CEMETERY TOUR- Sat, October 6

Join us for our Annual Historical Walking Tour

Saturday, October 6th at

St. Patrick Cemetery

1251 Gorham Street, Lowell, MA.

Find out how the first generation of Irish pioneers

lived and died.  The tour is free of charge.

Coffee and refreshments will be provided at 9:30 AM

next to the office area at the main gate entrance.

10:00 A.M.     Hibernian Dedication Ceremony

10:30 A.M.      Historical Walking Tour

Tour goes on rain or shine.

Wear comfortable walking shoes.

Cemetery clean up is Saturday, Sept 29 at 9 am.  Cancelled in case of rain.

"In the Name of Saint Bridget"

Like his ancestors before him, Msgr. William O’Brien was a man with a vision.  A cousin of St Patrick Parish’s previous pastors, Fathers John, Timothy, and Michael O’Brien, he had big ideas.  A native of Nenah, County Tipperary, Msgr. O’Brien, like his ancestors, made frequent trips home.  On one of these trips, he came back with an idea to build a mortuary chapel in Saint Patrick Cemetery.  Not just any chapel, but the best New England had ever seen.  Again, this was not some ordinary chapel, he designed it himself based on a chapel he saw back home in Tipperary.  Dotting the Irish countryside are dozens of these small stone oratories that were the places of prayer for some of the ancient Celtic saints.  He probably based his designs on examples he saw in his own hometown.

He wanted to incorporate the primitive design of an oratory with all the modern technologies of the 1920s.  A primary concern would be the inclusion of a holding area for coffins that needed storage during the winter months when the frozen ground made internments difficult, if not impossible.  Placing the chapel on the slight rise of earth made it ideal for his next idea.  The coffin would be borne into the chapel, and at the end of the committal prayers an elevator would lower it into the receiving chamber below.  From there, cemetery workers could transport the coffin to the appropriate lot. 

The exterior was made of granite with a slate roof.  Large oak doors allowed entrance to the chapel’s interior and could remain open if there was not enough room for priest and mourners inside.  Upon entering, the eye was immediately drawn to the marble altar with a statue of Our Lady of Victory.  The walls too were of white, Carrara marble imported from Italy.  Six stained glass windows, some donated by local undertakers, lined the walls allowing tinted light to dapple the interior.  Msgr. O’Brien saw to it that the Stations of the Cross lined the walls of the interior so the faithful could later visit and pray for the deceased.

The dedication ceremony was set for Memorial Day 1922.  The Cardinal himself, Lowell native William O’Connell and good friend of Msgr. O’Brien, would lead the services.  When the day arrived he visited the grave of his parents and then processed to the chapel.  Thousands attended.  He blessed the chapel and dedicated it to Saint Bridget.  The Cardinal admired the chapel so much he had an almost identical one made for himself and placed in the Chancery grounds.  (The Cardinal’s remains were recently removed with plans for the chapel to be demolished.)

Msgr. O’Brien was sure to include one more detail to his plan.  Unlike his ancestors who all chose to be buried in the front yard of St Patrick’s church, William O’Brien chose to be interred in the chapel which he built.  Little do today’s mourners know that when they enter the chapel, William O’Brien’s remains are located just under the doorway in a niche in the foundation.  Interestingly, O’Brien dies just a year after the completion of the chapel.

Filth & Wretchedness

Barber Print of Lowell, 1839

From its earliest days Lowell intrigued visitors to tour its canals and mills.  There are a number of accounts by visitors, foreign and domestic, who came to see the industrial city being built on the Merrimack River.  They were intrigued to see the “Lowell Experiment” in action.  Many accounts dramatically describe the mill girls working their looms, and the shops and opportunities that drew the girls away from the New England farms to the brick factories.  Most accounts are complimentary and remark how different Lowell is compared to the conditions in places such as Manchester, England.  Lowell was being promoted as a type of utopia where labor and management coexisted in a regulated society.

Not every visitor looked beyond the building boom that was occurring in the 1820s.  While many were brought on tours of the pristine boarding houses and shown the girls standing at their looms; few ventured beyond the town center.  Up to this date, the earliest account of the Acre was an 1831 entry in a copy of the Niles Register.  It probably has been reprinted more than any other  report, and gives an account of the physical description of “New Dublin” by a visitor. 

