History
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Major events in the History of the Catholic Church in Whitinsville.
As far as we can learn from the hazy past, the first Mass within the limits of Northbridge was said in Riverdale around 1834 by the famous missionary priest, Rev. Father Fitton, the founder of St. John’s Parish in Worcester and missionary priest to central Massachusetts.
Whitinsville Catholics began to attend Mass regularly in 1852 when Father O’Reilly of Blackstone instituted monthly services. About this time, services were begun in the Rockdale section of town largely populated by French Catholics. In 1853, Reverend E .J. Sheridan, the first resident pastor of Uxbridge, began attending Whitinsville as a mission, saying his first Mass in a house on Church Street in Rockdale. When St. Mary’s church in Uxbridge was finished on August 10, 1855, people from Whitinsville began to attend mass there. By 1865, St Mary’s could not take care of all the Catholics. It was felt that the town needed its own church and Rev. Dennis O’Keefe purchased the land for one in 1868, at the corner of Church and Cross Streets in Whitinsville, where the church is still located.
Rev. O’Keefe’s successor, Rev Dennis Moran, build and had the first church dedicated to God, under the patronage of Saint Patrick. The first service was held on Christmas Day in 1870.
In May, 1889, the Whitinsville mission was raised to the dignity of a parish and the Rev. Peter S. O’Reilly was sent as first resident rector.
In the following spring, Father O’Reilly purchased a tract of fourteen acres, centrally located between the villages of the town for a cemetery.
The original St. Patrick’s Church, build for a mission chapel, had long since proved itself inadequate to the needs of a parish church.
In the Autumn of 1898, the old St. Patrick’s church was moved to the southern extremity of the church lot to serve as a house of worship until the new one could be completed.
The plans for the new church include the capacity to hold 1000 people; however, seats for only 900 were placed upon completion of the church in early November, 1898. The other 100 were added at a later date. The octagonal chapel, which forms a handsome and unique feature of architecture of the church, originally had seats for 200.
A large crowd gathered for the laying of the cornerstone on Sunday, May 15, 1898. People of all denominations attended the dedication. September 24, 1899 was the Feast of the Dedication. By November 14, 1899, a contract was signed with the McShane Bell Foundry in Baltimore, Maryland, to cast a new 5,100 pound bell, to be installed by Christmas. This was a gift from good Protestant friends in Whitinsville. At the time, it was the largest swinging bell in this country.
In January 1904, the parish numbered 4,000 souls. Then the late Bishop Beaven deemed it advisable to set apart the Rockdale church as a separate parish (St. Peter’s). The following October, a new parish at Linwood was created. The Linwood church’s name was to be The Church of the Good Shepherd (Paroisse du Bon Pasteur). These changes reduced the number of members in St. Patrick’s to 1,200.
In 1950, the Diocese of Worcester was established. Its territories were taken from the Diocese of Springfield.
Msgr James A. Deery built St. Patrick’s School on Cross Street in Whitinsville, in 1952.
In June 1971, St. Patrick’s school was closed and a number of pupils transferred to St. Peter’s in Northbridge. A year later, St. Peter’s school was regionalized with other parishes, including, St. Patrick’s, St. Peter’s, Good Shepherd, and St. James in South Grafton.
St. Patrick’s school was rented by the town of Northbridge to be used as a public school. On Friday, March 22, 1974, the town purchased the convent and school. With the sale of the school, space was needed to carry on the CCD programs. The undeveloped basement of the Church was excavated and converted into a center for a church business and social functions, with a ground level entrance on the East Street side and two entrances from the main body of the church. Provision was made for CCD offices, eleven classrooms, a social hall, kitchen and storage. William M. Guertin Co., of Linwood was awarded the contract to perform this work.
In the Spring of 1972, Father Hickey was honored at a Mass and reception on the 50th anniversary of his ordination to the priesthood. The following September he retired.
Through the Second Vatican Council also came about a new experiment in Pastoral Ministry, called Team Ministry. In 1972, following the retirement of Father Hickey, St. Patrick's became part of this experiment. The new co-pastors at St. Patrick's were Rev. Daniel M. Driscoll and Rev. John J. Kelliher, who shared the responsibility in the spiritual and physical welfare of the Parish.
Father Kelliher became Parish Director of the CCD program. Sister Mary Little, of the Sisters of Mercy, became the Coordinator of the Jr. and Sr. High School program. Sister Marilyn Salamone was Coordinator of the elementary department. In keeping with modern methods of education, audio-visual aids began to be used on most programs.
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Photo Albums
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