Mission Churches

this article originally appeared in the parish bulletin the weekends of January 12 and 19, 2020

When Fr. Patrick Cuddihy was assigned to Milford from his ministry in the Berkshires, he had a reputation as a hard working and successful missionary, an approach that had served him well in his native Ireland as well as the western part of our state and the Diocese of Springfield. In the Berkshires, Fr. Cuddihy enlarged the pre-existing church in Pittsfield, built another (Saint Peter)  in Great Barrington, bought a former Protestant church in North Adams (Saint Francis from a former Methodist Church) and fitted it for Catholic worship, built a new church in Lee (Saint Mary) in 1856, the year before he arrived in Milford.  Fr. Cuddihy is also the buyer of record for two parcels of land in Williamstown in 1857 though the building of Saint Patrick’s Church would be the responsibility of another priest.  Ignatius Feeney in his biography of Fr. Cuddihy relates that when the priest met with Catholics in Lee and Stockbridge to determine where to build a church to serve both communities, someone from Stockbridge spoke up that they were good people while those in Lee were rogues.  Fr. Cuddihy announced then that he would build the church in Lee in following the Lord who was sent not for the righteous, but for sinners.  His parish territory in the Berkshires extended from the New York state line to parts of Westfield, covering some 40 miles and 22 villages and towns.

When Fr. Patrick Cuddihy was appointed pastor of Saint Mary’s Parish in Milford, he was in his prime, not yet fifty years of age, and in charge of a parish with missions in Westboro, Medway, Hopkinton, Holliston, Ashland and Upton.  By the time of his death, each of those missions would be an independent parish, whose strong roots endure to the 21^st century with parish still thriving in each of these locations.

The Catholics of Hopkinton would travel to Milford for Mass until 1846, when Fr. Boyce began monthly visits to Hopkinton where Mass was held in the home of John McDonough. In 1849, a Protestant employer called a meeting of all Catholics of the town and, with a gift of $200 from the same person, the attendees unanimously voted to begin a drive to erect a church.  The original Catholic church built in Hopkinton was located on Cedar St. and was known as St. Malachi. It was a wooden structure that was later demolished when the current granite structure was built and named for Saint John the Evangelist.  Rev. Barry was appointed as the first resident Catholic pastor of Hopkinton in July of 1866, when as an independent parish it was no longer a mission of Milford.  Below is a photo of the original Catholic Church in Hopkinton, Saint Malachi's that stood on Cedar Street.

Records indicate that as early as 1836, Catholics lived and worked in Holliston. Most likely the first Catholic Mass in Holliston was celebrated in one of the homes of a prominent parishioner. Once Saint Mary’s Parish was established in Milford, the priests assigned there would travel to the surrounding towns to say Mass regularly; often it took place in the old Town Hall.  Local Catholics would assemble and Fr. Boyce or one of the other priests from Milford would hear confessions, baptize, and celebrate Mass. The Holliston community would be joined by people from as far away as Westborough, Bellingham, and Cordaville. Still other Catholics walked to Milford for Mass. Their parish website recounts those parishioners who told of  the walk to Mass, a distance of seven miles to St. Mary’s. It is remembered that on a Sunday morning as many as 75 to 80 people could be seen winding their way by the railroad track and road to worship. Once the former Saint Malachy Church had been built in Hopkinton, many of the Holliston Catholics would travel to there until December of 1870 when Saint Mary’s was made an independent parish to include Medway and Bellingham.

The Catholics in Westboro were originally ministered to by Fr. Mathew Gibson from Saint John’s in Worcester.  When he was transferred in 1856, the responsibility was shifted to Fr. Farrelly who traveled from Milford to celebrate sacraments for the Catholics there.  Eventually one of the town fathers secured permission for Mass to be celebrated in the Town Hall.  It was here that Fr. Cuddihy from Milford, Fr. Welsh from Natick or Fr. Barry of Hopkinton would serve the needs of the people until in 1869.  At that time, a former Baptist church was purchased and converted for Catholic worship and placed under the patronage of Saint Luke the Evangelist.

Cordaville was the location of the first Catholic Mass in the area around Southboro in 1860 with Fr. Patrick Cuddihy as the celebrant.  He would travel there at intervals until 1864 to celebrate Mass for the people of that community. Fr. Barry followed Fr. Cuddihy in 1864 and when the Diocese of Springfield was erected in 1870, the mission of Saint Matthew was transferred from the pastoral responsibility of Milford to Westboro.  Later a mission church named for Saint Anne would be established in the town of Southboro.

The mission in Upton was midway between Fisherville and Milford.  It was Father Cuddihy who first reached out to the Catholics in this area, traveling once a month to say Mass there.  While the larger Catholic community was French-Canadian in Fisherville and the Irish settled in Upton, they would meet in people’s homes for a monthly Mass.  When the numbers became too large, Fr. Cuddihy engaged the use of the Town Hall of Upton for Mass. When Grafton was established as Saint James Parish in 1869, the mission in Upton was placed under the pastoral care of Fr. Barrett, the founding pastor.  He purchased the former Congregational Church in Upton, fitted it for Catholic worship and blessed it under the name of Holy Angels.  It served the Catholics there until September 11, 2011, when it was merged with Saint Michael’s of Mendon and a new parish was named under the patronage of Saint Gabriel the Archangel.