In the suburbs of Lowell, within a few rods of the canals, is a settlement, called by some, New Dublin, which occupies rather more than an acre of ground.  It contains a population of not far from 500 Irish, who dwell in about 100 cabins, from 7 to 10 feet in height, built of slabs and rough boards; a fire-place made of stone, in one end, topped out with two or three flour barrels or lime casks.  In a central situation, is the school house, built in the same style of the dwelling-houses, turfed up to the eaves with a window in one end, and small holes in two sides for the admission of air and light.  In this room are collected together perhaps 150 children.

I was fortunate to come across an even earlier account, one I believe that has not been published before this date.  Needless to say that I was thrilled to have uncovered it.  It predates the Niles account by 2 years.  This is an important find since there are so few first-hand accounts of the early Irish population.  Once I came across it, I was excited to read what an earlier visitor thought of the Irish at the beginning of their entrance to the town of Lowell.  It was written by someone visiting for the day and touring the mills, but then he made his way into the Acre.  He wrote of the “filth” and “wretchedness” he witnessed in the “Irish village.”  He described the women “with faces indicating the free use of ardent spirits and shrill voices never spoken but to reprimand.”  He concludes that the Irish “are seldom employed,” having “a better reputation for hard drinkers and good fighters.” 

Again, I had never seen this source referenced before.  Initially I thought how awesome that I had come across a new account of the Paddy Camps.  Then I read the full piece.  I was disheartened.  But it speaks volumes about the conditions in which they lived and how the Irish were perceived. 

REMINDER- CEMETERY CLEAN UP DAY, Saturday, September 29 at 9 a.m..  If you have a broom or hand -brush, please bring it along.

The "New" School - 1958



Cardinal Cushing on Rectory Steps, 1956

The congregation couldn’t believe what they just heard. 

The year was 1956.  Thousands had gathered at St Patrick Church for the 125^th anniversary of its founding.  The highlight of the event was the Pontifical Mass.  Dozens of clergy were invited to partake in the celebration of the Mother Church of Lowell.  The celebrant was Richard Cardinal Cushing.  He ascended the steps of the pulpit and began his sermon.  He spoke of faith and loyalty.  He commended the various organizations that supported the Irish through the decades.  He spoke of the dedication of the Sisters of Notre Dame who staffed the school since 1852.  He spoke of the aging buildings and the need for repairs.  And that’s when he hit them with the news.  The convent, academy building, chapel and school building were all to be razed.

You can imagine he probably paused dramatically and waited for a reaction.  In his booming Boston accent he continued that a new school was to be raised.  It would meet all the codes and modern conveniences the other buildings lacked.  And then he hit them with the next line.  He, himself, would match dollar for dollar whatever funds were raised.  And to top it off the work would begin immediately.  Though this may have been a surprise to many listening to the Cardinal, it wasn’t to him.  Cushing recognized the role the parochial schools played with catholic identity.  Whatever his biographers say about him, the man had a vision and would do what he had to accomplish it. 

To be honest the need was great.  The number of students had been dwindling.  To think that at the end of the 19^th century there were 1005 students enrolled in the schools.  The decline began when the Academy moved to Tyngsboro in the 1920s.  This was followed by a major blow a decade later with the demolition of many of the tenements and houses that surrounded the church to make way for Housing Project.

Cushing, of course, knew what he wanted to say before he got to the pulpit.  Across the Diocese he was tearing down and building up.  The architect and builder were already hired before he announced it in Lowell. To save money he used the same design and builders for many of his building projects.  A quick survey of building of this period shows church after church, school after school all followed a similar design.   The convent and chapel were to be demolished, and the Sisters would live at the Academy in Tyngsboro and commute to Lowell Monday through Friday.  A station wagon would be provided.  All nine nuns would squeeze in.  They would also come to Lowell each Sunday for the 8:30 Mass with the parochial school students and then teach CCD to the public school students.  What was once the convent gardens would be the new school.  Everything in-between would be used for  parking. 

Pledge Card to Finance New School

The last days came quickly.  Neighbors watched as the Sisters packed their bags to move to Tyngsboro.  Construction workers began demolishing the convent wall that had cloistered the Sisters for three-quarters of a century.  They left a small section which closed off the new school from Adams St, and remained standing until the 1980s.  They also left the Grotto in the rear of the new school.  But the day that many had to dread finally did come.  The Lowell Sun was there as the wrecking ball swung into the building that had educated so many. 

Cushing made his arrival in grand style to the dedication wearing all the ecclesiastical finery his office provided.  After prayers in the church, the procession made its way to the new school.  Cushing picked up a trowel and laid the cornerstone.  He spoke briefly and asked the blessing of God upon all those who would work in this place.

