St. Francis of Assisi – Part 3 The following is from “A Brief History of Saint Francis Church – 125 Years” Complied by Justyna Carlson Early in 1951, after 54 years in the priesthood, Father Dunphy was invested as Monsignor. Two years later, Msgr. Dunphy retired and was succeeded by Rev. Joh. P. Donahue. Under his watch, St. Joseph’s School doubled from 700 students in 1953 to 1,400 in 1960, Florence A. Sullivan donated her home at 98 Church Street to serve as an auxiliary convent, $50,000 was spent on roof replacement, the iron cross on the steeple was replaced by a cross of copper and the Model Laundry was purchased on Lincoln Street as were a house and bicycle shop on Eagle Street for the purpose of enlarging the school. The most visible accomplishments of Msgr. Donahue were the new convent [begun in May 1960 and completed in July 1961] and the new rectory [begun in May 1963 and completed in January 1964]. Aside from the building projects, his efforts were concentrated upon making St. Joseph’s School better by updating its books, furnishings and equipment, continuing its tradition of minstrels and musicales and making its debating teams known statewide and even nationally. He was also instrumental in reactivating a sports program that enabled St. Joseph’s to become a respected basketball and baseball power. Rev. William H. Smith became the fifth pastor of St. Francis in January 1968. He was succeeded by Rev. John Bourque in 1978, who in turn was replaced by the Rev. Eugene D. Honan in 1982. During the 60’ and 70’s a variety of activities took place including the St. Francis Youth Clubs adoption of Chung Muoi, a Vietnamese girl, the interior of the church was renovated for the first time in 40 years, a new statue of St. Francis was purchased, the wooden wing of the Wall Streeter Shoe Company was demolished making way for a parking lot for parishioners and the closing of St. Joseph school [the last class graduated in 1974]. The following are some facts about St. Francis church which came from a different unknown author. When St. Francis Church was completed in 1869, at the cost of $69,000, it was the largest church in New England. The center of the ceiling is 52 feet off the floor and the ceiling’s sides measure at 31 feet from the floor. The altar of the church sits on a ledge. The pillars in the church are not straight, they lean 5 degrees. There is a plank walkway that runs through the church above the ceiling. In 1939 a marble alter was purchased from Italy replacing the original wooden one. The room upstairs to the right of the altar, in later years used by altar boys, was originally a Sunday school room. The church bells rang at 6:00 PM automatically. Pictures are of The Statue of St. Francis [from the Advocate], first graders on their first day of school, Father Eugene D. Honan and a photo of the interior of the church during a confirmation in 1979 [these 3 photos from “Dew Upon the Mountains” by Joseph C. Day].
Posted on: Sat, 04 Oct 2014 10:26:59 +0000
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