Dublin Core
Title
Chronological Events of the History of Saint Bridget's Parish
Description
Eight-page chronology of St. Bridgets's Parish from 1834 - 1988. Includes formation of the parish, early services, arrival and departure dates of the various priests, land purchases, church buildings and cemetery.
Date
1834-1988
Identifier
2025.513
Format
8.5 x 11 in. typewritten paper
Document Item Type Metadata
Text
CHRONOLOGICAL EVENTS OF THE HISTORY OF SAINT BRIDGET'S PARISH, MAYNARD, MASSACHUSETTS.
1834 - Rev. James Fitten of Worcester, from which place Saxonville was then attended, assembled the scattered Catholics of Saxonville together and offered up the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass for the first time in these parts in a house owned by Mr. Knight, proprietor of one of the small carpet mills in Saxonville.
1845 - Rev. Peter Crudden, Pastor of the mission at Saxonville. This was the nearest to Assabet (now Maynard).
1846 - Rev. George T. Riordan of Springfield became pastor at Saxonville and had charge of both missions. He resided in Worcester, about halfway between each mission.
1848 - St. George's Church, Saxonville, was completed under Father Reirdon and dedicated by Rt. Rev. John B. Fitzpatrick, Bishop of Boston.
1848 - Rev. John J. Doherty, Pastor at Saxonville.
1850 - Rev. George A. Hamilton, Pastor, Great Milford parish which extended from Milford to Assabet (Maynard), including Saxonville.
1850 - First Mass said at Assabet by Rev. George A. Hamilton at either Cornelius Cleary's house in Stow, or at the home of T.F. Crowley on upper Main Street (at the time, in Sudbury).
1854 - Rev. Edward Farrelly, Pastor, Milford and Saxonville. He or his curates Rev. Edward Turpin and his brother Rev. Timothy Turpin, or Rev. John Walsh did excellent service in the surrounding missions, as far away as Ayer, Fitchburg and intervening towns. They said Mass at homes of worshippers, - a different house on each visit.
1857 - Rev. John Walsh, Pastor, Saxonville. Saxonville parish was separated from Milford and re-established as a separate parish. Fr. Walsh attended at intervals, - Marlborough, Westborough, Feltonville (now Hudson), Rockbottom (Gleasondale), Southborough, Northborough, Assabet (now Maynard), Acton, Stow, Weston,
Wayland, all of the Sudburys, Framingham, Holliston, Ashland, Cordaville, Hopkinton, Fayville, both Naticks, and attended sick calls at Dover, Needham (now Wellesley) and Sherborn.
1857 - Due to the increase in the number of Catholics in Assabet services were held in Union Hall at the corner of Main and Summer streets (where the Methodist Church now stands).
1861 - Thirteen Catholics from Assabet enlisted in the Civil War.
1864 - Assabet was assigned to Immaculate Conception Parish, Marlborough, with Rev. John A. Conlin, Pastor.
1864 - Fr. Conlin purchased a lot of land at Assabet on which to build a church.
1865 - The first Catholic church in Assabet was built on Main Street (next to where the Town Building and Library are now located). (The Assabet Manufacturing Company donated $500.00 to the church fund.)
1866 - The new church was dedicated by the Most Reverend Archbishop John J. Williams.
1869 - Rev. Michael J. Maguire, Pastor, Marlborough.
1869 - Purchased land from Andrew McEachern for $1050.00 and laid out a cemetery. At the time the deed was executed, this land was a part of Sudbury but was included as a part of the town of Maynard in 1871. Prior to the purchase many burials of Assabet Catholics were made in this lot.
1870 - James Heffernan, a Civil War veteran, was the first person interred in St. Bridget's cemetery after it was laid out.
1871 - Incorporation of the Town of Maynard. The Catholic community was made into St. Bridget's parish. Rev. Michael O'Reilly was the first resident Paster. First child baptized in the new parish was Bartholomew J. Coughlin, son of Daniel and Catherine (Hoar)Coughlin on January 10. The first marriage was that of James Russell and Honnorah Fahey on January 28.
