the number of Diocesan Catholics more than double and he ordained 150 new priests, opened 53 parishes, built 28 schools, and invited over 300 nuns to work in the Diocese.  He helped establish the hospital of the Sisters of Providence in Holyoke and the orphan homes in Holyoke and Worcester.  He died in 1892.

Thomas D. Beaven (1851-1920), Bishop of Springfield (1892-1920).  
·         Born in Springfield and ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Boston in 1875.

Bishop Beaven established several organizations to serve the needy, including homes for infants, orphans, and the elderly.  He built four hospitals, started a monthly diocesan newspaper, and encouraged many priestly and religious vocations.  He died in 1920.

Thomas M. O’Leary (1875-1949), Bishop of Springfield (1921-1949).
·         Born in New Hampshire and ordained a priest in 1897 for the Diocese of Manchester.

[From Wikipedia] Bishop O’Leary established 24 parishes and invited new religious orders to work in the Diocese.  He established a weekly Diocesan newspaper and was co-founder and first president of Elms College.  He died in 1949.

Christopher J. Weldon (1905-1982), Bishop of Springfield (1950-1977).  
·         Born in New York City and ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of New York in 1939.

[From Wikipedia] Bishop Weldon built Cathedral High School in Springfield and other schools and institutions.  He also opened 10 new parishes and a center for the Hispanic apostolate in Springfield.  He attended the Second Vatican Council from 1962 to 1965 and began implementation of its decrees.  He retired in 1977.

Joseph F. Maguire (1919-2014), Bishop of Springfield (1977-1991).  
  • Born in Roxbury and ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Boston in 1945.
  • Also served as auxiliary bishop of Boston (1972-1976) and coadjutor bishop of Springfield (1976-1977). 
Bishop Maguire became Bishop in 1977 and was very popular in the Diocese.  He sought greater pastoral care for the people of the Diocese through the creation of ministries directed to Black Catholics, Hispanic Catholics, and young people, and offices for communications and pastoral ministry.  He also started the RENEW program in the Diocese to energize Catholics and welcomed refugees from many countries.  Bishop Maguire started the permanent diaconate program in the Diocese and strongly supported ecumenical efforts.  Maguire also established an endowment program for the Diocese.  Bishop Maguire was successfully sued for failure to remove a priest from ministry who later molested a child.  Maguire retired in 1991.

John A. Marshall (1928-1994), Bishop of Springfield (1991-1994).
  • Born in Worcester and ordained a priest for the Diocese of Worcester in 1953.
  • Also served as Bishop of Burlington (1971-1991).
[From Wikipedia]  Bishop Marshall established a Misconduct Commission in response to sexual abuse among the clergy.  He was also criticized for his handling of misconduct allegations against one priest.  He died in 1994.

Thomas L. Dupre (1933-2016), Bishop of Springfield (1995-2004). 
·         Born in South Hadley Falls, Massachusetts, and ordained a priest in 1959 for the Diocese of Springfield.
·         Also served as auxiliary bishop of Springfield (1990-1995).

Dupre resigned in 2004 after the media reported allegations that he had abused minors as a parish priest.  He was later indicted for this, but charges were dropped due to the statute of limitations.  Dupre was laicized by the Vatican in 2006, according to media reports.

Timothy A. McDonnell (1937-    ), Bishop of Springfield (2004-2014).  
·         Born in New York and ordained a priest in 1963 for the Archdiocese of New York.
·         Also served as auxiliary bishop of New York (2001-2004).

[From Wikipedia]  He closed several parishes in the diocese.  He retired in 2014.

Current Bishop

Mitchell Rozanski was appointed Bishop of Springfield by Pope Francis in 2014.  He was born in Baltimore in 1958 and ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Baltimore in 1984.  He previously served as auxiliary bishop of Baltimore (2004-2014).

The Cathedral

St. Michael’s Cathedral
254 State Street
Springfield, Massachusetts  01103

St. Michael is the leader of God’s angels and is one of the seven archangels “who stand before the Lord.”  He is mentioned several times in the Bible as the angel who, among other things, defeated the Devil and his fallen angels and thrust them into Hell and who guarded the body of Moses.  He executes the final judgment of God against all souls.  He is the patron saint of soldiers, police officers, and more interestingly, of grocers and radiologists.  He is also the patron saint of several countries.  His feast day, which he shares with the archangels Gabriel and Raphael, is September 29.

St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle. Be our defense against the wickedness and snares of the Devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray, and do thou, O prince of the heavenly hosts, by the power of God, thrust into hell Satan, and all the evil spirits who prowl about the world, seeking the ruin of souls. Amen.

St. Benedict’s parish was established in 1847 as the first parish in Springfield.  The parish met in a former Baptist church on Union Street until the current building was completed in 1861.  This current building, designed by Patrick Charles Keely and renamed St. Michael’s, became the Cathedral for the new Diocese of Springfield in 1870.  St. Michael's Cathedral is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.  The pastor at the time of construction, Father Michael Gallagher, acquired much of the land around that needed for the new Cathedral and sold the surplus at a profit which was used to pay for the construction.

The Cathedral is described as having a classic New England exterior and Victorian-Georgian interior.  The Cathedral is 215 feet in length and 90 feet wide.  It seats 1,175.  The bell tower rises 120 feet and contains a bell crafted by Paul Revere's son-in-law and an illuminated statue of St. Michael the Archangel.


 From the Cathedral website.

The interior of the Cathedral features Keely’s original ornate plasterwork and the walls, ceilings, and pillars are painted in blue, rose and ivory with gold leaf accents.  The furnishings are made of either marble or oak.  Behind the main altar is a mosaic of the Burning Bush made by D’Ambrosio Ecclesiastical Art Studios of New York.  The Cathedral’s stained glass windows in the nave depict the responsibilities of a bishop.  The windows in the choir loft depict Pope St. Gregory the Great and Pope St. Pius X, who both influenced the development of sacred music. These windows were created by Connick Associates of Boston in 1957.

The Cathedral has three pipe organs.  Two Casavant organs were purchased in 1929.  The gallery organ has over 6,600 pipes on four keyboards and pedals.  The smaller chancel organ is of two manuals and pedals.  In 1997, an American Classic organ of eleven ranks was installed.

The Bishop Marshall Center, attached to the Cathedral, contains a chapel dedicated to the Holy Spirit.  The Chapel’s tabernacle was the original tabernacle for the Cathedral.  The statues on the reredos in the Chapel, the Holy Family portrait in the hallway of the Bishop Marshall Center, and the stained glass windows in the cloister of the Center, all came from the former Holy Family Church in Springfield. 

St. Michael’s Cathedral is located in downtown Springfield and has five weekend masses, including one in Spanish.  Additional information can be found on the Cathedral website at stmichaelscathedralspfld.org and on the Diocesan website at diospringfield.org. 







All pictures are from the Cathedral website.

Also in the Diocese

St. Stanislaus Basilica in located in Chicopee.  St. Stanislaus parish was founded in 1891 to serve Polish-Americans who had recently settled in Chicopee.  The first parish church was replaced in 1908 with the current Baroque Revival building.  The brownstone Basilica can seat over 800 people and has 21 stained glass windows depicting biblical events and honoring Polish saints.  The Stations of the Cross are painted sculptures.  The parish is staffed by the Conventual Franciscan Friars, the Franciscan Missionary Sisters of Assisi, and the Franciscan Sisters of St. Joseph.  Pope John Paul II designated the church as a minor basilica in 1991.  The Basilica’s website is saintstanislaus.org.





The first two pictures are from the basilica website, the third is from flickr, and the last from Wikimedia.

Diocese of Fall River


The diocese consists of 4 counties plus part of Plymouth County in southeastern Massachusetts.  The diocese has 293,000 Catholics (35 percent of the total population) in 83 parishes.

Bishops of Fall River


William Stang (1854-1907), first Bishop of Fall River (1904-1907). 

