Jubilee & Fr. Phelan

This article originally appeared in the parish bulletin of April 12, 2020

Though the parish had endured much sadness in the loss of Fr. Canavan, Fr. Phelan stepped up to continue to lead and inspire his parishioners.  For the life of the church and the parish indeed went on.  School had opened, with great changes and great success and that weekend, parishioners were notified at Sunday Mass that Pope Pius X had decided to have a jubilee in honor of the coronation of the statue of the Immaculate Conception.  The 50^th anniversary of the proclamation of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception would be the upcoming December 8^th.  It was planned to be a great feast day not only for the Catholics of Rome, but the world over.  It was announced that the jubilee would begin at St Mary’s on Thursday, the feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. 

The Milford Journal, on September 8, 1904 gave the details for the jubilee observance.  Since the observance began on September 8^th, the feast of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary, there was no school.  The conditions were that parishioners needed to make three visits to their parish church at which time they would offer prayers for the intention of His Holiness.  In addition, one should observe a day of fast, under the usual conditions, but not one of the obligatory fast days of the church.  Confession needed to be approached and communion received on the first day or any other day before the time is completed so that the conditions for the jubilee be fulfilled. 

Bishop Beaven had announced that he would be at the church on September 25^th to administer the Sacrament of Confirmation.  The parish invited anyone who is 12 years or older as eligible and should meet the morning of August 22^nd at 9 AM to register.  Classes would meet every Monday, Wednesday and Friday for instruction.  The Milford Journal of September 26, 1904, states that Bishop Beaven administered the sacrament of Confirmation on September 25^th.  It was during a Vespers service at 3:30 pm, presided by Rev. John E. Crowley, pastor of St John’s in Hopkinton.  Bishop Beaven was assisted in the confirmation by Fr. Phelan and Fr. Cruse, pastor in Upton.

“A number of people remained outside the church until the last moment, awaiting the privilege of seeing the bishop pass from the parochial residence to the church.  There was no disorder in seating the people and the manner in which the details were all carried out is another evidence of Rev. John P. Phelan’s executive ability.  The children were in charge of the Sisters of St. Joseph and there was a force of ushers.”

“The children marched into the church, two by two, the boys leading the way, Rev. J. P. Phelan being at their head.  There were 82 boys to the party, all wearing dark clothes, white ties and white pinks.  They occupied seats on the right side.  The 91 girls were gowned in white each wearing a while veil. They were seated to the left.  The sponsors for children were James Bradley and Mrs. Ellen Brown.  Five adults, all young men, also received the sacrament.” 

“Bishop Beaven’s sermon was one of great interest.  He spoke for nearly 45 minutes and was listened to with great attention.  The bishop has a clear and pleasing voice and could be heard distinctly in all parts of the church.”

These details highlight the changes in the life and experience of our Church and her sacraments in the last century.  The clarity and reach of the bishop’s voice were of interest since there were no microphones or amplification of sound, the acoustics were pure and totally natural then.  In addition, to preach for 45 minutes would be unacceptable in today’s experience juxtaposed by the realization that our candidates receiving this sacrament are at the beginning of the 21^st century are a quarter of what they were a century ago, though the population of our town now is more than twice what it was in 1905.

The jubilee closed on Tuesday, December 8, 1904.  The Milford Daily News reported that nearly 1,700 people received communion to close the holy year.  The first Mass at 5:30 AM had 1,000 people with nearly 850 taking communion.  The Masses during the day were also packed.  That night, Fr. McQuillian, SJ preached on “The Immaculate Conception” during devotions which included the rosary, Benediction and the renewal of baptismal promises.  From the newspaper it seems that Fr. McQuillian had preached for several nights, with a great attendance, prior to this feast closing the jubilee.  It remarked, “His sermons all during the week have been simple, though strong, and his words have sunk deep into the hearts of his hearers.  He has preached in Milford at St. Mary’s church before, but never with more conspicuous success than during this jubilee.”
 

this article originally appeared in the bulletin of April 19, 2020

Fr. Canavan’s pastorate was a short one, on August 16, 1904, at the young age of 55, and having been ordained only 31 years, and thirty of them in service to the people of Saint Mary’s in Milford, he was called home to the Lord.  He was buried with his family in Saint John’s Cemetery in Worcester.  Following the untimely death of Fr. Canavan, Fr. John Phelan was named as acting pastor.  He had served Fr. Canavan from 1901 until his death and was very active in the parish and community.  He had a special interest in education and reorganized the Sunday School programs, using professional teachers from the public school system to supplement the work of the Sisters of Notre Dame in the parish.

Given his interest and support of the education of the young people of the parish in The Milford Journal of August 22, 1904, Fr. Phelan announced that the parochial school would open on September 6 of that year and that boys and girls will be admitted for instruction.  This change of students would also require a change in the leadership of the school.  The same article identifies that the school will be run by the Sisters of Saint Joseph who had recently arrived from their motherhouse in Holyoke; eight of whom were seated in the church for the funeral of Fr. Canavan.

The opening day of school, The Milford Journal on Sept 6, 1904, carried notice that Saint Mary’s School opened under the “most gratifying conditions with 375 pupils being registered, with more than a hundred of them boys; this is the first time the school has been opened for instruction of boys.  It reported that Fr. Phelan, acting pastor of St Mary’s church, was “greatly pleased which the attendance.”  That morning, Fr. Phelan had celebrated the 8:30 AM Mass with all of the students of the school in attendance, stressing in his sermon the importance of their dedication to their studies and the tremendous opportunity being given to them of getting this instruction.  On September 12^th, the Sisters added another sister to the teaching community.  “During the past week, the Mother Superior visited here and said that there was such a great demand for teachers that it was difficult to obtain a sufficient number.”

Following the funeral rites for Fr. Canavan, Fr. Phelan commended the parishioners for the respect they had shown during the death of their pastor.  On Sunday, Aug 21 at the 10:45 AM Mass, he “spoke in a pleased manner about the way in which strangers came among the Catholic people of Milford during the week to share with them the sorrow of the pastor’s death.”  He continued, “This respect shown by you in God’s temple, has secured for you, the kindest commendation.  By your acts of the past week, you have taught others a lesson of love and gratitude.  Strangers have not yet ceased to talk of the great respect shown by you for your late pastor.”

The Mass at 8 0’clock that morning would be a solemn high requiem for Fr. Canavan at the request of the AOH Div 7 since he was their chaplain.   Other requests were received from the Ladies Aux, K of C, Charity Court MCOF, AOH Div 15 and the married ladies, young ladies and children of Mary sodalities.  The Mass on Tuesday at 7:30 would be for the late Fr. T J Fitzgerald at the request of the K of C.  He was a former curate who had died in Sheffield and was buried in Worcester near Fr. Canavan.  The different organizations would attend Mass as a body.

The Milford Daily News of Tuesday, December 6, 1904 printed the unsettling but expected news that Fr. Phelan had been transferred by Bishop Beaven of Springfield.  His new assignment was to Holy Rosary Parish in Holyoke to replace Fr. Michael Burke, a native of Milford, who was assigned to his home parish at the same time.