1948 Celebrating the 1st Century

 In June of 1948, Fr. Foran marked five years of service as Pastor to the people of Saint Mary’s Parish.  Shortly thereafter, a committee was formed to begin plans to mark the Centennial anniversary of the founding of the parish.  Mr. David I Davoren, Superintendent of Schools for the Milford Public Schools chaired the committee and the events to mark the first century of the parish’s life.  The plans included a full schedule of activities for the extended weekend of the Columbus holiday from Sunday, October 10^th through the 12^th in 1948. 

Pontifical Mass

Sunday, October 10^th, Bishop Thomas O’Leary came from Springfield to celebrate a Solemn High Pontifical Mass at 11 am in the church.  The preacher was Fr. John Nugent, OP, a Dominican priest who was pastor of St. Albert the Great Parish in Minneapolis, MN, a native son of the parish.  The Catholic Women’s Club choral group, directed by Mrs. Owen Keenan sang at the Mass.  Miss Anna Shaughnessy was the accompanist.  Bishop O’Leary was accompanied by Msgr. John Phelan, the diocesan Vicar General, whose first assignment was in Milford with Fr. Canavan, who served as the assistant priest.  Fr. James Fitzgibbons and Fr. Leo Rock, both former curates long-admired and well-loved by the parishioners, served as the deacons of honor.  Ushers for the Pontifical Mass were Joseph Edwards, Edward Grady, Sr., John Roche, Benjamin Clancy, William Moore, Wendell Phillips, Patrick Lally, Atty, Daniel O’Brien and Joseph Shaughnessy.

Children’s Celebration & Unveiling of Plaque

The next day, Monday, October 11^th Fr. Foran celebrated a Solemn High Mass for the children of the parish at 8:30 am.  Fr. Foran was assisted by Fr. Joseph Lacey as the deacon and Fr. Thomas Carberry and Fr. John Flaherty as sub-deacons, all three priests were the parish curates at the time.  Following the Mass, the attendees formed a procession and accompanied by the Milford High School band marched down Winter Street, turned east onto Main Street and proceeded to the intersection at Churchill Street.  There, in the stone wall, a bronze plaque, a gift from the children of the parish was unveiled by James T. Rooney, president of the senior class of Saint Mary’s High School.  This plaque, (still the wall in front of the current Mac Med spa) marks the site of the first church where Mass was first celebrated in 1848 by Fr. John Boyce.  Fr. Foran accepted the plaque, offered a prayer.  The children joined in reciting the pledge of allegiance, sang the national anthem and returned back up Main Street to the parish school. 

Banquet in Armory

Later that evening, seven hundred parishioners and local dignitaries gathered in the armory across the street from the rectory on Pearl Street for a Banquet at 6:30 pm.  The meal was catered by McKeon & Casby of Boston with Daniel F. Carney, Esq. as toastmaster.  The highlight of the evening occurred when W. William O’Brien, chairman of the parish gift committee, on behalf of the parishioners presented Fr. Foran with a check in the amount of ten thousand dollars ($10,000) for the reduction of the parish debt.  Fr. Foran graciously accepted the generous gift with an eloquent response, expressing his personal gratitude “for their interest and generosity.” 

Mr. Henry DeCoste, chairman for the banquet committee introduced Atty. Carney as toastmaster.  Mr. Carney spoke of the achievements of the parish in her first century and then presented the speakers for the evening.  Chairman of the Board of Selectman, Michael P. Visconti, extended greetings from the Town of Milford, recognizing the contributions of parishioners to the town.  Then, Rep. Maurice Fitzgerald presented greetings from the state and spoke of his personal association with the parish.  Next came the Honorable Philip J. Philbin of Clinton, Congressman for the Third Worcester District representing Milford in the House of Representatives.  He spoke of the founders of the parish, the contribution of each succeeding generation with different culture influencing the American experience and urged them to continue to preserve American institutions and life. 

Fr. John E. Doherty, Pastor of Saint Mary’s Church in East Longmeadow and a native son of the parish, spoke of the strong faith of the original Irish immigrants, shared several anecdotes of those early settlers and encouraged his listeners to imitate their deep religious faith as they assimilated to the American way of life, ending with an appeal for their intensification of the religious work of the church.  During dinner, music was provided by the Ben Lancisi orchestra who was accompanied by Miss Mary Keenan and Anthony Allegrazza as soloists.  The musical theme for the evening of the orchestrations was “The Bells of Saint Mary’s” and all were received enthusiastically. 

Fr. Doherty was followed by the Honorable William A. Murray, an Associate Justice of the Third District Court and a native son of the parish, spoke for the laity of the parish.  He traced the story of the early founders of the parish, the reasons they left Ireland and the opportunity that they found here in America.  He emphasized that their loyalty to faith would never all them to compromise.  He emphasized the importance of furthering their American heritage and encouraged their willingness to serve God and country.  He concluded with a tribute to the succession of pastors in the parish and their accomplishments while encouraging adherence to their religious ideals.