  • Born in Germany, ordained a priest in Europe in 1878, and became a priest for the Diocese of Providence, Rhode Island the same year.
Bishop Stang was well-educated and authored several books and essays.  He served as Bishop of Fall River for just less than three years, but was noted for his hard work, holiness, and charitable acts.  He helped establish St. Ann’s Hospital in Fall River, started 11 parishes, and improved catechetical instruction.  He died in 1907 following surgery.

Daniel F. Feehan (1855-1934), Bishop of Fall River (1907-1934).  
  • Born in Athol, Massachusetts, and ordained a priest for the Diocese of Springfield in 1879.
Bishop Feehan established 36 parishes and opened several child care institutions.  He also started an office for charitable and social services.  He died in 1934.

James E. Cassidy (1869-1951), Bishop of Fall River (1934-1951). 
  • Born in Rhode Island and ordained a priest in 1898.
  • Also served as auxiliary bishop of Fall River (1930-1934).
Bishop Cassidy advocated strongly for workers’ rights and temperance.  He started several homes for the aged, which became models for other dioceses.  He saw the Diocese through the Second World War, but opposed the establishment of the Women’s Army Corps as being inappropriate for Catholic women.  He died in 1951.

James L. Connolly (1894-1986), Bishop of Fall River (1951-1970).  
  • Born in Fall River and ordained a priest for the Diocese of Fall River in 1923.
  • Also served as coadjutor bishop of Fall River (1945-1951).
Bishop Connolly built dozens of new churches and schools, including four new high schools.  He ordained 130 new priests for the Diocese (and another 100 for religious orders).  Connolly started the Diocesan newspaper and often visited the incurably ill.  He attended all sessions of the Second Vatican Council.  Bishop Connolly retired in 1970.

Daniel A. Cronin (1927-    ), Bishop of Fall River (1970-1991). 
  • Born in Massachusetts and ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Boston in 1952.
  • Also served as auxiliary bishop of Boston (1968-1970) and Archbishop of Hartford, Connecticut (1991-2003).
Bishop Cronin implemented the decrees of the Second Vatican Council, including liturgical reform, restoration of the permanent diaconate, and improved education for clergy.  He expanded the Diocese’s counseling and social services, family life ministry, and pro-life ministries.  He frequently visited the sick in hospitals.  He was named Archbishop of Hartford, Connecticut, in 1991.

Seán P. O'Malley, O.F.M. Cap (1944-    ), Bishop of Fall River (1992-2002).  
  • Born in Ohio and ordained a Capuchin priest in 1970.
  • Also served as coadjutor bishop of St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands (1984-1985), Bishop of St. Thomas (1985-1992), Bishop of Palm Beach, Florida (2002-2003), and serves as Archbishop of Boston (since 2003).  Pope Benedict XVI named him a Cardinal in 2006. 
O’Malley became Bishop as the Diocese faced a serious clergy sexual abuse scandal.  He was generally credited with successfully handling the scandal with compassion.  He established an education fund to help needy students attend Catholic schools and expanded social services.  He opened offices to help AIDS victims and immigrants.  O’Malley began annual Masses for those in the legal and healthcare professions and established an office to assist him in merging parishes and assigning priests.  He was appointed Bishop of Palm Beach, Florida, in 2002.  Cardinal O’Malley is now the Archbishop of Boston.

George W. Coleman (1939-    ), Bishop of Fall River (2003-2014). 
  • Born in Fall River and ordained a priest for the Diocese of Fall River in 1964.
Coleman served as Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese for eight months prior to being named Bishop.  Bishop Coleman continued the work of Bishop O’Malley in realignment of the Diocese’s parishes due to changing demographics.  He also reorganized the Diocesan Education department and opened the first Catholic High School on Cape Cod.  Coleman retired in 2014.

Current Bishop

Edgar da Cunha, S.D.V., was appointed Bishop of Fall River by Pope Francis in 2014.  He was born in Brazil in 1953 and ordained a priest for the Society for Divine Vocations in 1982.  He previously served as auxiliary bishop of Newark, New Jersey (2003-2014).  Bishop da Cunha speaks English, Portuguese, Spanish and Italian.

The Cathedral

Cathedral of St. Mary of the Assumption
Second and Spring Streets
Fall River, Massachusetts 02721

The Cathedral is named for Mary, the mother of Jesus, and therefore, the Mother of God.  From the earliest days of the Church, Christians believed that Mary, upon her death, was assumed body and soul into Heaven by her Son.  This belief was formalized in 1950 by Pope Pius XII, who declared that the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary was a dogma of the Catholic Faith.  The Feast of the Assumption is celebrated on August 15.

Father in heaven, all creation rightly gives you praise, for all life and all holiness come from you. In the plan of your wisdom she who bore the Christ in her womb was raised body and soul in glory to be with Him in heaven.  May we follow her example in reflecting your holiness and join in her hymn of endless love and praise. We ask this through Christ our Lord.  Amen.   

The Cathedral parish was founded in 1838 as St. John the Baptist parish—the oldest parish in Fall River.  The small wooden St. John the Baptist Church was replaced by the current building, rededicated to St. Mary of the Assumption.  Construction began in 1852 and was completed in 1856.  The 190-foot steeple was added two years later.  St. Mary’s became the Cathedral for the new Diocese of Fall River in 1904.

The Cathedral was designed by Patrick Charles Keely in an Early English Gothic Revival style and is constructed with native granite.  It was originally able to seat 1,200 people, but now seats less due to renovations.  The Cathedral is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.



The top picture is from the Diocesan website and the bottom is from the Cathedral website.

The Cathedral is supported by 18 giant granite columns—nine on each side of the nave—that are supported by 15-foot bases below the floor.  The columns are topped with Corinthian capitals.  The high hammer-beam ceiling features gold-leaf decorations painted by Conrad Schmitt. 

The sanctuary has carved oak screens on each side and a wooden altar.  Other oak carvings and statues grace the front of the Cathedral.  The most impressive is the crucifix created over 100 years ago by Johannes Kirchmayer, a Boston artist originally from Bavaria.  The sanctuary windows were crafted in 1915 by the Alexander Locke studio of New York and feature the fifteen Joyful, Sorrowful, and Glorious mysteries of the Rosary.  Locke was influenced by Victorian English artists and by Louis Tiffany.

The nave windows were installed in 1891 and were designed and made in Munich, Germany.  They depict various saints.  The north rose window above the choir loft depicts the Assumption of Mary and was partially designed by John T. O’Duggan of Boston.

The Cathedral has two chapels.  The Lady Chapel dates to 1869, but has been renovated.  The Chapel, where daily Mass is celebrated, has windows depicting the Blessed Virgin Mary in many of her titles.  The Bishop’s Chapel was completed in 1935 and was dedicated to the English saints, Thomas More and John Fisher.  It is directly above the Bishops’ Crypt, where the first four Bishops of Fall River are buried.

The Cathedral pipe organ was installed in 2015 by the Peragallo Company of New Jersey.  It is a combination of three existing pipe organs as a result of the closures of St. Louis and Sacred Heart parishes.  The Cathedral’s Kilgan organ was combined with the St. Louis pipe organ made by Charles Chadwick (and recently rebuilt by Paul DeLisle) and the 1883 Hook and Hastings Sacred Heart pipe organ.  The pipe organ has a three manual console.

Detailed information about the Cathedral, including several pictures of artwork, is on its website at Cathedralfallriver.com.  The Diocesan website is fallriverdiocese.org.  The Cathedral of St. Mary of the Assumption is located in downtown Fall River and has four weekend masses, including one in Spanish and one in Brazilian Portuguese.  Two other English masses are said in nearby chapels.





The first picture is from the Diocesan website, the next two are from the Cathedral website, and the last is from pinterest.

Diocese of Worcester


The diocese consists of Worcester County in central Massachusetts.  The diocese has 286,000 Catholics (35 percent of the total population) in 101 parishes.

Bishops of Worcester


I have limited information about the Bishops of Worcester.  I have included some information from Wikipedia.

