History of St. Patrick’s Parish
Wareham played a prominent role in the early days as the Catholic Church spread south of Boston. The town’s nail factory, iron foundries and small textile factories drew many mostly Irish Catholic immigrants to town. The first record of a visit from Catholic clergy is from the late 1820s. Then Bishop Benedict J. Fenwick, second Bishop of Boston, visited Wareham and Sandwich in response to a petition for pastoral care from the faithful of the area.
Early Foundation
The decision was made to establish St. Peter’s Parish in Sandwich which had the largest Catholic population centered around the Boston & Sandwich Glass Company’s factory. A church dedicated to St. Peter was built there in 1830 with Rev. William Tyler as pastor. St. Peter’s Parish, the predecessor of today’s Corpus Christi Parish, was only the sixth Catholic Church in Massachusetts. The parish encompassed all of the present South Coast Area from Provincetown to New Bedford and north to Middleborough and Plymouth.
When Bishop Fenwick again visited Wareham in 1832 the Catholic population numbered from 70-80 parishioners mostly men. There were only three or four couples in the parish. In 1834, the population of Catholics had dropped precipitously to only about 30 on account of poor economic conditions.
Struggling First Years
The decades of the 1830-50s were a time of struggle both economically and spiritually for the small Catholic population of Wareham. Poor economic conditions prevented the fledgling community from establishing a permanent church building. During those years Mass and other religious ceremonies had to be held in private homes, hotel rooms or rented spaces in community halls. At this time Wareham continued as part of St. Peter’s Parish and was served for various lengths of time by Rev. Peter Connolly, Rev. Caravan, Rev. F. Kiernan, and Rev. John Brady. With the poor economic conditions the parish in Sandwich was served by a number of priests on an intermittent basis during the 1840s. A permanent pastor was again appointed to Sandwich and Wareham in 1850 when Rev. William Moran came to St. Peter’s.
It was also a spiritually challenging time because of strong anti-Catholic and nativist sentiments throughout the area and the nation. These anti-Catholic emotions often turned violent. According to one report in 1835 a group of Irish Catholics celebrating Mass in a hotel were disturbed by a mob bent on breaking up the sacred liturgy. Such incidents continued even into the 1850s. On one occasion Rev. William Moran was met by a mob that tried to prevent him from entering town to offer pastoral care to the faithful. On another occasion Fr. Moran was returning to Sandwich after ministering in Wareham when he was set upon by several nativist fanatics. They stopped his horse and carriage and forcibly dragged him to the ground. He might have been seriously injured had not a certain Mr. Holland, a non-Catholic, came to his rescue armed with a shotgun. Holland threatened to shoot the first person to attack Fr. Moran. The assailants dispersed quickly and Fr. Moran continued on his way back to Sandwich.
Wareham Gets Its Own ChurchSuch anti-Catholic behavior did not cease with the 19th Century. It continued into the first decades of the 20th Century. In 1913, a mission church was built in Onset to serve the large resort community. The chapel soon became inadequate and in 1923, land was bought directly across Onset Avenue and construction on a new frame church was begun. Tragically, both the new church still under construction, and the existing chapel were destroyed by fire one night. The contention is that the fires were the work of arsonists from the Klu Klux Klan that was active even in New England at that time. Not to be intimidated an even more substantial brick and stucco church designed by the Boston architect Charles D. Maginnis was built to replace both structures. It was dedicated on May 31, 1925, and still serves the Onset community as St. Mary’s chapel of St. Margaret’s Parish, Buzzards Bay.
The 1850s saw the stabilization of the Catholic Community in Wareham and the notion of finding a permanent church home was pursued by the community and Fr. William Moran, the pastor in Sandwich. The outbreak of the Civil War prevented those plans from coming to fruition. Finally with the end of the war in 1865, under the pastorate of Fr. Peter Bertoldt, an abandoned former Baptist Church on High Street was purchased at the cost of $3,000. This building, built in 1832, became the first St. Patrick’s Church and still serves the parish as our Parish Center. In 1871, the community still under the pastorate of Fr. Bertoldt, enlarged and redecorated the church.
The second half of the 19th Century saw slow growth in the St. Patrick’s, Wareham community. In 1871, the Diocese of Providence, RI was created and the southeastern section of Massachusetts, including Wareham, became part of the new diocese. During that time new parishes were created on Cape Cod. The more westerly portion of St. Peter’s Parish extending through Wareham and on to Marion remained status quo. It was during these years that St. Patrick’s established our parish cemetery on Tihonet Road in Wareham.