1871 - Purchased a lot of land next to the church for $464.00 on which the parochial residence was erected and occupied by Father O'Reilly. (It is still occupied as a dwelling at 201 Main Street.)
1872 - Rev. Timothy Bresnahan, Pastor.
1873 - St. Bridget's made a mission of St. Bernard's parish, Concord. Rev. Timothy Bresnahan, Paster.
1877 - St. Bridget's still a mission of Concord. Rev. Michael J. McCall, Pastor
1881 - Land fer a new church at the corner of Sudbury and Percival streets was purchased by the Most Reverend Archbishop John J. Williams of Boston from Amory and Mary P. Maynard for the sum of $747.98.
1881 - Cornerstone for the new St. Bridget's Church was laid.
1884 - New church dedicated by the Most Reverend Archbishop John J. Williams. It was under the patronage of St. Bridget. Father McCall announced the church wholly cleared of debt.
1894 - St. Bridget's Parish was re-established with Rev. John A. Crowe, Pastor.
1894 - The Abel C. Haynes house and land on Percival Street was purchased for the sum of $4500.00. The house became the parsonage for St. Bridget's.
1894 - The first Mass was celebrated in Acton.
1895 - Church fair occasioned the purchase of a new organ. It netted the parish $4942.16.
1895 - Tomb and wall built at the cemetery on Great Road.
1899 - The first church on Main Street was sold by the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Boston to Mrs. Catherine Mullin. James Mullin, her husband, demolished the building and erected a new home on the lot, where they raised a large family. (Leo Mullin, a prominent Maynard citizen and member of St. Bridget's Parish, is a member of the family.) Mr. Mullin used some of the lumber from the church to build the home which is standing on the original site.
1900 - Stone wall and suitable entrances built at the cemetery by the famous architects, Walsh and McGinnis and Sullivan of Boston.
1901 - Rev. J. Albert Crowley ordained December 20th at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross, Boston. He was the first member of St. Bridget's parish to enter religious life.
1905 - Rev. Bartholomew F. Killilea, Pastor. (Named a Vicor Forane with the title of Very Reverend in 1920.)
1905 - Polish-speaking Catholics of St. Bridget's now using the lower church for services.
1906 - New parsonage built on the site of the old one. The parish fair brought to the parish treasury $5450.79, which was used to pay for the recently built parsonage. (The old parsonage was raffled and the winner moved to Great Road, where it is still standing.)
1906 - First Mass said at Lake Boon, Stow, for the summer colony, which has increased considerably. (The Twilight Club, a group of St. Bridget's men parishioners offered the use of their clubhouse for the services. Mass was said at the clubhouse for several summers until Association Hall was built at Lake Boon in 1913.)
1908 - Town of Maynard voted to name the public park off Great Road "JOHN A. CROWE PARK" in honor of Father John A. Crowe, a former pastor of St. Bridget's, who was responsible for creating the park and was its first superintendent. Father Crowe was quite athletic; also, was active in town affairs and served on several town committees. He was a very popular with the citizenry of the town of Maynard, and the whole parish.
1909 - Rev. Walter J. Browne, Paster.
1910 - About 600 Polish-speaking people now in Maynard. Father Browne asked Most Reverend Archbishop William J. O'Connell to provide a Polish-speaking priest as an assistant.
1912 - Rev. Francis Jablonski said his first Mass for the Polish people of St. Bridget's.
1912 - St. Casimir, patron saint of the Polish people, was chosen as the name for the Polish parish.
1913 - Mission church, St. Elizabeth of Hungary, built at West Acton.
1913 - Chapel established at Lake Boon in newly built Association Hall, in the rear of the Twilight Club.
1913 - Sister Mary Gilbert (Rose Hannon) entered the Sisters of St. Joseph in Brighton and thus became the second St. Bridget's parishioner to enter religious life.
1915 - Through the efforts of the Maynard businessmen a granite monument with a bronze tablet - "JOHN A. CROWE PARK- 1901" - was dedicated at the public park on Great Road. Father Crowe, with a large delegation from his parish in Cambridge, was on hand for the occasion.
