St. John's Catholic Church (Worcester, Massachusetts)

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St. John's Catholic Church Established 1834 Worcester, Massachusetts
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Location:	44 Temple St. Worcester, Massachusetts
Built/Founded:	1845
Added to NRHP:	March 5, 1980
NRHP Reference#:	80000619 [1]

St. John's Catholic Church, first established in 1834, is an historic Roman Catholic parish church in Worcester, Massachusetts. It is the oldest established religious institution in the city. On March 5, 1980, its 1845 church building was added to the National Register of Historic Places.

Contents 1 National Register listing 2 History 2.1 Early Establishment 2.2 Mother Church of Springfield 2.3 Mother Church of Worcester 2.4 Tradition 2.5 "Preserve the Flame" 2.6 Recent Parish Closings 3 List of Pastors 4 Schedule 4.1 Lord's Day Masses 4.2 Daily Mass 4.3 Holy Days of Obligation Masses 4.4 Confession 4.5 Baptism 4.6 Matrimony 4.7 Rosary 5 Architectural Style 6 Basement Church 7 Staff 8 Contact Info 9 References 10 External links

[edit] National Register listing

• St. John's Catholic Church ** (added 1980 - Building - #80000619)
• 40 Temple St., Worcester
• Historic Significance: Event, Architecture/Engineering
• Architect, builder, or engineer: Ford, P.W.
• Architectural Style: Greek Revival
• Area of Significance: Architecture, Social History, Religion
• Period of Significance: 1825-1849, 1875-1899
• Owner: Private
• Historic Function: Religion
• Historic Sub-function: Religious Structure
• Current Function: Religion
• Current Sub-function: Religious Structure

[edit] History

[edit] Early Establishment

Catholics immigrated to the Worcester area as early as 1826. Most of them were Irish people hired to build the railroads and the Blackstone Canal. When they first settled, they had no clergy with them. Since all of the churches were Protestant, Robert Laverty, a private citizen, petitioned Bishop Benedict Fenwick of Boston to assign a priest to celebrate mass in Worcester.

In result, Father James Fitton, a Boston native, visited Worcester monthly starting in 1834. He laid the foundation for a church on Front Street, known as "Christ's Church". That structure was completed in 1836 and served as a church, rectory, Sunday school, and infirmary.

After 2,000 parishioners had joined the church, a new building was needed. The current building, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, was constructed at number 44 Temple Street in 1845 and dedicated in honor of St. John in 1846.

Besides that building, Father Fitton established Mount Saint James Seminary, which became the College of the Holy Cross in 1839. The Society of Jesus bought the school in 1843, and still own and operate it today.

From 1836-48, the Penobscot Indians visited the church each winter from Maine.

[edit] Mother Church of Springfield

The current presbytery in use was built in 1865. When the Diocese of Springfield was established in 1870, Father Patrick T. O'Reilly was appointed the first Bishop of Springfield. He made the house the chancery for Springfield.

[edit] Mother Church of Worcester

When the Worcester Diocese was established in 1950, St. John's was known as "The Mother Church of the Diocese". However, because of the architectural elements, St. Paul's Parish on Chatham Street was selected as the cathedral for the See of Worcester.

[edit] Tradition

A Novena of Grace in honor of St. Francis Xavier had been held every March 4-12 since 1922.

The first charamastic prayer group in Worcester began meeting in 1970. The group is still active.

A vigil mass at 9:15 PM on Saturday has been held since the 1980s. (This will be discontinued effective July 5, 2008.)

[edit] "Preserve the Flame"

On Labor Day weekend in 2004, the interior ceiling collapsed into the sanctuary, destroying the altar and baptistry. Mass was celebrated that weekend on the parish lawn and from thereforth at sister parish, Ascension Church, on Vernon Street, until the beginning of 2005. That weekend, masses were moved to the basement church, where space was limited. All celebrations of Confirmation and First Communion were moved to St. Paul's Cathedral to accommodate the large crowd.

The renovations were complete in September of 2005 and the Mass of Rededication was celebrated on October 15, 2005 by Bishop Robert J. McManus.

[edit] Recent Parish Closings

On May 17, 2008, Bishop McManus announced Parish Reconfiguration within the City of Worcester, due to "the lack of sacramental life" in certain parishes.Diocese Announces First Phase of Parish Reconfiguration, 5/17/08 In the Vernon Hill area, St. Casimir's Church on Providence Street and Ascension Church on Vernon Street have recently closed, and all assets, liabilities, and records have been transferred to St. John's. The moving process is excepted to be completed by July 1, 2008. St. Casimir's Church is expected to remain open for one more year to have a Sunday Mass in Lithuanian, because of the demographics of that parish who currently are not fluent in English. Eventually, the Lithuanian Mass will move to St. John's in 2009.