John J. Wright (1909-1979), first Bishop of Worcester (1950-1959). 
·         Born in Dorchester and ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Boston in 1935.
·         Also served as auxiliary bishop of Boston (1947-1950), Bishop of Pittsburgh (1959-1969), and Prefect of the Vatican’s Congregation of the Clergy (1969-1979).  Pope Paul VI named him a Cardinal in 1969—he was the first American to lead a Vatican Congregation with worldwide duties.

Wright was named Bishop of Pittsburgh in 1959.

Bernard J. Flanagan (1908-1998), Bishop of Worcester (1959-1983).  
·         Born in Vermont and ordained a priest in 1931 for the Diocese of Burlington.
·         Also served as the first Bishop of Norwich, Connecticut (1953-1959).

Bishop Flanagan attended the Second Vatican Council and became a proponent of ecumenism—working with both Protestant and Orthodox Christians.  He retired in 1983.

Timothy J. Harrington (1918-1997), Bishop of Worcester (1983-1994).  
  • Born in Holyoke and ordained a priest in 1946 for the Diocese of Springfield.
  • Also served as auxiliary bishop of Worcester (1968-1983).
He retired in 1994.

Daniel P. Reilly (1928-    ), Bishop of Worcester (1994-2004).  
·         Born in Rhode Island ordained a priest for the Diocese of Providence in 1953.
·         Also served as Bishop of Norwich, Connecticut (1975-1994). 

Bishop Reilly began a development campaign to improve the Diocese’s finances, especially in light of lawsuits related to sexual abuse cases.  He was also the first Catholic bishop to speak at the annual synod the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.  He was sued multiple times for allegedly mishandling sexual abuse cases while Bishop of Norwich and as an official with the Diocese of Providence, but I could find no record of the resolution of any of these suits.  He retired in 2004.

Current Bishop

Robert J. McManus was appointed Bishop of Worcester by Pope John Paul II in 2004.  He was born in Rhode Island in 1951 and ordained a priest for the Diocese of Providence in 1978.  He previously served as auxiliary bishop of Providence (1999-2004).

The Cathedral

Cathedral of St. Paul
38 High Street
Worcester, Massachusetts  01609

St. Paul, originally known as Saul, persecuted the early church, but was converted to Christianity by a vision of Jesus.  He spread the message of Christ to communities throughout much of the Roman Empire, becoming the Apostle to the Gentiles.  Many of his letters to early Christian communities have been retained in the New Testament.  He was beheaded in Rome either in 64 or 67 A.D.  The Feast of Saints Peter and Paul is celebrated on June 29.

O Glorious St. Paul, after persecuting the Church you became by God's grace its most zealous Apostle. To carry the knowledge of Jesus, our divine Savior, to the uttermost parts of the earth you joyfully endured prison, scourging, stoning, and shipwreck, as well as all manner of persecutions culminating in the shedding of the last drop of your blood for our Lord Jesus Christ. Obtain for us the grace to labor strenuously to bring the faith to others and to accept any trials and tribulations that may come our way. Help us to be inspired by your Epistles and to partake of your indomitable love for Jesus, so that after we have finished our course we may join you in praising him in heaven for all eternity.

St. Paul’s parish was established in 1866 to serve Catholics on what was then the west side of Worcester—it was Worcester’s third Catholic Church.  The Diocese of Boston originally purchased property for the church on Main Street, but anti-Catholic sentiment against such a prominent location led the Diocese to exchange properties with the owner of a nearby pear orchard.  Construction of the church began in 1868 and was substantially completed in 1874, although it would take 15 more years for the granite tower to be completed.  St. Paul’s became the Cathedral for the new Diocese of Worcester in 1950. The Cathedral is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

St. Paul’s Cathedral was designed by Elbridge Boyden of Boston in a Victorian Gothic style.  It is made of dark granite and is 168 feet long and 91 feet wide.  A single tower rises 145 feet above the street and contains a 2,500 pound bell.


From Wikipedia

The main altar in the sanctuary is made of green and white marble with a bas relief of the Last Supper.  The ambo is made of the same marble.  The floor is made of green marble and the reredos behind the altar is made of oak in a Gothic style.  The sanctuary crucifix dates to 1953.  The corpus was carved in Germany and the cross in Worcester.  A statue of Saint Paul is on the right side of the sanctuary and a statue of St. Peter is on the left.

The Cathedral’s stained glass windows were installed in the 1950s.  They were designed by Clare Leighton and crafted by the O’Duggan Glass Studio of Boston.  The two transept windows and eleven 15-foot windows in the sanctuary and nave depict the life of St. Paul.  St. Paul is depicted in red garments in each window.  Fourteen 6-foot clerestory windows depict the Twelve Apostles, St. John the Baptist, and St. Stephen.

There are various shrines and statues in the Cathedral including those dedicated to Mary and Joseph, Our Lady of Guadalupe, Jesus’ Divine Mercy, St. Joan of Arc, St. Wulstan, St. Patrick, St. Pius X, and Our Lady of Czestochowa.  There is also a Sixteenth Century wood carving by the German master Jorg Syrlin, a three hundred year old icon of Our Lady of Kazan, Flemish tapestries illustrating scenes of the Passion, and a portrait of St. Paul by Van Dyke.

The lower church has the Chapel of Mary, Mother of the Redeemer.  The Chapel’s sanctuary has a painting of Mater Purissima (the Most Pure Mother) painted by Domenico Morelli in the 19th Century.

The Cathedral website, cathedralofsaintpaul.com, has a detailed description of the Cathedral, including the symbolism and spiritual meaning of many of the features.  Also see the Diocesan website at worcesterdiocese.org.  The Cathedral is located in downtown Worcester and seats 1,400 people making it one of the largest churches in New England.  There are six weekend masses—including three in Spanish.





All are from the Cathedral website.

Also in the Diocese

St. Joseph Basilica is located in Webster.  St. Joseph’s parish was established in 1887 and is the oldest Polish-American parish in New England.  It was established to serve immigrants from Poland who had settled in Webster as early as the 1860s.  The current neo-Gothic church was completed in the 1930s.  The Basilica is decorated with beautiful mosaics and Italian Renaissance style murals depicting religious themes.  The Renaissance style stained glass windows feature life-size figures and depict the life of Christ.  The Chapel of Our Lady of Czestochowa is made from white and brown Italian marble.  Pope John Paul II designated the church as a minor basilica in 1998.  The Basilica’s website is stjosephwebster.com.




The top two pictures are from the Basilica website and the bottom picture is from Wikipedia.

Maine

Catholic History of Maine


Europeans explored the coast of Maine possibly as early as 990, but it took until 1604 for French explorers to establish a settlement on St. Croix Island, near Calais.  The first Mass in New England was celebrated here by Father Nicholas Aubry.  This French settlement was abandoned as were others.  Sir Ferdinando Gorges was awarded control of Maine by King James I of England in 1622 and permanent settlements were made at various places, including Portland, Saco, and Biddeford in the early 1630s.  Massachusetts bought Gorges’ land in 1677 and Maine became part of Massachusetts in 1691.  It remained part of Massachusetts until it became the 23rd State in 1820.

Missions were established along many of Maine’s rivers throughout the 17th Century and the early 18th Century and French missionaries, especially Jesuits, successfully converted many of Maine’s Native Americans to the Faith.  St. Ann Church in Old Town was established in 1688 and is the oldest parish in New England.  These missions were the first Catholic places of worship in New England.  The Catholic French and Protestant British were often at war at this time in history and British forces began their attempts to destroy the French missions in the 17th Century.  A major campaign of destruction by British forces from Massachusetts began in 1704 and by 1731 all of the Catholic missionaries were killed or forced out of Maine.

