A Growing Parish

This article was first published in the parish bulletin the weekend of August 18, 2019

  On November 4, 1849, Bishop John Fitzpatrick came from Boston to dedicate the building for Catholic worship.  Father Theobold Mathew, the famous temperance preacher from Ireland, was touring in the States and made a visit to Milford to preach the dedication sermon.  No one could have imagined then that in less than twenty years, the Catholics of Milford would outgrow this building and begin a new, larger and more majestic house for their faith.

  Now having a church of their own, the Catholic faithful in Milford began to flourish.  So, on March 1, 1850, Father George Hamilton was appointed as the first resident pastor of Saint Mary’s Church in Milford.  He was a native of Kentucky, considered a gentleman and a learned priest.  His cousin was Archbishop Spalding of Baltimore.  His pastoral responsibility as Pastor of Saint Mary in Milford extended from Milford to Maynard.  One can sense the size of the parish in Milford when it included missions at Saxonville, Hopkinton, Cordaville, Westboro, Holliston, Marlboro, Medway, Upton, Framingham, Natick, Rockbottom, Stowe, Sudbury, Needham, Ashland, Weston, Wayland and Maynard.  A year later, his assistant, Fr. Edward Farrelly took over the easterly portion of the parish with the church center at Saxonville.  It was under Fr. Hamilton that the first man of the parish was ordained a priest; Fr. Michael J. Supple.  He was the son of Adam Supple, one of the founders of the parish, was ordained in Rome and served with Fr. Hamilton in his assignment to Saint Mary’s in Charlestown.

  When Fr. Hamilton was transferred to a parish in Charlestown, he was succeeded by Father Michael Carraher (some sources write it as Caroher) who was appointed in 1853.  Known as a ‘gentleman’s son,’ he was accustomed to horses and hounds, often visiting the missions on horseback with his dogs close behind.  It happened that he came to Milford during the time of anti-Catholic resentment known as Nativism or ‘Know Nothingism, since whenever one who belonged to the following was asked anything, they would answer that they ‘knew nothing.’  This was a time of deep anti-Catholic sentiment throughout New England that resented their presence as foreigners and took violent action to try and force them out.  Many Catholic churches and other buildings during this era were burned and Catholics were shunned and derided in many places.

A photo of the first church, circa 1865 on East Main Street.  Just beyond the right edge of the photo would be the location of Church Hill Street today.  The horse and carriage on East Main Street are facing west toward the center of town.  To the right of the church is the monument erected over the grave of Fr. Farrelly which will be explained later.