1917 - Rev. John J. McHugh, Pastor.
1918 - Father McHugh died during the disastrous influenza epidemic.
1918 - Rev. Patrick D. Meagher, Curate, died from the same cause two weeks after Father McHugh.
1918 - Rev. Edward F. Crowley, Pastor. (Named a Monsignor by Pope Pius, XII, in 1946.)
1918 - Rev. William F. McGrail was ordained October 20th at St. John's Seminary, Brighton, by His Eminence William Cardinal O'Connell.
1919 - Silver Jubilee of St. Bridget's Parish was celebrated.
1919 - Reception to the returning Soldiers, Sailors and Marines of World War One.
1922 - Rev. James Carney, C.P., entered Dunkirk Preparatory School, Dunkirk, N. Y., to become a Passionist. He was ordained at St. Michael's Monastery, Union City, N.J., on May 22, 1932. Served many years in China.
1923 - Sister Elizabeth Therese (Mary Geraldine Heffernan) entered the Sisters of Charity of St. Elizabeth, Convent Station, New Jersey.
1923 - Rev. William F. McGrail died as a result of an automobile accident.
1925 - Sister Inez Marie (Grace Heffernan, a sister of Mary ) entered the Sisters of Charity of St. Elizabeth, Convent Station, N.J.
1925 - St. Bridget's Cadets and Fife, Drum and Bugle Corps was organized under the direction of Rev. Charles A. Donahue, Curate, and a veteran of World War I. He held the rank of Major in the U.S. Army. (He was named a Monsignor by Pope Pius in 1960.)
1925 - Camp Joyce Kilmer at Scituate was established. A former World War I barracks was converted for use as a summer camp for the boys and girls of St. Bridget's Parish.
1926 - Children of Mary Corps organized to join with the Cadets.
1926 - Rev. John S. Dziok succeeded Father Jablonski as pastor to the polish-speaking People. (Fr. Dziok was named a Monsignor by Pope Pius XII on September 20, 1957.)
1926 - Under the guidance of Father Dziok the Polish-speaking Catholics purchased the former power station and land on Great Road of the Concord, Maynard and Hudson Street Railway Company which was no longer in operation. They
made it into the beautiful St. Casimir's Church.
1928 - St. Casimir's Church was blessed by the Right Reverend Richard Haberlin, and it became a separate parish.
1929 - Sister Rose Theresa (Rose Elizabeth Kane entered the Sisters of the Cross, Peekskill, N.Y.
1930 - Rev. Walter J. Roche, Pastor.
1931 - Sister Teresa Mary (Mary Rita Anelons) entered the Sisters of St. Francis, Allegheny, N.Y.
1934 - Reverend James Carney, C.P., died as a result of an automobile accident June 20.
1935 - The shrine at St. Bridget's cemetery was dedicated on May 30th, and new gates were built.
1935 - Rev. D. Edward O'Bryan, Paster.
1937 - Sister Mary St. Camillus (Mary Farrell) entered the Sisters of St. Joseph, Brentwood, N.Y.
1938 - Rev. Albert G. Fairbanks was ordained May 20th at St. John's Seminary, Brighton, by His Eminence Francis Cardinal Spellman (then Auxiliary Bishop of Boston).
1938 - Hurricane of September 21st did considerable damage to St. Bridget's Church. The three stained glass windows above the altar were shattered. (These were replaced by the present window over the altar, given in memory of the late Rev. Walter J. Roche by members of his family.
1938 - Permission granted to purchase twelve acres of land on the northerly side of Old Mill Road, adjoining the cemetery.
1944 - Rev. William P. Smith, O.M.I., ordained in June at the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, Washington, D.C., Is serving as missionary in Africa ever since his ordination.
1945 - St. Elizabeth of Hungary mission in West Acton now a separate parish for Acton and Boxborough.
1946 - St. Anne's Parish, Wayland, now encompasses the town of Wayland and all of the town of Subury.