Bishop John Carroll of Baltimore, the United States’ first Bishop, sent Father John Cheverus to Maine in 1789 to visit the Native Americans who had been without a priest for almost 60 years.  French and Irish Catholics started coming to Maine after the American Revolution and Father Cheverus established St. Patrick’s Church in Newcastle in 1796.  By 1850, there were a dozen parishes in Maine.  Pope Pius IX created the Diocese of Portland in 1853 to serve Catholics in Maine (except for the Madawaska territory in Northern Maine) and New Hampshire.  The Madawaska territory became part of the Diocese of Portland in 1870 and New Hampshire became a separate diocese in 1884.  Portland had 21,000 people in 1850 and was and is the largest city in Maine.

Diocese of Portland


The diocese consists of the State of Maine.  The diocese has 173,000 Catholics (13 percent of the total population) in 55 parishes.

Bishops of Portland

David W. Bacon (1815-1874), first Bishop of Portland (1855-1874).  
  • Born in New York City and ordained a priest for the Diocese of New York in 1838. 
The anti-Catholic attitudes of many Protestants in Maine during the 1850s—churches were burned at Bath and Lewiston and a priest was tarred and feathered—led to the decision by Father Henry Coskery of Baltimore to decline the honor of being Portland’s first Bishop in 1853.  Two years later, David Bacon, having accepted the position, arrived in Portland at night wearing non-clerical clothing to avoid trouble.  His new Diocese (which then included Maine and New Hampshire) had 8 churches and 6 priests.  Despite the inauspicious start, Bishop Bacon built many churches—including the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception—and other buildings, including two dozen schools.  He also recruited priests from Ireland.  Bacon was a skilled administrator and orator.  At the time of his death in 1874 (on his way back from Rome), the Diocese was well established with 75,000 Catholics served by 52 priests, 63 churches, and 22 schools.

James A. Healy (1830-1900), Bishop of Portland (1875-1900).
·         Born in Georgia and ordained a priest for the Diocese of Boston in 1854.

James Healy was born to an Irish father and a mulatto slave mother.  After serving for over 20 years as a priest in Boston, Healy was appointed the second Bishop of Portland in 1875 and became the first African-American bishop in the United States.  As Bishop, Healy established many churches and schools, but was especially noted for his concern for children and the poor, for whom he began several institutions and organizations for their care.  He started missions in many smaller towns and his fluency in French was helpful in ministering to Maine’s Acadian population, which increased greatly during his tenure.  Healy was a noted orator and also made significant contributions in Church law at the Third Plenary Council of Baltimore in 1884.  Bishop Healy had two sisters who became nuns and two brothers who were priests, including one who served as president of what is now Georgetown University.  Bishop Healy died in 1900 at which time the Diocese had 96,000 Catholics served by 60 parishes and 68 missions.

William H. O’Connell (1859-1944), Bishop of Portland (1901-1906).  
·         Born in Massachusetts and ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Boston in 1884.
·         Also served as rector of the North American College in Rome, coadjutor archbishop of Boston (1906-1907), and Archbishop of Boston (1907-1944).  He was named a Cardinal in 1911 by Pope Pius X, and he along with Cardinal John Farley of New York were the third and fourth U.S. cardinals.

O’Connell dealt with increased tensions between French-speaking and English-speaking Catholics in Maine.  He visited every parish in the Diocese and greatly enhanced the self-esteem of Maine Catholics.  He also renovated the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception and conducted a successful diplomatic mission to Japan for Pope Pius X.  He started clergy retreats and a youth organization.  Bishop O’Connell was named coadjutor archbishop of Boston in 1906. 

Louis S. Walsh (1858-1924), Bishop of Portland (1906-1924).  
  • Born in Massachusetts and ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Boston in 1882. 
Bishop Walsh was a proponent of Catholic education having previously served as superintendent of schools for the Archdiocese of Boston and he established several schools, including Cheverus High School.  He was a founder of the Catholic Educational Association.  Walsh established 36 new parishes, some to accommodate immigrants from Poland, Italy, Slovakia, and Lithuania, and he defended the Church against attacks by the Ku Klux Klan.  These attacks included proposed state legislation that would have denied state funding for any activity associated with the Catholic Church.  He also was an historian and helped establish the New England Catholic Historical Society and the Maine Catholic Historical Magazine.  He supported the formation of the National Catholic Welfare Conference—the first conference for U.S. Catholic bishops—and dealt firmly with a group of French-speaking Catholics who disputed ownership of parish property.  Bishop Walsh died in 1924.

John G. Murray (1877-1956), Bishop of Portland (1925-1931).  
·         Born in Connecticut and ordained a priest for the Diocese of Hartford in 1900.
·         Also served as auxiliary bishop of Hartford, Connecticut (1920-1925) and Archbishop of St. Paul, Minnesota (1931-1956).

Bishop Murray worked to establish churches throughout Maine, even in areas with few Catholics.  He established 30 new parishes during the first years he served as Bishop, but construction of new buildings ended with the Great Depression.  Bishop Murray, known for his compassion, continued to try to provide charitable services to the needy, including the unemployed and homeless, but put the Diocese in debt.  He founded the “Church World” magazine in 1930 to provide Maine Catholics with information about their Faith and Church.  He increased the number of priests from 172 to 216.  He was named Archbishop of St. Paul, Minnesota, in 1931.

Joseph E. McCarthy (1876-1955), Bishop of Portland (1932-1955).  
  • Born in Connecticut and ordained a priest for the Diocese of Hartford in 1903.
Bishop McCarthy’s consecration as Bishop in May 1932 was the first such ceremony broadcast over the radio in the United States.  His first years as Bishop were spent dealing with the Diocese’s severe financial difficulties, which he was able to resolve (although it took until 1963 to pay off the debt).  Bishop McCarthy, who spoke both Greek and French, oversaw the building of many new churches and schools as the “baby boom” began following World War II.  Poor health forced him to give up administration of the Diocese in 1948 in favor of his coadjutor bishop, Daniel Feeney, although he officially remained Bishop until his death in 1955.

Daniel J. Feeney (1894-1869), Bishop of Portland (1955-1969).  
  • Born in Portland and ordained a priest for the Diocese of Portland in 1921.
  • Also served as auxiliary bishop of Portland (1946-1952) and coadjutor bishop of Portland (1952-1955).
Daniel Feeney had already served seven years as apostolic administrator of the Diocese when he became Bishop in 1955.  Bishop Feeney was the first Portland native to become Bishop of Portland.  As Bishop, he paid off the Diocese’s large debt and ordained many men to the priesthood.  He built several new parish buildings and established several organizations within the Diocese, including the Catholic Youth Organization and Catholic Charities.  He attended the Second Vatican Council and implemented the Council’s changes in the Diocese.  He died in 1969, although poor health forced him to relinquish control of the Diocese in 1967 to his coadjutor bishop, Peter Gerety. 

Peter L. Gerety (1912-2016), Bishop of Portland (1969-1974). 
  • Born in Connecticut and ordained a priest for the Diocese of Hartford in 1939.
  • Also served as coadjutor bishop of Portland (1966-1969) and Archbishop of Newark, New Jersey (1974-1986).
Bishop Gerety expanded the Diocese’s charitable and social justice programs, including housing for the elderly.  He also built new suburban parishes, but had to close some schools as the number of religious sisters declined.  Gerety established a diocesan capital campaign, in part to build a Newman Center at the University of Maine, expand Catholic Charities, and build homes for the elderly.  He took stands against legalized abortion and in favor of California farm workers and conscientious objectors during the Vietnam War.  Bishop Gerety was named Archbishop of Newark, New Jersey in 1974 and lived to be 104.

Edward C. O’Leary (1920-2002), Bishop of Portland (1974-1988).  
  • Born in Bangor and ordained a priest for the Diocese of Portland in 1946.
  • Also served as auxiliary bishop of Portland (1971-1974).
Both as a result of the Second Vatican Council and declining vocations paired with an increasing Catholic population, Bishop O’Leary encouraged greater lay involvement in the administration of the Diocese and its parishes and appointed women to leadership positions in Diocesan organizations.  He spoke out publically against abortion and pornography and increased Diocesan assistance for those suffering from AIDS.  Bishop O’Leary visited hospitals every Christmas Day.  Ill health forced him to resign in 1988.