In 1888, after a bitter labor dispute, the Boston & Sandwich Glass Company factory was closed sending Sandwich into an economic decline that reduced the Catholic population. In the mean time the St. Patrick’s community continued steady growth. During the years 1896-1899, Rev. James H. Looby served as pastor of St. Peter’s. It was during his pastorate that St. Patrick’s was again renovated with an addition to offer accommodations for the priest when he stayed overnight. Fr. Looby also strengthened the religious education offered to the children in Wareham. In 1904, the Massachusetts portion of the Diocese of Providence was separated to form the Diocese of Fall River.
St. Patrick’s Becomes Its Own Parish
By the second decade of the 20th Century the population of the Town of Wareham had become considerably larger than that of Sandwich causing an imbalance between the two principal towns in the parish. In May 1911, St. Patrick’s Parish was established by the Diocese of Fall River and Rev. William Sullivan, became the first pastor of St. Patrick’s Parish.
In his first parish report Fr. Sullivan notes these parish statistics. There were 245 households which included English speakers, Italians, Bravos (sic) (Cape Verdians) and Polanders (sic). In addition to the main church, he attended missions in Marion, Onset and Tremont. Thirty eight young people were enrolled in classes for Catechism in Wareham and another twenty at Tremont. He recorded 49 baptisms, 23 First Communions, 3 marriages, and 6 funerals during the first year. There were men and women’s organizations of both the Sacred Heart League and Rosary & Scapular Society. There were Children of Mary and Holy Innocents groups for the youth of the parish. He reported that land for a new rectory had been bought and paid for and that there was no parish debt.
Mission Chapels for Onset, Marion & Tremont
Soon after the founding of St. Patrick’s, Fr. Sullivan began celebrating Sunday Masses in Onset at the Pastime Theatre. That resort community continued to grow, and Fr. Sullivan began the construction of a wooden church on the corner of Onset Ave. and Fourth Street in 1913. The church was dedicated to St. Mary in August of that year. That church was quickly outgrown and land was purchased directly across the street as a site for a new church in 1923. Construction on a new wood frame church was soon begun only to be interrupted by the tragic incident of the arson fires previously reported. The new brick and stucco church designed by Charles D. Maginnis was dedicated on May 31, 1925. This church continues to serve the faithful of Onset as a chapel of St. Margaret Parish, Buzzards Bay. St. Margaret Parish was established in the 1940s and the Onset section of Wareham was separated from St. Patrick’s and attached to that parish.
Catholic Mass also began being celebrated in Marion soon after the establishment of St. Patrick’s Parish. Mass during the summer months was first celebrated in the Sippican Hotel Casino. In August 1916, a church building designed by Boston architect Charles C. Coolidge and dedicated to St. Rita was blessed by Bishop Daniel Feehan. In 1940 the church was winterized so that Sunday Mass could be celebrated year round. St. Rita’s was established as its own parish by Bishop Daniel A. Cronin STD on May 13, 1972.
Mass also began to be celebrated in Tremont (West Wareham) soon after the establishment of St. Patrick’s Parish. The Tremont area had a large Italian population and to serve this community Mass began to be celebrated in the Grange Hall above the General Store on Mill Street in West Wareham. A more suitable setting was longed for and in 1934; the Keyes Memorial Chapel in South Wareham was purchased. The men of the parish moved the structure down Main Street to the site on Gault Road donated by Assunta Borsari. There it was remodeled and the campanile built by the men of the parish. It was dedicated to the patronage of St. Anthony of Padua on November 17, 1935, by the Most Reverend James E. Cassidy, D.D., Bishop of Fall River. It continues in use as a chapel of St. Patrick’s Parish.
New St. Patrick’s Church Is Built
Fr. Sullivan was transferred to St. Patrick’s Parish, Somerset in April of 1918. He was succeeded by Rev. Joseph P. Lyons. In January 1919, tragedy was averted when the town school house adjacent to St. Patrick’s Church was totally destroyed by fire. Several times the roof of the church caught fire. It was believed the church too would become involved so most furnishings of the church were removed. Luckily, the church was spared with little damage. In the spring of 1920 the former school site became available for sale. Fr. Lyons was granted permission to buy the property that is now the site of St. Patrick’s Church.
