Saint Peter's Rising

St. Peter's Church
Lowell City Directory, 1858

The Irish of Chapel Hill were about to have their dream come true.  For years they had to make the trek from the area around Central Street over to the Acre each and every Sunday for Mass, holydays of obligation, parish missions, funerals, weddings, etc..  This other Irish neighborhood had grown and evolved with its own shops, tradesmen, and overcrowded tenements, much as the Paddy Camps had.  The Bishop had finally heard their appeals; the new church would be built.

The day following the Bishop’s call to male parishioners of St Patrick’s for another Catholic church to be built was a busy one.  The Bishop hired a carriage, since the weather had cooled considerably, to look at a plot of land at the corner of Gorham and Appleton Streets that had been recommended to him, land that belonged to the Hamilton Corporation.  He was determined the 10,000 sq. ft. would be a perfect fit for his needs.

The Bishop spent a second night in Lowell.  He was invited by Samuel Lawrence for a carriage ride around the City.  He was amazed at the growth Lowell was going through and toured the outskirts that were lined with walls of fieldstone and waves of growing corn.  Upon his immediate return he sent Fr. Conway, St Patrick’s curate, to procure the land he viewed the previous day.  His anticipation was evident by ordering Fr. Conway to make three trips that day to meet the agent for the Corporation who could complete the sale; on each he found the agent was not present.

Two days after the Bishop returned to Boston, Fr. Conway sent a message.  The land was theirs.  The negotiated price was 40 cents a square foot; final cost was $2,000.  A building committee, made up of Owen Donohoe, John McNulty, Hugh Monahan, Hugh Cummiskey and Charles M. Short, began the work of gathering funds and support.  It appears the Fr. McDermott, pastor of St. Patrick’s was not happy with the events.  He did not believe a second church was necessary even though overcrowding was obvious.  Perhaps he was afraid of his collections falling off, or maybe it was his ego.  McDermott enjoyed the influence he had at St. Pat’s and the addition of another church might take away from that.  He voiced his opinion to the Bishop, and a group of concerned parishioners from St Pat’s even visited the Bishop to threaten consequences if the building proceeded.  The Bishop had had to deal with many problems with the growing Diocese of Boston.  McDermott was only one of them.  The Germans community of Boston was also making threats about their parish leadership.

Mr. Hall was hired as the architect, who drew plans for a brick church 90 feet long and 60 feet wide with a basement and belfry.  Ground was broken in September of 1841.  The final cost of the church would be $22,000.  The Bishop made several visits watching the progress and noted in his diary that the walls were finally up.  The Irish of Chapel Hill had their first service on Christmas day of 1842.  Having no organ the parishioners formed their own orchestra.  Newspapers noted how brightly illuminated the sanctuary was with all the “green festoons.”  The church would not be completed for another year.  The Irish Benevolent Society threw its support, financial and otherwise, over to St. Peter’s and Fr. Conway.  The former curate of St. Pat’s had long ago “severed” his relationship with Fr. McDermott.  This was evidenced by several visits of Fr. Conway to the Bishop “reporting bad news.”  The formal dedication of St. Peter’s would not take place until September of 1843.  At that time pews were being auctioned with prices as high as $192 and some even higher.  It was clear St. Peter’s would soon rival St. Pat’s. 

Shortly, the offertory collections became far greater than that of St. Pat’s as well as the number of weddings and baptisms performed.    When the Bishop visited Lowell, he often stayed at St. Peter’s.  Father McDermott’s star began to fall quickly.

NOTE: Ryan Owen over at ForgottenNewEngland has the next part of Saint Peter's story, the building of the Patrick Keely structure in 1892.    Have  a look.  http://forgottennewengland.com/tag/st-peters-church/

Growing Pains: the "other" Catholic Church

Detail fr. Acre scene

If the good Lord meant for the Sabbath to be a day of rest, the Irish of the Chapel Hill area may not have agreed.  Being Irish and being Catholic meant only one thing on any given Sunday morning, walking almost two miles and back to attend Mass over at St. Patrick’s Church.    And if you were a really good Catholic you went back in the afternoon for Benediction and Vespers.   When the St. Patrick’s opened in 1831 conditions were already crowded.  Extensions were built onto the church a few years later, but with the growing numbers of Irish entering the city even that was not enough.

In July of 1841 Bishop Fenwick came to St Patrick’s to confirm 60 young men and women.  The church was overcrowded, and before the end of the ceremony he asked the parishioners to consider building a new church.  At the close of the afternoon service he stayed to discuss the proposition with interested parties.  The excessive heat of the day did not deter the crowd.  Forty-two men rose immediately and each promised $100, which would be applied to purchasing their pew once the new church was built.  That night $5,400 was pledged.    Yet, not everything was kosher.

Bishop Fenwick

There’s something odd about the Bishop’s story.  He says the crowds gave him the idea for a new church, but the next day finds him in a carriage scouting out a piece of land he had his eyes on.  He appointed the curate of St. Pat’s, Father Conway, to purchase the plot as soon as possible.  One wonders if something else was going on here.  Did the Bishop know about the land beforehand?  Why was the curate put in charge of the purchase, and not the pastor of St. Patrick’s, Fr. McDermott?  There were rumors, lots of them.  Not everyone liked the good pastor.  There were certain financially, solvent men who wanted a split.  Many of the men who stood that day to support the Bishop had homes in the Acre.  Why would they pay for a new church?  The Bishop’s notes tell of a number of visits of Fr. Conway to the Bishop’s residence.  Why?  Then there was the visit by a number of the St. Pat’s congregation to air their “grievances” about the new church being built, and that they would “retard as much as possible the progress.”  The Bishop “remonstrated” against the unnecessary noise” and dismissed them.

The church would be built.  (More to follow next week.)