Joseph J. Gerry, O.S.B. (1928-    ), Bishop of Portland (1988-2004).  
  • Born in Millinocket, Maine, and ordained a Benedictine priest in 1954.
  • Also served as Abbot of St. Anselm Abbey in Manchester, New Hampshire (1972-1986) and auxiliary bishop of Manchester (1986-1988).
Bishop Gerry issued several pastoral letters as Bishop and also authored a book, “Ever Present Lord.”  He dealt with both parish consolidation and the clerical sexual abuse scandal, although not without criticism.  He also spoke out against physician-assisted suicide and partial-birth abortion.  He ordained the first group of permanent deacons for the Diocese and hosted a well-attended Eucharistic Congress in Augusta in 2000.  Gerry oversaw a major renovation of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception and built a new St. Dominic Regional High School in Auburn.  Bishop Gerry retired in 2004. 

Richard J. Malone (1946-    ), Bishop of Portland (2004-2012).  
  • Born in Massachusetts and ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Boston in 1972.
  • Also served as auxiliary bishop of Boston (2000-2004) and serves as Bishop of Buffalo, New York (since 2012).
Bishop Malone consolidated several parishes in the Diocese and worked to improve the Diocese’s handling of sexual abuse cases and prevention of sexual abuse.  Over 10,000 Diocesan priests, teachers, employees, and volunteers have been trained in preventing sexual abuse of children and have received mandatory background checks.  Bishop Malone also hosted programs for CatholicTV.  He was named Bishop of Buffalo, New York, in 2012.

Current Bishop

Robert Deeley was appointed Bishop of Portland by Pope Francis in 2013.  He was born in Massachusetts in 1946 and ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Boston in 1973.  He previously served as auxiliary bishop of Boston (2012-2013).

The Cathedral

The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception
307 Congress Street
Portland Maine 04101

The Cathedral is dedicated to Mary, the Mother of God, and specifically to her Immaculate Conception.  Many Christians believe that humans are born into sin—known as original sin.  This sin is erased through Baptism and the saving grace of Jesus Christ.  Catholics believe that Mary, through the grace of God, was conceived without the stain of original sin—the Immaculate Conception.  She was given the honor because of her role as the Mother of God.  The Feast of the Immaculate Conception is celebrated on December 8.

O most Holy Virgin, who was pleasing to the Lord and became His mother, immaculate in body and spirit, in faith and in love, look kindly on me as I implore your powerful intercession. O most Holy Mother, who by your blessed Immaculate Conception, from the first moment of your conception did crush the head of the enemy, receive our prayers as we implore you to present at the throne of God the favor we now request (state your intention here).  O Mary of the Immaculate Conception, Mother of Christ, you had influence with your Divine Son while upon this earth; you have the same influence now in heaven. Pray for us and obtain for us from him the granting of my petition if it be the Divine Will. Amen.

Bishop Bacon selected St. Dominic’s Church—the oldest Catholic church in Portland—to be his Cathedral when he became the first Bishop of the Diocese in 1855.  By the following year, land had been purchased for a new Cathedral and the Cathedral’s chapel had been completed.  Construction of the Cathedral was delayed until after the Civil War.  Work had barely begun when Portland’s devastating fire in July 1866 destroyed the Cathedral worksite, the chapel, and close to 2,000 other buildings as well.  Construction soon began again and by 1867 the Chapel was completed.  The neo-Gothic Cathedral, designed by Patrick Charles Keely, was completed in 1869.  But the very day the Cathedral was dedicated, a wind storm blew down the steeple.  A new 204-foot steeple, topped with a cross, was completed later that year—the Cathedral has two smaller steeples.  The Cathedral is on the National Register of Historic Places.



The top picture is from the Cathedral website and the bottom was taken by me.

There are seven pillars on each side of the nave forming seven Gothic arches on each side.  The interior measures 186 feet by 70 feet and can seat 900.  The ceiling rises 70 feet above the floor.  The Stations of the Cross are Venetian Glass Mosaic—each Station contains 6,000 quarter inch tiles.  All of the stained-glass windows, many over 100 years old, were designed by Franz Mayer of the royal Bavarian Glass Company in Munich, Germany.  The Henry Erben pipe organ was originally installed in 1869, although it has been rebuilt several times.  It contains 3,336 pipes.

The baptismal font of Carrara marble was designed by A. P. Nardini in 1921 and measures 13.6 feet high and 5.2 feet in circumference.  It is adorned with bronze statues of Jesus and four Old Testament prophets who prophesied His coming:  Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel and Zechariah.  Standing beside the font is a French gothic brass Paschal Candle stand, dating to 1869.  The floor of the Ambulatory is composed of marble chips dating to 1869, which contains the IHS and Alpha and Omega symbols inlaid in color. The new Sanctuary floor is of Italian Carrara marble.  The reredos and main altar are from St. Dominic's Church, the former Cathedral which is now closed.  The bas-relief at the rear of the church is hand-carved marble and depicts the life of Christ. This dates to the 1921 and was originally the front-piece of the main altar.

The Cathedral has several paintings.  Three contemporary paintings by Michael Waterman depict the Crucifixion, Christ at the table with his Apostles, and St. John the Baptist.  There are also portraits of Portland’s first two Bishops:  David Bacon and James Healy.  There is also a painting of the Madonna and one of the Baptism of Christ, the later by the Bulgarian artist, Dimitar Todorov Malchev.

The Cathedral website, portlandcatholic.org, has some additional information as does the Diocesan website at portlanddiocese.net.

The Cathedral is located in downtown Portland and has five weekend masses—including one in Latin.  The parish supports an elementary school with 200 students.  The Cathedral parish is clustered with four other Portland churches.  These four churches have six weekend masses, including one each in Spanish, one in English and Polish, and one in English and French.















The first two pictures are from the Cathedral website and the others were taken by me.

Also in the Diocese

The Basilica of Ss. Peter and Paul is in Lewiston.  French Canadians immigrated to Lewiston in the late 1850s to work in the mills and in 1870, Bishop David Bacon of Portland established a separate parish for them.  A church was completed in 1873 but by the turn of the century was too small to accommodate 10,000 parishioners.  The basement of the current building was completed in 1906, but it would take until 1936 to complete the rest of the building.  The French Gothic basilica was constructed with Main granite and features both a sanctuary organ and a gallery organ.  The Basilicas seats 2,000 and is the second largest church in New England.  Maine’s oldest French parish now has masses said in English, French, Spanish, and Latin.  The church was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983 and was designated a minor basilica by Pope John Paul II in 2004.  The Basilica is now part of the parish of Prince of Peace along with two other Lewiston churches.  The parish website is princeofpeace.me.




The first picture is from flickr and the last two from the basilica website.

New Hampshire

Catholic History of New Hampshire


Martin Pring, an English explorer, came to the mouth of the Piscataqua River in 1603, and likely was the first European to see New Hampshire.  The first settlement was near Rye in 1623.  Much of New Hampshire’s early history was one of conflict.  Many of the early settlers were Anglicans, which drew the attention of the Massachusetts Puritans.  Massachusetts officials sought to control New Hampshire until New Hampshire was made a separate province in 1679.  Border disputes with Massachusetts continued well into the 18th Century.  Both Protestant groups fought the Native Americans and both detested Catholics.  Colonial laws outlawed any practice of the Faith.  Some of these anti-Catholic laws were not repealed until well after the Revolution.  Catholics were not allowed to hold state office until 1877 and another anti-Catholic provision of the state constitution was not removed until 1968.  New Hampshire became the 9th State in 1788.