1946 - Sister Mary Grace (Mary Elizabeth Ayotte) entered the Monastery of the Precious Blood, Manchester, N.H.
1952 - Rev. D. Edward O'Bryan, Paster, died on May 10th.
1952 - Rev. William J. O'Brian, Paster. Named a Monsignor by Pope John XXIII, January 24, 1959.)
1955 - Our Lady of Fatima Parish in Sudbury became a separate parish.
1955 - Reverend Mother Miss Mary A. Doyle, a former superintendent of schools of Maynard entered the Order of the Daughters of the Society of the Heart of Mary. She served
for many years in the Middle East, -Pakistan and Bangledesh.
1959 - Monsigner William J. O'Brien died August 21.
1959 - Rev. John D. Callahan, S.T.D., Pastor.
1961 - St. Isidore's Parish in Stow became a separate parish.
1962 - Fr. Callahan named a Monsignor by Pope John XXIII.
1962-1963 - The Second Vatican Council was held, bringing many changes in our religious life.
1963 - Site for parochial school purchased from the Maynard Industries, Inc. (Filled in approximately 49,000 sq. ft. of the former Mill Pond.)
1964 - Reverend Mother Irene, O.S.B. (Helen T. Boothroyd) entered the Benedictine Order at the Abbey of Regina Laudis, Bethlehem, Conn.
1965 - St. Bridget's Parochial School dedicated.
1968 - Rev. Robert E. Kelley ordained May 23 in St. Paul's Cathedral, Worcester, Mass., by Bishop Bernard J. Flanagan.
1969 - Temporary convent for the Sisters of St. Bridget's Parochial School established at No. 5 Fairfield Street.
1970 - Permanent convent established on Great Road (property formerly owned by George E. and Kathryn White.)
1973 - Rev. Joseph P. Gately, Pastor.
1974 - Rev. Thomas F. Sheehan, O.F.M., ordained September 20 in St. Camillus Church, at Silver Springs, Maryland.
1976 - Rev. Edward M. Lesage ordained May 15 at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross, Boston, by His Eminence Humberto Cardinal Medeiros.
1978 - Rev. Francis A. Regan, S.T.D., Pastor
1881 - Centennial of St. Bridget's Church observed.
1987 - St. Bridget's Choir traveled to Europe.
1988 - Rev. Brian M. Flatley, Pastor.
1834 - Rev. James Fitten of Worcester, from which place Saxonville was then attended, assembled the scattered Catholics of Saxonville together and offered up the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass for the first time in these parts in a house owned by Mr. Knight, proprietor of one of the small carpet mills in Saxonville.
1845 - Rev. Peter Crudden, Pastor of the mission at Saxonville. This was the nearest to Assabet (now Maynard).
1846 - Rev. George T. Riordan of Springfield became pastor at Saxonville and had charge of both missions. He resided in Worcester, about halfway between each mission.
1848 - St. George's Church, Saxonville, was completed under Father Reirdon and dedicated by Rt. Rev. John B. Fitzpatrick, Bishop of Boston.
1848 - Rev. John J. Doherty, Pastor at Saxonville.
1850 - Rev. George A. Hamilton, Pastor, Great Milford parish which extended from Milford to Assabet (Maynard), including Saxonville.
1850 - First Mass said at Assabet by Rev. George A. Hamilton at either Cornelius Cleary's house in Stow, or at the home of T.F. Crowley on upper Main Street (at the time, in Sudbury).
1854 - Rev. Edward Farrelly, Pastor, Milford and Saxonville. He or his curates Rev. Edward Turpin and his brother Rev. Timothy Turpin, or Rev. John Walsh did excellent service in the surrounding missions, as far away as Ayer, Fitchburg and intervening towns. They said Mass at homes of worshippers, - a different house on each visit.
1857 - Rev. John Walsh, Pastor, Saxonville. Saxonville parish was separated from Milford and re-established as a separate parish. Fr. Walsh attended at intervals, - Marlborough, Westborough, Feltonville (now Hudson), Rockbottom (Gleasondale), Southborough, Northborough, Assabet (now Maynard), Acton, Stow, Weston,
Wayland, all of the Sudburys, Framingham, Holliston, Ashland, Cordaville, Hopkinton, Fayville, both Naticks, and attended sick calls at Dover, Needham (now Wellesley) and Sherborn.