The arrival of the Great Depression stymied plans for a new St. Patrick’s Church. Finally on April 25, 1939, Bishop James Cassidy gave approval for the construction of a new church. A wood frame church in the Georgian Colonial style was designed by the Boston architectural firm of Maginnis & Walsh. Ground was broken on November 28, 1939, and the cornerstone laid on Trinity Sunday, May 19, 1939. The completed church was dedicated December 8, 1940, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, by Bishop Cassidy.Rev. Joseph Lyons was made pastor of St. Joseph’s Church, Fall River, January 22, 1927, and Rev. Francis D. Callahan was appointed Pastor of St. Patrick’s. It was Fr. Callahan’s desire to be able to celebrate Mass at St. Patrick’s and each of the chapels every Sunday year round. To make that possible Rev. Raymond T. Considine was appointed the first Parochial Vicar at St. Patrick’s. In addition to enabling a year round schedule of Masses in all the chapels. Fr. Considine’s appointment enabled the parish to conduct a more systematic instruction in Christian Doctrine in the parish.
At the time of the construction of the new church the old church building was moved back several yards to the rear of the property where it was renovated to serve as a parish hall. That building, renovated several subsequent times, still serves as the Parish Center.
Missionary Servants of the Most Blessed Trinity Begin Ministry
The MSBT Sisters began work among the children and families of the parish. They taught religious education, visited families, tabulated the census, and conducted a Summer School during those first years in the parish. The sisters instituted Kindergarten classes from 1950-1967, when public pre-primary education was mandated by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the class was discontinued by the sisters. Their association with the parish continued until the mid1990s.The year 1940 had another significant new beginning for the parish. In August the parish acquired the Silas T.S. Hathaway estate. This house immediately adjacent to the church property was purchased to serve as a convent for three Missionary Servants of the Most Blessed Trinity. The house was renovated and named St. Patrick Cenacle and on November 20, 1940 the three sisters took up residence. That began a long history of association between the parish and the MSBT Sisters that continues to this day with Sr. Catherine Lamb, MSBT a semi-retired member who works in outreach to the elderly and shut-in.
The Post World War Two Years
Fr. Callahan continued as pastor until his sudden death from a heart attack on June 21, 1948. In the fall of that year Rev. John A. Chippendale became the fourth Pastor of St. Patrick’s Parish. Fr. Chippendale inherited a parish with an up-to-date plant so there was not much need to attend to the parish’s physical plant. However, Fr. Chippendale is known for giving considerable attention to the spiritual needs of the parish.
The one addition to the physical plant of the parish made by Fr. Chippendale was the purchase in 1966, of the Hurley Homestead, 82 High Street immediately adjacent to the parish property. The property was renovated for use as a rectory, and Fr. Chippendale along with the two associate pastors, Rev. John Smith and Rev. Leonard Mullaney moved in from the former one located about one hundred yards north of the church at 128 High Street.
In July 1967, Fr Chippendale was honored by his appointment as a Domestic Prelate with the rank of Monsignor by Bishop James L. Connolly. In 1971 Msgr. Chippendale retired as Pastor and Msgr. Robert L. Stanton was named to replace him. Msgr. Stanton’s tenure at St. Patrick’s was cut short because of illness. In 1973, he was placed on sick leave and resigned as pastor. Msgr. Stanton was followed by Msgr. John E. Boyd. Msgr. Boyd was very active in Ecumenical work both locally and in the Fall River Diocese in the days following the Second Vatican Council. Tragically, Msgr. Boyd’s pastorate at St. Patrick’s was also cut short by a debilitating illness, and he was forced to retire in June 1976.
The Post Vatican II Era
Rev. James F. Lyons was named to succeed Msgr. Boyd. Fr. Lyons was well acquainted with St. Patrick’s from his days as an Assistant Pastor in the parish from 1943-1951. Fr. Lyons commenced plans for the renovation of St. Patrick’s Hall in 1978. The plans expanded the hall and created eight classrooms, an office and lavatories on the lower level with a large hall, conference room, kitchen and two lavatories on the main level. Renovations were completed and the building rededicated in April of 1979.
Fr. Lyons during his tenure also carried out renovations to St. Patrick’s Church to bring it to conform to the liturgical reforms of the Second Vatican Council. In the mid 1980s the communion rail was removed, the ambo was lowered with the pedestal becoming the base for a new baptismal font and other cosmetic improvements were made to the church. About this time St. Anthony’s Chapel was also redecorated and enlarged. In 1988, an addition was made to St. Anthony’s to enlarge the sacristy and install a lavatory. In 1986, the 75th Anniversary of the founding of St. Patrick’s parish and the 50thAnniversary of the establishment of St. Anthony’s was celebrated in the parish.
In 1983, St. Patrick’s welcomed Deacon William Martin to the parish clergy. Deacon Martin was among the first permanent deacons ordained in the Diocese of Fall River after the restoration of the Permanent Deaconate by the Fathers of the Second Vatican Council. Deacon Martin served St. Patrick’s until his transfer to St. Elizabeth Seton Parish in N. Falmouth in 1999.