There was some Catholic presence in colonial New Hampshire.  Some Native Americans were converted by French missionaries, but most eventually moved to Canada.  The first Mass was celebrated by French Jesuits in 1694 near Durham during a French raid on settlements there.  But given the hostility toward Catholics, it is not surprising that few settled in New Hampshire.  The first parish, St. Mary’s, was established in Claremont in 1823, and the second, in Dover, in 1833—at which time there were fewer than 400 Catholics in the State.  French Canadians began coming to New Hampshire in the 1830s and Irish immigrants came in the 1840s.  Manchester had a few hundred Catholics when St. Anne’s Church—New Hampshire’s third—was established by Father William McDonald in 1848.

The new French and Irish Catholics brought about a need for more parishes and more than two dozen were opened between 1850 and 1884.  In 1884, Pope Leo XIII created the Diocese of Manchester to serve New Hampshire’s 45,000 Catholics.  Manchester had become New Hampshire’s largest city in 1880. 

Diocese of Manchester


The diocese consists of the State of New Hampshire.  The diocese has 268,000 Catholics (20 percent of the total population) in 88 parishes.

Bishops of Manchester

Denis M. Bradley (1846-1903), first Bishop of Manchester (1884-1903).  
·         Born in Ireland, grew up in Manchester, and ordained a priest for the Diocese of Portland, Maine, in 1871.

Bradley served as chancellor of the Diocese of Portland prior to becoming pastor of St. Joseph’s Church in Manchester in 1880, which he selected to be his Cathedral once he became Bishop.  The number of Catholics increased from 45,000 to 104,000 during his time as bishop, and he increased the number of priests from 37 to 107 to minister to the larger population.  He built many schools and charitable institutions and focused on the needs of rural Catholics.  He also encouraged the Benedictines to establish St. Anselm’s Abbey and College.  He died in 1903.

John B. Delany (1864-1906), Bishop of Manchester (1904-1906).  
  • Born in Lowell, Massachusetts, and ordained a priest for the Diocese Manchester in 1891.
Prior to becoming Bishop, Delany served in parishes in Manchester and Portsmouth and learned French to better communicate with some of his parishioners.  He established and edited a monthly Diocesan magazine in which he offered strong and well-written opinions.  He died of appendicitis in 1906 at the age of 41 having served as Bishop for less than two years.  

George A. Guertin (1869-1931), Bishop of Manchester (1907-1931).
  • Born in Nashua and ordained a priest in 1892 for the Diocese of Manchester.
Bishop Guertin was the first bishop in New England to have both a French Canadian mother and father, and the first New Hampshire native to serve as Bishop of Manchester.  As the Catholic population grew, Guertin kept pace, with more churches, schools, and priests.  He also appointed the first layperson as superintendent of Catholic schools in the United States.  He served during difficult times—World War I, the great influenza epidemic, anti-Catholicism during the 1928 presidential campaign, and the beginning of the Great Depression.  Conflicts also arose between French-Canadian and Irish Catholics that Guertin was not able to resolve.  He died in 1931.

John B. Peterson (1871-1944), Bishop of Manchester (1932-1944).  
  • Born in Massachusetts and ordained a priest in 1899 for the Archdiocese of Boston.
  • Also served as auxiliary bishop of Boston (1927-1932).
Bishop Peterson guided the Diocese during the Great Depression and most of Second World War.  His knowledge of economics helped him to reduce Diocesan debt during the Depression and allowed him to serve on civic boards seeking to improve the economy after some of the textile mills closed.  He also successfully negotiated several labor disputes.  Further, he was able to resolve many of the tensions between English-speaking and non-English-speaking Catholics.  He died in 1944.

Matthew F. Brady (1893-1959), Bishop of Manchester (1944-1959).  
  • Born in Connecticut and ordained a priest for the Diocese of Hartford in 1916.
  • Also served as Bishop of Burlington (1938-1944).
Bishop Brady established 17 parishes, built 47 churches, 11 elementary schools, and several other buildings, to provide for the 52,000 Catholics that moved to New Hampshire during his tenure as Bishop.  He also established New Hampshire Catholic Charities in 1945.  Brady chaired several educational committees for the national Bishops’ conference.  He served as an Army chaplain during the First World War.  He died in 1959. 

Ernest J. Primeau (1909-1989), Bishop of Manchester (1960-1974).  
  • Born in Chicago and ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Chicago in 1934.
Bishop Primeau was an active participant during the Second Vatican Council.  He believed in greater lay participation in Church matters and he established several lay organizations to promote this.  He sought better relations with non-Catholics, which eventually culminated in the Diocese joining the New Hampshire Council of Churches.  He established a dozen new parishes and worked to improve missionary activity in Latin America by establishing a mission in Columbia.  Distressed by divisions in the Church as a result of the Second Vatican Council, Bishop Primeau resigned in 1974 to become Director of Villa Stritch (a private residence and hotel for U.S. priests in Rome).

Odore J. Gendron (1921-    ), Bishop of Manchester (1974-1990).  
  • Born in Manchester and ordained a priest in 1947 for the Diocese of Manchester.
Bishop Gendron built new parishes in southern New Hampshire, but was forced to close some schools due to declining enrollments.  He visited all of the Diocesan parishes and developed programs based on those visits.  According to Wikipedia, he also continued the implementation of the decrees of the Second Vatican Council, for example, by creating a permanent diaconate program.  Bishop Gendron established Magdalen College and Thomas More College.  He retired in 1990.

Leo E. O’Neil (1928-1997), Bishop of Manchester (1990-1997).  
  • Born in Massachusetts and ordained a priest in 1955 for the Diocese of Springfield.
  • Also served as auxiliary bishop of Springfield (1980-1989) and coadjutor bishop of Manchester (1989-1990).
Bishop O’Neil consolidated some parishes due to having fewer priests, but he did establish parishes for Hispanic and Vietnamese immigrant groups.  He established a program that tried to unite Diocesan Catholics with a common vision.  He also was an inspirational homilist and a noted poet.  O’Neil was very popular and was known for his humor.  He died of cancer in 1997. 

John B. McCormack (1935-    ), Bishop of Manchester (1998-2011).
  • Born in Massachusetts and ordained a priest in 1960 for the Archdiocese of Boston.
  • Also served as auxiliary bishop of Boston (1995-1998).
Bishop McCormack sought to improve parish life, Catholic school education for children, and religious education for all Catholics so as to deepen relationships with Jesus Christ.  He also developed a strategic plan for Diocesan schools to insure their continued existence at an affordable cost.  According to Wikipedia, in 2002, Bishop McCormack announced the names of 14 Diocesan priests accused of sexual abuse of children.  Over the course of the next two years, the Diocese agreed to a settlement involving 176 claims of child sexual abuse and the Diocese admitted that its failure to protect children from abuse may have been a violation of criminal law, although it was never charged.  Bishop McCormack was praised by the state attorney general for his cooperation.  McCormack retired in 2011.

Current Bishop

Peter A. Libasci was appointed Bishop of Manchester by Pope Benedict XVI in 2011.   He was born in New York City in 1951 and ordained a priest for the Diocese of Rockville Centre, New York, in 1978.  He previously served as auxiliary bishop of Rockville Centre (2007-2011).  He is bi-ritual and celebrates the liturgy in both the Roman Catholic and the Byzantine Ruthenian Catholic Church.

The Cathedral

Saint Joseph Cathedral
145 Lowell Street
Manchester, New Hampshire 03104

St. Joseph was the husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the foster father of Jesus.  He was a carpenter and taught this trade to Jesus.  Devotion to St. Joseph dates to the early days of Christianity in the Eastern churches, but only in the last 500 or so years has Joseph gained his deserved respect in Western Christendom.  He is the patron saint of many countries, as well as being the patron saint of workers and fathers.  He is also known as the patron saint of a happy death, since he presumably died in the presence of Jesus, the Son of God, and Mary, the Mother of God.  His feast day is March 19.

O blessed Joseph, faithful guardian of my Redeemer, Jesus Christ, protector of your chaste spouse, the virgin Mother of God, I choose you this day to be my special patron and advocate and I firmly resolve to honor you all the days of my life. Therefore I humbly beseech you to receive me as your client, to instruct me in every doubt, to comfort me in every affliction, to obtain for me and for all the knowledge and love of the Heart of Jesus, and finally to defend and protect me at the hour of my death. Amen.