1857 - Due to the increase in the number of Catholics in Assabet services were held in Union Hall at the corner of Main and Summer streets (where the Methodist Church now stands).
1861 - Thirteen Catholics from Assabet enlisted in the Civil War.
1864 - Assabet was assigned to Immaculate Conception Parish, Marlborough, with Rev. John A. Conlin, Pastor.
1864 - Fr. Conlin purchased a lot of land at Assabet on which to build a church.
1865 - The first Catholic church in Assabet was built on Main Street (next to where the Town Building and Library are now located). (The Assabet Manufacturing Company donated $500.00 to the church fund.)
1866 - The new church was dedicated by the Most Reverend Archbishop John J. Williams.
1869 - Rev. Michael J. Maguire, Pastor, Marlborough.
1869 - Purchased land from Andrew McEachern for $1050.00 and laid out a cemetery. At the time the deed was executed, this land was a part of Sudbury but was included as a part of the town of Maynard in 1871. Prior to the purchase many burials of Assabet Catholics were made in this lot.
1870 - James Heffernan, a Civil War veteran, was the first person interred in St. Bridget's cemetery after it was laid out.
1871 - Incorporation of the Town of Maynard. The Catholic community was made into St. Bridget's parish. Rev. Michael O'Reilly was the first resident Paster. First child baptized in the new parish was Bartholomew J. Coughlin, son of Daniel and Catherine (Hoar)Coughlin on January 10. The first marriage was that of James Russell and Honnorah Fahey on January 28.
1871 - Purchased a lot of land next to the church for $464.00 on which the parochial residence was erected and occupied by Father O'Reilly. (It is still occupied as a dwelling at 201 Main Street.)
1872 - Rev. Timothy Bresnahan, Pastor.
1873 - St. Bridget's made a mission of St. Bernard's parish, Concord. Rev. Timothy Bresnahan, Paster.
1877 - St. Bridget's still a mission of Concord. Rev. Michael J. McCall, Pastor
1881 - Land fer a new church at the corner of Sudbury and Percival streets was purchased by the Most Reverend Archbishop John J. Williams of Boston from Amory and Mary P. Maynard for the sum of $747.98.
1881 - Cornerstone for the new St. Bridget's Church was laid.
1884 - New church dedicated by the Most Reverend Archbishop John J. Williams. It was under the patronage of St. Bridget. Father McCall announced the church wholly cleared of debt.
1894 - St. Bridget's Parish was re-established with Rev. John A. Crowe, Pastor.
1894 - The Abel C. Haynes house and land on Percival Street was purchased for the sum of $4500.00. The house became the parsonage for St. Bridget's.
1894 - The first Mass was celebrated in Acton.
1895 - Church fair occasioned the purchase of a new organ. It netted the parish $4942.16.
1895 - Tomb and wall built at the cemetery on Great Road.
1899 - The first church on Main Street was sold by the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Boston to Mrs. Catherine Mullin. James Mullin, her husband, demolished the building and erected a new home on the lot, where they raised a large family. (Leo Mullin, a prominent Maynard citizen and member of St. Bridget's Parish, is a member of the family.) Mr. Mullin used some of the lumber from the church to build the home which is standing on the original site.
1900 - Stone wall and suitable entrances built at the cemetery by the famous architects, Walsh and McGinnis and Sullivan of Boston.
1901 - Rev. J. Albert Crowley ordained December 20th at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross, Boston. He was the first member of St. Bridget's parish to enter religious life.
1905 - Rev. Bartholomew F. Killilea, Pastor. (Named a Vicor Forane with the title of Very Reverend in 1920.)
1905 - Polish-speaking Catholics of St. Bridget's now using the lower church for services.
1906 - New parsonage built on the site of the old one. The parish fair brought to the parish treasury $5450.79, which was used to pay for the recently built parsonage. (The old parsonage was raffled and the winner moved to Great Road, where it is still standing.)