Military Mass at Fino Field

The holiday, Tuesday, October 12^th, at 9 am, a Solemn High Mass for the deceased soldiers, priests and parishioners of Saint Mary’s Parish was held at Fino Field.  Fifteen hundred people attended from both Milford and Hopedale parishes, with reserved seating for the family members of the war dead.  Fr. Joseph Lacey, senior curate at Saint Mary’s celebrated the Mass.  He was assisted by Fr. John Stanton, CSP of Sacred Heart Parish as deacon and Fr. Edward Dyer of Sacred Heart Parish in Hopedale as sub-deacon.  Fr. Francis Rupprecht of Saint John Church in Worcester, and a former curate in Milford, preached.  He paid tribute to the founders of the parish, her early priests, and all who had served in the armed forces in various conflicts, emphasizing the turbulent conditions of their current world with Communism dominating Eastern Europe.  He emphasized the need for American leadership and the need for intensified loyalty to the Church as solutions to these conditions.  The Choral Club of the Saint Mary’s Catholic Women’s Club, directed by Mrs. Owen Keenan and accompanied by Miss Anna Shaughnessy on the organ provided music for the Mass.  In attendance were the Sisters of Saint Joseph from Saint Mary’s and the Daughters of Our Lady of Mercy from Sacred Heart Parish.

For the ceremony the clergy vested in the church and then processed to the field accompanied by the altar boys of the parish and members of the Massachusetts National Guard.  The National Guard fired volleys at the consecration during the Mass and ended the Mass with taps, played by Joseph Oneschuck and Barbara Richardson, both students at Milford High School, which was followed by singing The Star-Spangled Banner.  The religious aspects of the celebration were organized by Fr. John Flaherty, parish curate, while the specifics for the platforms for the altar, organ and seating arrangements were under the charge of Fire Chief John Adams.  Ushers for the Mass were organized by Joseph Edwards who was assisted by Patrick Lally, John Roche, Leo Grady, Sr., Benjamin Clancy, Joseph Shaughnessy, Wendell Phillips and Atty. Daniel O’Brien.

Centennial Book

One of the enduring contributions of the Centennial observance in 1948 was the compilation and publication of a parish history.  Funded by contributions from advertisers in the latter half of the book, it was distributed the weekend of the anniversary celebration at all Masses on Sunday, October 10^th.  The book had a comprehensive narrative of the first century of the history of the parish compiled by Paul F. Raftery, principal of Stacey school, with the assistance of Miss Rita M. Daigle.  With photos of previous pastors, buildings of interest, it also included lists with all Saint Mary’s parishioners who were ordained as priests, entered religious as professed or consecrated persons, and those who had served in World War in military service. 

The committee had Fr. Thomas Carberry as its advisor, with Supt. David Davoren as general chairman, and John F. Curran as treasurer, with Miss Catherine Curtin and Gerard Sweeney arranging the advertising copy and sponsor list.  Other committee members were Mary Burns, Walter Burns, Hannah Callahan, Atty. Daniel Carney, Dr. John Cleary, Catherine Curtain, Eleanor Daigle, Rita Edwards, Atty. Maurice Fitzgerald, Irene Gallagher, Anna Heroux, Dorothy King, Isabelle MacLachlan, Rita Mawn, Helen Moynihan, Philip Neilan, Robert O’Brien, Vera O’Neill, Robert Phillips, Helen Quirk, Thomas Seaver, Gerard Sweeney and Gertrude Wallace.

During the planning for the Centennial in the summer of 1948, many parishioners voiced the idea of providing a lasting memorial of this parish milestone.  Their intent was to gift the parish with a memorial that would be a lasting reminder of the first century of faith as it would be an inspiration for the next century of believers.  In short time, the focus settled on a shrine, a statue that would be an outdoor memorial and inspiration for future generations.
It seemed obvious that the statue should be in honor of the patroness of the parish, Saint Mary.  However, since her Assumption was already portrayed in the magnificent windows of the church, the committee continued to discuss which title of Our Lady would be most appropriate.  When the time came to make a decision, the committee realized that its funds had been exhausted and that there was not an amount left to purchase a statue.  Fr. Foran then volunteered to purchase one.  It was his idea that the choice should appropriately be of Our Lady’s spouse, Saint Joseph.  Given that many of the youth were taught by the Sisters of Saint Joseph, it was decided that a statue of Saint Joseph would serve as the Centennial memorial.
In January of 1949, Angelo Benidini of Quincy was awarded the contract for this new shrine, to be placed in front of a large tree in an open area between the convent and the granite school.  Most figured the shrine would be constructed of Milford pink granite, however, the granite was procured by Dodds Monumental Shrine Company of a granite called ‘Stony Creek.’   The statue was made of Italian white marble and on its base were inscribed the words, ‘Ite ad Joseph,’ that is, “Go to Joseph.”  The expectation was that the project would be completed in July of 1949.  By then, the shrine had been built and the statue installed, but there were still landscaping needs to be attended to and the installation of a sloped flagstone walkway with a wrought iron railing from the sidewalk to the shrine.  During the fall of 1949, with the work completed the dedication took place.  All the students of the parish schools emptied from their classrooms to gather around the shrine and to celebrate the parish’s first hundred years as they would be growing into the second century of its life. 
Normally the statue would have been left there as a permanent memorial.  However, the construction of a new convent in 1958 required the movement of the shrine during the work that was done in razing the original rectory which had served as a convent and the building of a new modern facility for the Sisters of Saint Joseph.  When the work was done, the original site had been claimed by a four room schoolhouse that had been built next to the granite school, so it was located at the southwestern corner of the new convent, where it stands until today.
 

Photo of the dedication of the shrine from The Blue Mantle, Class of '50