Established in 1869 to serve Irish immigrants working in Manchester’s mills, St. Joseph’s is Manchester’s second oldest parish.  The church was built between 1867 and 1869 at a cost of over $60,000 and became the Cathedral for the Diocese of Manchester when it was created in 1884.  It was enlarged in 1892 at a cost of $100,000.  The Cathedral was designed by noted architect Patrick C. Keely.  The red-brick Cathedral has a single 170-foot steeple.


From the Cathedral website.

New stained-glass windows were installed in the 1892 renovation.  The windows were crafted in Austria by the Tiroler Glazmalerei and depict the life of Christ and his Blessed Mother.  The Chapel of the Most Blessed Sacrament has two windows from the original building.  A recent renovation has included marble raredos and Stations of the Cross from Holy Trinity Church in Boston, which was also designed by Keely.

Both the Cathedral website, stjosephcathedralnh.org and the Diocesan website, catholicnh.org, have information on the Cathedral.  The Diocesan website also has a video of the windows.  St. Joseph’s Cathedral is located in downtown Manchester and has four weekend masses.


From the Cathedral website.

Vermont

Catholic History of Vermont


A party led by the French explorer, Samuel de Champlain, were the first Europeans to see what is now Lake Champlain and the State of Vermont in 1609.  Champlain and his companions built Fort Sainte Anne on Isle la Motte in Lake Champlain in 1666.  The first British settlement was made near Vernon in 1690.  For much of the late 17th and early 18th Centuries, the French and British fought for control of Vermont.  This ended with the British conquest of Quebec in 1760.  Bennington was settled in 1761 under the first of several charters granted by New Hampshire.  New York also granted charters for settlements resulting in Vermont declaring itself an independent nation in 1777.  Vermont became the 14th State in 1791.

The French built a chapel at Fort Sainte Anne and the first Mass in Vermont was celebrated there in 1666.  French Jesuit missionaries established several missions near Lake Champlain in the late 17th Century, including one at Swanton.  One Jesuit, Jacques Frémin, converted 10,000 Native Americans to the Faith.  Most Catholics left Vermont after it fell under British control in 1760, and when Father Francois Matignon visited Vermont in 1815, he found only about 100 Catholics.  Bishop Benedict Fenwick of Boston (Vermont became part of the Diocese of Boston in 1808) sent Father Jeremiah O'Callaghan north in 1830 to establish the first parish in Vermont—St. Mary’s in Burlington (which   became the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception).  Many French-Canadian and Irish Catholic immigrants came to Vermont in the next quarter century.

Pope Pius IX created the Diocese of Burlington—Burlington being then as now Vermont’s largest city—in 1853 to serve the 20,000 Catholics in Vermont.  At that time, there were only about four parishes in the State, but by the end of that decade, there would be a dozen parishes.  Most of the parishes were in the northwest portion of the State, near Lake Champlain between Burlington and the Canadian border, but parishes were also found elsewhere, including Bennington, Brattleboro, Middlebury, Montpelier, and Rutland.

Diocese of Burlington


The diocese consists of the State of Vermont.  The diocese has 118,000 Catholics (19 percent of the total population) in 73 parishes.

Bishops of Burlington


Louis J. de Goesbriand (1816-1899), first Bishop of Burlington (1853-1899).  
·       Born in France and ordained a priest in France in 1840.  He later became a priest for the Diocese of Cleveland, Ohio.

Bishop de Goesbriand’s new Diocese had 20,000 Catholics served by ten churches and five priests.  He traveled to Ireland and France to recruit new priests and brought in religious orders to open schools.  He established a hospital and orphanage and built the first Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Burlington.   He convened the first Diocesan Synod in 1855, and attended the First Vatican Council in 1869-1870 and the Third Plenary Council of Baltimore in 1884 (during which he helped write the Baltimore Catechism).  He wrote several books and pamphlets.  At the time of his death, there were 46,000 Vermont Catholics, mostly French-Canadian, served by 78 churches and 52 priests.  When Bishop Goesbriand died in 1899, he had served as Bishop of Burlington for 46 years—the fourth longest tenure of any U.S. bishop of a single diocese.  

John S. Michaud (1843-1908), Bishop of Burlington (1899-1908).  
  • Born in Burlington and ordained a priest for the Diocese of Burlington in 1873.
  • Also served as coadjutor bishop of Burlington (1892-1899).
Bishop Michaud, of both French-Canadian and Irish ancestry, had served as apostolic administrator of the Diocese since 1893.  Bishop Michaud saw an increase of Catholic immigrants to Vermont, especially from Italy and Poland (who came to work in the stone quarries).  Michaud built new churches to accommodate the immigrants—there were about 75,000 Catholics and 100 parishes and priests in the Diocese at the time of his death.  He established the first Knights of Columbus council in the Diocese, built two hospitals, and helped establish St. Michael’s College in Winooski.  Bishop Michaud died in 1908.

Joseph J. Rice (1871-1938), Bishop of Burlington (1910-1938).  
  • Born in Massachusetts and ordained a priest for the Diocese of Springfield, Massachusetts, in 1894.
Bishop Rice built de Goesbriand Memorial Hospital (administered by the Religious Hospitalers of St. Joseph) and three high schools.  He established the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine in the Diocese, established a Diocesan school administration, and strongly supported Catholic Charities.  He also invited the Sisters of Mercy to establish Trinity College in 1925.  He resisted the bigotry of the Ku Klux Klan, which burned a cross outside of St. Augustine Church in Montpelier in 1925.  Bishop Rice died in 1938.

Matthew F. Brady (1893-1959), Bishop of Burlington (1938-1944). 
  • Born in Connecticut and ordained a priest for the Diocese of Hartford in 1916.
  • Also served as Bishop of Manchester (1944-1959).
Bishop Brady, who had served as an Army chaplain during the First World War, built several new parishes, mostly in towns that had not previously had a Catholic parish.  He also strengthened Church activities for young Catholics, such as the Catholic Youth Organization and the Boy Scouts.  The von Trapp family, of “The Sound of Music” fame, settled in Vermont during Brady’s time as Bishop.  Brady was appointed Bishop of Manchester in 1944.

Edward F. Ryan (1879-1956), Bishop of Burlington (1944-1956).  
  • Born in Massachusetts and ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Boston in 1905.
Bishop Ryan, who like Bishop Rice had earlier served as an Army chaplain, established two dozen new parishes in the years following the Second World War and established a weekly Diocesan newspaper—the Vermont Catholic.  He also established facilities for Catholic youth.  He invited the Carthusians to establish a monastery, the Benedictines to establish a priory, and the Sisters of St. Joseph to establish the College of St. Joseph in Rutland.  Bishop Ryan died in 1956.

Robert F. Joyce (1896-1990), Bishop of Burlington (1957-1971). 
·         Born in Proctor, Vermont, and ordained a priest for the Diocese of Burlington in 1923.
·         Also served as auxiliary bishop of Burlington (1954-1957).

Bishop Joyce attended the Second Vatican Council and implemented its decrees within the Diocese.  He also established groups to serve children with disabilities, to provide missionary activities in Latin America, and to improve religious education.  He dedicated the new Rice Memorial High School facility in South Burlington.  He served for 10 years on the board of the American Cancer Society.  He retired in 1971.

John A. Marshall (1928-1994), Bishop of Burlington (1971-1991). 
  • Born in Massachusetts and ordained a priest for the Diocese of Worcester in 1953.
  • Also served as Bishop of Springfield, Massachusetts (1991-1994).
Bishop Marshall served as Apostolic Visitor to U.S. seminaries on behalf of Pope John Paul II from 1981 to 1989 and was elected to represent the United States at the World Synod of Bishops on the Formation of Priests in the Circumstances of the Present Day in 1990.  Back in Vermont, he dealt with problems including fewer Catholics attending mass, fewer vocations, and the opposition of some lay Catholics to Church teaching on abortion.  He completed the new Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Burlington.  He was named Bishop of Springfield in 1991.