1906 - First Mass said at Lake Boon, Stow, for the summer colony, which has increased considerably. (The Twilight Club, a group of St. Bridget's men parishioners offered the use of their clubhouse for the services. Mass was said at the clubhouse for several summers until Association Hall was built at Lake Boon in 1913.)
1908 - Town of Maynard voted to name the public park off Great Road "JOHN A. CROWE PARK" in honor of Father John A. Crowe, a former pastor of St. Bridget's, who was responsible for creating the park and was its first superintendent. Father Crowe was quite athletic; also, was active in town affairs and served on several town committees. He was a very popular with the citizenry of the town of Maynard, and the whole parish.
1909 - Rev. Walter J. Browne, Paster.
1910 - About 600 Polish-speaking people now in Maynard. Father Browne asked Most Reverend Archbishop William J. O'Connell to provide a Polish-speaking priest as an assistant.
1912 - Rev. Francis Jablonski said his first Mass for the Polish people of St. Bridget's.
1912 - St. Casimir, patron saint of the Polish people, was chosen as the name for the Polish parish.
1913 - Mission church, St. Elizabeth of Hungary, built at West Acton.
1913 - Chapel established at Lake Boon in newly built Association Hall, in the rear of the Twilight Club.
1913 - Sister Mary Gilbert (Rose Hannon) entered the Sisters of St. Joseph in Brighton and thus became the second St. Bridget's parishioner to enter religious life.
1915 - Through the efforts of the Maynard businessmen a granite monument with a bronze tablet - "JOHN A. CROWE PARK- 1901" - was dedicated at the public park on Great Road. Father Crowe, with a large delegation from his parish in Cambridge, was on hand for the occasion.
1917 - Rev. John J. McHugh, Pastor.
1918 - Father McHugh died during the disastrous influenza epidemic.
1918 - Rev. Patrick D. Meagher, Curate, died from the same cause two weeks after Father McHugh.
1918 - Rev. Edward F. Crowley, Pastor. (Named a Monsignor by Pope Pius, XII, in 1946.)
1918 - Rev. William F. McGrail was ordained October 20th at St. John's Seminary, Brighton, by His Eminence William Cardinal O'Connell.
1919 - Silver Jubilee of St. Bridget's Parish was celebrated.
1919 - Reception to the returning Soldiers, Sailors and Marines of World War One.
1922 - Rev. James Carney, C.P., entered Dunkirk Preparatory School, Dunkirk, N. Y., to become a Passionist. He was ordained at St. Michael's Monastery, Union City, N.J., on May 22, 1932. Served many years in China.
1923 - Sister Elizabeth Therese (Mary Geraldine Heffernan) entered the Sisters of Charity of St. Elizabeth, Convent Station, New Jersey.
1923 - Rev. William F. McGrail died as a result of an automobile accident.
1925 - Sister Inez Marie (Grace Heffernan, a sister of Mary ) entered the Sisters of Charity of St. Elizabeth, Convent Station, N.J.
1925 - St. Bridget's Cadets and Fife, Drum and Bugle Corps was organized under the direction of Rev. Charles A. Donahue, Curate, and a veteran of World War I. He held the rank of Major in the U.S. Army. (He was named a Monsignor by Pope Pius in 1960.)
1925 - Camp Joyce Kilmer at Scituate was established. A former World War I barracks was converted for use as a summer camp for the boys and girls of St. Bridget's Parish.
1926 - Children of Mary Corps organized to join with the Cadets.
1926 - Rev. John S. Dziok succeeded Father Jablonski as pastor to the polish-speaking People. (Fr. Dziok was named a Monsignor by Pope Pius XII on September 20, 1957.)
1926 - Under the guidance of Father Dziok the Polish-speaking Catholics purchased the former power station and land on Great Road of the Concord, Maynard and Hudson Street Railway Company which was no longer in operation. They
made it into the beautiful St. Casimir's Church.
1928 - St. Casimir's Church was blessed by the Right Reverend Richard Haberlin, and it became a separate parish.