To welcome the anitcipation of new parishioners, Father Madden announced on June 1, 2008, that the Mass schedule will change to accommodate the new parishioners. Beginning on July 5-6, 2008, the 9:15 Saturday night mass will be moved to 7:15 PM to focus on young adults. A Sunday Mass will be added at 8:00 AM, the 9:15 mass to be moved to 10:00 AM to focus on children not yet ready to receive confirmation, and a Ministry of Greeter will be added at each church door to pass out the Sunday bulletin and other material needed for that particular mass. It is yet to be deterimed if these changes will be permenant.

A Mass of Welcoming is scheduled for Sunday, July 13, 2008, at 12:15 PM to welcome the parishioners of St. Casimir's and Ascension. The Mass is expected to be said in English, Lithuanian, and Tagalog. A party is expected to be held afterward.

[edit] List of Pastors

Rev. James Fitton 1834-1843 Rev. Adolphus Williamson 1843-1845 Rev. Matthew W. Gibson 1845-1856 Rev. John Boyce 1856-1864 Rt. Rev. Patrick T. O’Reilly, D.D. 1864-1885 Rt. Rev. Msgr. Thomas Griffin, D.D. P.R. 1885-1910 Rev. Thomas S. Donohue, P.R. 1911-1922 Rev. Edward J. Fitzgerald, P.R. 1923-1937 Rev. John F. McDonnell, P.R. 1937-1944 Rev. Michael E. Lahey, P.R. 1944-1953 Rev. John Donohue 1954-1963

Rt. Rev. Msgr. John J. O’Brien 1964-1967 Rev. James B. Kelly (Priest-in-charge) 1967-1971 Most Rev. Timothy J. Harrington 1969-1972 Rev. William W. McGovern (administrator) 1971-1972 Rev. Cyril A. LeBeau 1972-1977 Rev. Msgr. Francis J. Scollen (administrator) 1977-1982; (pastorate) 1983-???? Rev. John Foley ????-???? Rev. Charles Monroe 19??-1995 Rev. Joseph A. Coonan 1995-2002 Vacant in 2003 Rev. John F. Madden (administrator) 2004-2008; (pastorate) 2008-present

[edit] Schedule

Effective July 5, 2008, the schedule will be as follows:

[edit] Lord's Day Masses

• Saturday Vigil: 4:15 (organ) & 7:15 PM (young adults mass)
• Sunday: 8:00 (low mass) & 10:00 AM (children's mass), 12:15 (organ and schola) & 7:15 PM (choir)

[edit] Daily Mass

Monday through Friday at 6:15 PM in the basement church.

[edit] Holy Days of Obligation Masses

• Vigil before the Holy Day: 6:15 PM
• Holy Day: 12:15 & 6:15 PM

[edit] Confession

Heard Saturdays at 3:00 PM or by contacting a priest.

[edit] Baptism

Parents must both be Catholic to make arrangements for infant baptism.

[edit] Matrimony

According to diocesan policy, the priest must be contacted one year in advance.

[edit] Rosary

Daily before 6:15 mass

[edit] Architectural Style

The church is constructed like a Baptist or Puritan church, that being most visitors think that the building is that of a Protestant church. The current steeple has been up there since 1951. The brick walls have been in place since the beginning in 1846.

The interior walls have been repainted several times, most recently in 2005. The congregation has 50 rows of 4 pews (total lower seating 1,000), including a handicapped section. There are another thousand pews in a balcony on both sides of the nave, including 500 people per side. The total capacity is 2,000 persons and 100 musicians.

In the sanctuary, the high altar is located in the center, with the Blessed Sacrament located behind it. The pulpit is to the left of the altar and the presider's chair at the right. To the direct left, a shrine is dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. The baptistry dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary is at the direct right. The flooring is hardwood.

[edit] Basement Church

The basement church is half the basement foundation. CCD classes are taught in a format to "practice" for the "real church". The Blessed Sacrament is lit only at mass time. The "chapel" has a pre-Vatican II altar rail without the gate. The tabernacle is to the right of the altar, but the high altar is at the center with a bench as the "Novus Ordo" mass location. It is not nailed to the floor, which is marble.

[edit] Staff

• Rev. John F. Madden, pastor
• Msgr. Edmond T. Tinsley, weekend assistant
• Donna Mastrovito, religious education coordinator
• Sean Redrow, organist and music director
• Jane Rabion, safe environment coordinator
• Jean Grenier, altar server director emertus
• Jonathan Slavinskas, seminarian

[edit] Contact Info

Format	Numbers
Mailing Address	44 Temple Street Worcester, MA, 01604
Rectory Hours	9 AM to 5 PM
Telephone	508-756-7165
Facsimile	508-754-5153

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• St. John's Church Official Web Site
• Diocese of Worcester Website

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