Kenneth A. Angell (1930-2016), Bishop of Burlington (1992-2005). 
  • Born in Rhode Island and ordained a priest for the Diocese of Providence in 1957.
  • Also served as auxiliary bishop of Providence, Rhode Island (1974-1992).
Bishop Angell was forced to close or consolidate some parishes due to declining church attendance and fewer priests—in 2004 there were only 6 Diocesan priests under the age of 40.  He also set up committees to help identify and solve problems within each parish.  He opposed state legislation that approved civil unions for same-sex couples.  He also spoke against the death penalty and the war in Iraq.  Bishop Angell’s brother and sister-in-law were among the victims of the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001.  Bishop Angell retired in 2005.

Salvatore R. Matano (1946-    ), Bishop of Burlington (2005-2013).
  • Born in Rhode Island and ordained a priest for the Diocese of Providence in 1971.
  • Also served as coadjutor bishop of Burlington (2005) and serves as the Bishop of Rochester, New York, since 2013.
Bishop Matano addressed the shortage of priests by trying to increase vocations and by seeking assistance from religious orders and other dioceses.  He also strengthened parochial school programs, religious education programs, and health care facilities, all to meet the pastoral and sacramental needs of Vermont Catholics.  He also dealt with past cases of clerical sexual abuse by seeking justice and reconciliation for victims and by improving Diocesan procedures to prevent future abuse. 

Current Bishop

Christopher J. Coyne was appointed Bishop of Burlington by Pope Francis in 2014.  He was born in Massachusetts in 1958 and ordained a priest in for the Archdiocese of Boston in 1986.  He previously served as auxiliary bishop of Indianapolis (2011-2014).

The Cathedrals

Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception
20 Pine Street
Burlington, Vermont  05401

Many Christians believe that humans are born into sin—known as original sin.  This sin is erased through baptism and the saving grace of Jesus Christ.  Catholics believe that Mary, through the grace of God, was conceived without the stain of original sin—the Immaculate Conception.  She was given the honor because of her role as the Mother of God.  The Feast of the Immaculate Conception is celebrated on December 8.

O Mary, ever blessed Virgin, Mother of God, Queen of angels and of saints, we salute you with the most profound veneration and filial devotion as we contemplate your holy Immaculate Conception, we thank you for your maternal protection and for the many blessings that we have received through your wondrous mercy and most powerful intercession. In all our necessities we have recourse to you with unbounded confidence. O Mother of Mercy, we beseech you now to hear our prayer and to obtain for us of your Divine Son the favor that we so earnestly request in this novena (state your intention here). O Mary of the Immaculate Conception, Mother of Christ, you had influence with your Divine Son while upon this earth; you have the same influence now in heaven. Pray for us and obtain for us from him the granting of my petition if it be the Divine Will. Amen.

Burlington’s first parish—St. Mary’s—was established in 1830.  Anti-Catholics burned the first church in 1838.  A new St. Mary’s Church was completed in 1841 and enlarged in 1850.  Bishop de Goesbriand selected St. Mary’s as his Cathedral church when he became the first Bishop of Burlington in 1853, but quickly made plans for a new Cathedral to replace St. Mary’s.  Construction of the new Gothic Cathedral, designed by noted architect Patrick Charles Keely, began in 1862.  It was completed in 1867 and dedicated to the Immaculate Conception of Mary.  The Cathedral featured stained-glass windows, mostly made by a French artisan, and had one main tower topped with a statue of Our Lady of Lourdes.  This beautiful building was destroyed by fire, set by an insane man, in 1972. 


From the Cathedral website.


Construction of a new Cathedral soon began on the site of the old Cathedral.  The current modern brick Cathedral was completed in 1977 and was designed by Edward Larrabee Barnes.  Vermont landscape architect Dan Kiley planned the property around the Cathedral including a free-standing bell tower and 123 honey locust trees.  The bell tower contains the bell from the old Cathedral.

The Cathedral’s design was inspired by H.H. Richardson’s Billings Library at the University of Vermont.  The angular, five-sided building has exterior banding of green and dark brown brick.  The Cathedral seats 450 people.  Unfortunately, declining attendance led to the closure of this cathedral in 2018.



The first picture is from the cathedral website and the second from Wikimedia.

In 1999, St. Joseph Church in Burlington was named the Co-Cathedral for the Diocese.  Both Cathedrals are located in downtown Burlington and have four weekend Masses, two at Immaculate Conception and two at St. Joseph, including one in Latin.  The parish has over 2,000 families and has an elementary school with about 80 students.  Additional information can be found at catholiccathedralsofburlington.com and vermontcatholic.org which has an extensive history of Vermont Catholicism.

St. Joseph Co-Cathedral
85 Elmwood Avenue
Burlington, Vermont  05401

St. Joseph was the husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the foster father of Jesus.  He was a carpenter and taught this trade to Jesus.  Devotion to St. Joseph dates to the early days of Christianity in the Eastern churches, but only in the last 500 or so years has Joseph gained his deserved respect in Western Christendom.  He is the patron saint of many countries, as well as being the patron saint of workers and fathers.  He is also known as the patron saint of a happy death, since he presumably died in the presence of Jesus, the Son of God, and Mary, the Mother of God.  His feast day is March 19.

O dearest St. Joseph, I consecrate myself to your honor and give myself to you that you may always be my father, my protector and my guide in the way of salvation. Obtain for me a greater purity of heart and fervent love of the interior life. After your example may I do all my actions for the greater glory of God, in union with the Divine Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary. O Blessed St. Joseph, pray for me that I may share in the peace and joy of your holy death. Amen.

Most of the Catholics that attended St. Mary’s Church in Burlington in the 1830s and 1840s were Irish and French-Canadian, who had their Faith in common, but did not speak the same language.   Because of this, John Fitzpatrick, the Bishop of Boston, whose Diocese then included Vermont, created a separate parish in 1850 for the French Canadians and dedicated to St. Joseph.  This “national parish,” common in the 19th Century because of the different immigrant groups that had come to the United States, was the first French national parish in New England.  A small brick church was completed by the end of 1850 at the southwest corner of Prospect and Archibald Streets, but the parish soon outgrew it and plans were made for a larger church.  The current building was designed by Father Joseph Michaud—a priest and an architect—and was completed in 1887.  St. Joseph’s seats over 1,200 people and is the largest church in Vermont.

Michaud designed a Classic Revival style (or according to one source, a Baroque Renaissance style) building that is 176 feet long, 81 feet wide, and 55 feet tall.  It has a single central steeple.  The building is made of red sandstone with limestone trim and its walls are 5 feet thick at the base.  Much of the construction work was done by the parishioners.  The cost to build the Co-Cathedral was $85,000.  A 2001 renovation cost $400,000.

From the co-cathedral website.

The dominant colors of the Co-Cathedral are mocha, beige, yellow, and white.  The barrel vault ceiling is supported by 12 columns with Roman Corinthian capitals.  The capitals’ Baroque scroll, classical cornices, and dental work are adorned in 23-carat gold. 

The main altar is made of Imperial White Dandy marble from Vermont and rests on four onyx pillars.  The central panel comes from Pakistan.  The reredos behind the altar have columns of Paonazzetto veined marble.  The sanctuary furnishings and church’s pews are made of oak and cherry wood.

The Co-Cathedral’s Stations of the Cross were made in Paris and were installed in 1889.  The main crucifix is made of brass.  The Blessed Sacrament altar, formerly St. Anne’s altar, dates to 1850 and holds the brass and onyx tabernacle, which was made in Spain.  The door of the tabernacle has a relief of the Coronation of the Virgin based on a painting by the 17th Century Spanish painter Diego Velazquez.



Both pictures are from Wikipedia.

 





No comments:

Post a Comment