1929 - Sister Rose Theresa (Rose Elizabeth Kane entered the Sisters of the Cross, Peekskill, N.Y.
1930 - Rev. Walter J. Roche, Pastor.
1931 - Sister Teresa Mary (Mary Rita Anelons) entered the Sisters of St. Francis, Allegheny, N.Y.
1934 - Reverend James Carney, C.P., died as a result of an automobile accident June 20.
1935 - The shrine at St. Bridget's cemetery was dedicated on May 30th, and new gates were built.
1935 - Rev. D. Edward O'Bryan, Paster.
1937 - Sister Mary St. Camillus (Mary Farrell) entered the Sisters of St. Joseph, Brentwood, N.Y.
1938 - Rev. Albert G. Fairbanks was ordained May 20th at St. John's Seminary, Brighton, by His Eminence Francis Cardinal Spellman (then Auxiliary Bishop of Boston).
1938 - Hurricane of September 21st did considerable damage to St. Bridget's Church. The three stained glass windows above the altar were shattered. (These were replaced by the present window over the altar, given in memory of the late Rev. Walter J. Roche by members of his family.
1938 - Permission granted to purchase twelve acres of land on the northerly side of Old Mill Road, adjoining the cemetery.
1944 - Rev. William P. Smith, O.M.I., ordained in June at the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, Washington, D.C., Is serving as missionary in Africa ever since his ordination.
1945 - St. Elizabeth of Hungary mission in West Acton now a separate parish for Acton and Boxborough.
1946 - St. Anne's Parish, Wayland, now encompasses the town of Wayland and all of the town of Subury.
1946 - Sister Mary Grace (Mary Elizabeth Ayotte) entered the Monastery of the Precious Blood, Manchester, N.H.
1952 - Rev. D. Edward O'Bryan, Paster, died on May 10th.
1952 - Rev. William J. O'Brian, Paster. Named a Monsignor by Pope John XXIII, January 24, 1959.)
1955 - Our Lady of Fatima Parish in Sudbury became a separate parish.
1955 - Reverend Mother Miss Mary A. Doyle, a former superintendent of schools of Maynard entered the Order of the Daughters of the Society of the Heart of Mary. She served
for many years in the Middle East, -Pakistan and Bangledesh.
1959 - Monsigner William J. O'Brien died August 21.
1959 - Rev. John D. Callahan, S.T.D., Pastor.
1961 - St. Isidore's Parish in Stow became a separate parish.
1962 - Fr. Callahan named a Monsignor by Pope John XXIII.
1962-1963 - The Second Vatican Council was held, bringing many changes in our religious life.
1963 - Site for parochial school purchased from the Maynard Industries, Inc. (Filled in approximately 49,000 sq. ft. of the former Mill Pond.)
1964 - Reverend Mother Irene, O.S.B. (Helen T. Boothroyd) entered the Benedictine Order at the Abbey of Regina Laudis, Bethlehem, Conn.
1965 - St. Bridget's Parochial School dedicated.
1968 - Rev. Robert E. Kelley ordained May 23 in St. Paul's Cathedral, Worcester, Mass., by Bishop Bernard J. Flanagan.
1969 - Temporary convent for the Sisters of St. Bridget's Parochial School established at No. 5 Fairfield Street.
1970 - Permanent convent established on Great Road (property formerly owned by George E. and Kathryn White.)
1973 - Rev. Joseph P. Gately, Pastor.
1974 - Rev. Thomas F. Sheehan, O.F.M., ordained September 20 in St. Camillus Church, at Silver Springs, Maryland.
1976 - Rev. Edward M. Lesage ordained May 15 at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross, Boston, by His Eminence Humberto Cardinal Medeiros.
1978 - Rev. Francis A. Regan, S.T.D., Pastor
1881 - Centennial of St. Bridget's Church observed.
1987 - St. Bridget's Choir traveled to Europe.
1988 - Rev. Brian M. Flatley, Pastor.
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St. Bridget's Parish - Historical Info - (2 of 14)