Fr. Lyons retired as pastor of St. Patrick’s in June 1994. He was followed by Rev. Ralph D. Tetrault. Like Fr. Lyons, Fr. Tetrault previously served as Assistant Pastor at St. Patrick’s from 1969-1973, but like Msgrs. Stanton and Boyd his tenure as pastor was cut short due to debilitating illness. He suffered a heart attack in 1997 and was forced to retire as pastor.
In June 1998, Rev. Arnold R. Medeiros was appointed pastor. He served as pastor until June 2009 when he was named Pastor of St. Elizabeth Seton Parish in N. Falmouth. Rev. John M. Sullivan was named as the new pastor. In October 2007, Deacon Daniel Donovan, was assigned to St. Patrick’s as his first assignment as a permanent deacon. Deacon Henry Gardyna, a permanent deacon from the Archdiocese of Boston also served the parish during those years.
Upon his arrival Fr. Sullivan noticed the need for renovation of the Parish Hall which had endured much wear and tear since its last renovations thirty years before. Plans for the renovations to the parish center commenced in June 2012, with a Capital Campaign to fund the project. The renovations began that winter. They included considerable structural improvements to shore up the floor of the hall. The lower level was completely gutted with the small class rooms enlarged and new floor and ceiling tiles and paint installed. On the upper level a new floor was installed in the main hall along with new paint. A modern video and new audio system were installed in the hall. The kitchen was enlarged to approximately double the original size and modern restaurant style appliances installed. Bishop George W. Coleman celebrated the 11:30 Mass and blessed the renovated Parish Center on Trinity Sunday, May 26, 2013.
Fr. Sullivan has not only been attentive to the need for renovation to the parish’s physical plant but also the need for spiritual renewal. In 2011 the parish revamped its Faith Formation Program. The last several decades has seen a decline in the religious literacy of many Catholics. To help address the problem the parish instituted an Intergenerational Catechesis Program, Hearts to Christ, to help address this problem. Stronger efforts to evangelize lapsed Catholics and to share the faith with all seekers have also been undertaken.
Vocations from St. Patrick’s
Over its history St. Patrick’s has had four vocations to the priesthood and one to the Permanent Deaconate. The first vocation occurred very early in our history. He was the Rev. Bernard Boylan. Fr. Boylan was born in the Tremont section of Wareham September 25, 1853. He studied at the Grand Seminary in Montreal, Canada and was ordained by the Most Rev. Edward Fabre, Bishop of Montreal on December 23, 1876. Fr. Boylan served first in the Diocese of Providence. Then he served for five years in the Diocese of Peoria, Illinois. Returning to the Providence Diocese he served in several parishes before eventually being named pastor of St. Joseph’s Church, Fall River in 1885. Fr. Boylan was pastor there when the Diocese of Fall River was established and served until his death in 1925. Fr. Boylan is buried in his family plot at St. Patrick Cemetery, Wareham.
The next vocation from the parish did not occur until Msgr. Harold Bumpus was ordained a priest of the Diocese of Miami. Fr. Bumpus was born in Wareham June 12, 1931. His parents later moved to the Tampa/St. Petersburg, Florida area. Fr. Bumpus originally studied for the Jesuit’s New England Province but later was ordained for the Diocese of Miami. While still a seminarian Fr. Bumpus designed the organ for St. Patrick’s Church that was later built by Conrad Olsen. He had quite an illustrious priesthood first, in Miami and later in the Diocese of St. Petersburg. Msgr. Bumpus died in Tampa July 5, 2013.
The Rev. Alan K. Borsari, M.M. was the next native of St. Patrick’s to be ordained a priest. Fr. Borsari was ordained to the Catholic Foreign Mission Society of America, better known as the Maryknoll Fathers, on May 9, 1974. He served the missions in Taiwan.
In 2008, Rev. Ronnie P. Floyd was ordained as a priest of the Diocese of Fall River. Upon completion of his studies at the North American College in Rome Fr. Floyd was assigned to St. Patrick’s his home parish as parochial vicar in June 2009. In June 2013, he was transferred to his present assignment as Chaplain at Cape Cod Hospital and Pope St. John Paul II High School in Hyannis.
The most recent vocation from St. Patrick’s Parish is Rev. Deacon David Murphy. Deacon Murphy was ordained Oct. 12, 2013. He is currently assigned to St. Patrick’s parish and is the Pastoral Associate.