It was the last day of school in June at the old St Patrick School.  The Sisters had a tradition of keeping an account of what happened in the school and convent.  The Principal opened the journal to write the last account in her journal.  She wrote that she and another Sister drove to St Patrick Cemetery.  They knelt at the grave of Mother Desiree, the first Superior at St Patrick’s.   They prayed for those who served, and for those who were to come, and for the Acre to rise again.

September 7, 1879 - Consecration

Interior St. Patrick Church, pre 1904

The crowds made it difficult for the procession to take place.  All had been planned in accordance with the Rites of the Church.  The priests and congregation had been fasting, the vigil around the relics had taken place, and water was blessed to be used in abundance during the three hour ceremony.  Though it was 7 a.m. the police were needed for crowd control.  Over 60 priests and bishops and an innumerable amount of altar boys in cassock and surplice gathered led by the cross bearer to circle the church three times sprinkling the walls with holy water.  This was followed by Archbishop Williams using the base of his crosier to knock loudly on the closed doors of the church.  “Who is the King of Glory?” he would call out.  A voice inside would respond, “Christ the Lord.”  After the third call, the doors were opened and the Archbishop entered, leaving priest and people outside intoning the Litany of the Saints.  Inside the Archbishop spread ashes on the floor and with the tip of his crosier wrote the Greek alphabet.  Now the crowds entered.

The relics of Saints Patrick and Philip were placed within the altar stone of the main altar.  The marble altar was covered with oil and small fires were set on the corners.  Twelve crosses and candles were placed around the perimeter of the church.  The Pontifical Mass had not even started yet; these were merely the opening ceremonies.    Once the doors were opened everyone wanted entrance.  Admission tickets were sold well in advance with specific pews reserved.  Still thousands remained outside list trying to hear the Psalms and Responses.  There was much talk around town by Catholic and Non-Catholic alike on the question of selling tickets to such an occasion.  Some remarked that this was typically Catholic.  The music was Hayden’s 16^th Mass, and the sermon was preached on how the faith has been passed on across the generations.  The Mass ended in early afternoon.  After a brief respite priests and people gathered at evening time for Vespers to sing the Te Deum (We praise you, O God.)

That event took place coincidentally 133 years ago today.  The altar that was consecrated is now in the lower church.  (It was moved there after the 1904 fire.  Contrary to popular belief, it did not fall through the floor.)  The relics of Sts. Patrick and Philip are still embedded in the altar stone.  A single admission ticket from the event survives, donated by a parish family who saw the historical significance.  Saint Patrick’s was only the second church to be given the title of consecrated.  This was a unique privilege honoring not only priests, but people. 

St. Patrick Cemetery Tour - Saturday, October 6

Join us for our Annual Historical Walking Tour

Saturday, October 6th at

St. Patrick Cemetery

1251 Gorham Street, Lowell, MA.

Find out how the first generation of Irish pioneers

lived and died.  The tour is free of charge.

Coffee and refreshments will be provided at 9:30 AM

next to the office area at the main gate entrance.

10:00 A.M.     Hibernian Dedication Ceremony

10:30 A.M.      Historical Walking Tour

Tour goes on rain or shine.

Wear comfortable walking shoes.

______________________________________________

If you're really in a mood for being outside around the birds and trees, maybe you'd want to join us on Saturday, September 29 at 9 a.m. for the annual clean up.  Because most of the historic stones are laid flat, Mother Nature does her best to cover them with sod, leaves, geese droppings, etc..  These stones were laid flat in the 1920 and 30s.  As the decades pass, they sink a little lower into the ground so it becomes necessary to edge around them.  Bring a corn broom if you can.  They're soft and won't harm the stones.  When I was in Tyrone I spent many hours on my knees digging.  Feeling is just beginning to return to my lower extremities.  For those who are able to bend down and get up again, a set of knee pads would be helpful.  We start early because the sun really warms up the yard.  We're usually out of there by 11. 

 I want to give a tip of the hat to one of the great volunteers who was so helpful in the first days of our research at St. Pat's Cemetery.  Jim McNamara recently passed away.  Jim and Mary were among those volunteers who spent weeks on Saturday mornings uncovering and recording information from the early, slate stones.  I recall walking Yard One when it was overgrown wondering how to approach the task, and Jim had the brainstorm idea to walk the Yard and poke holes looking for hidden stones. He was a man on a mission.   It worked!  He located dozens of hidden slates.  And because of him our story continues to grow today.  God's peace, Jim.