- St. John's Catholic Church (Worcester, Massachusetts)
Infobox_nrhp | name =St. John's Catholic Church
Established 1834
Worcester, Massachusetts
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location= 44 Temple St.
Worcester, Massachusetts
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built =1845
added =March 5 ,1980
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mpsub=
refnum=80000619 cite web|url=http://www.nr.nps.gov/|title=National Register Information System|date=2007-01-23|work=National Register of Historic Places|publisher=National Park Service]St. John's Catholic Church, first established in 1834, is an historic
Roman Catholic parish church inWorcester, Massachusetts . It is the oldest established religious institution in the city, and the oldest Catholic parish inNew England outside of Boston. OnMarch 5 ,1980 , its 1845 church building was added to theNational Register of Historic Places .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 StructureHistory
Early establishment
Catholics immigrated to the Worcester area as early as 1826. Most of them were
Irish people hired to build the railroads and theBlackstone Canal . When they first settled, they had noclergy with them. Since all of the churches wereProtestant , Robert Laverty, a private citizen, petitioned Bishop Benedict Fenwick of Boston to assign apriest to celebrate mass in Worcester.In result, Father
James Fitton , aBoston 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
parishioner s 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. TheSociety 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 fromMaine .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.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.Tradition
A Novena of Grace in honor of
St. Francis Xavier had been held every March 4-12 since 1922.The first
charismatic 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 from the 1980s to 2008."Preserve the Flame"
On
Labor Day weekend in 2004, the interior ceiling collapsed into thesanctuary , 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 ofConfirmation andFirst Communion were moved to St. Paul's Cathedral to accommodate the large crowd.The renovations were complete in September 2005 and the Mass of Rededication was celebrated on October 15, 2005 by Bishop Robert J. McManus.
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. [http://198.87.234.92/reconfigurationrelease/tabid/727/Default.aspx "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 was completed on 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 anticipation 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 determined if these changes will be permanent.A Mass of Welcoming was said Sunday, July 13, 2008, at 12:15 pm to welcome the parishioners of St. Casimir's and Ascension. The Mass was said in English, Lithuanian, and Tagalog, with a celebration held afterward.
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 1995-2008
*Rev. John F. Madden (administrator) 2004-2008; (pastorate) 2008-present
*Rev. Richard A. Jakubauskas (chaplain for the Lithuanian community) 2008-presentArchitectural style
The church is constructed like a
Baptist orPuritan church, that being most visitors think that the building is that of aProtestant 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 thenave , including 500 people per side. The total capacity is 2,000 persons and 100 musicians.In the
sanctuary , thehigh altar is located in the center, with theBlessed Sacrament located behind it. The originalTridentine Mass altar houses thetabernacle , and is in Romanesque style. Thepulpit is to the left of the altar and the presider's chair at the right. To the direct left, a devotional shrine is dedicated to theSacred Heart of Jesus , and often other statues, such as ofSt. Francis Xavier andSt. Theresa , may be displayed. Thebaptistry dedicated to theBlessed Virgin Mary is at the direct right. Theflooring ishardwood .Basement church
The basement church is half the basement foundation.
Confraternity of Christian Doctrine 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. Thetabernacle 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.Staff
*Rev. John F. Madden, pastor
*Rev. Richard A. Jakubauskas, Lithuanian chaplain
*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 References
External links
* [http://www.stjohnsworcester.org/ St. John's Church Official Web Site]
* [http://www.worcesterdiocese.org/ Diocese of Worcester Website]
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