That survival was aided in part because the parish, unlike many others in the
Boston Archdiocese, stayed clear of the church sex abuse scandal.
Turned off by the abuses, some parishioners left the fold, but as the church is
experiencing a new rise in attendance, the Rev. Hickey said those tough times
are over.
In Rockland, a town with an estimated 18,000 residents, the Rev. Hickey reckons
that about half are Catholic. There are 1,000 students in the church’s religious
education classes, and another 450 enrolled in the church’s parochial school.
|
Some 300 Brazilians are among the 1,700 who attend
Mass each Sunday at Holy Family Church. In recognition, Sunday’s 125th
anniversary Mass will be celebrated in English and Portuguese. (Greg
Derr/The Patriot Ledger) |
On Sundays, 1,700 attend Mass, including 300 Brazilians, the largest Brazilian
Catholic community on the South Shore. That is the reason why Sunday’s
anniversary Mass will be conducted in English and Portuguese.
Though the church community is diverse today, the Rev. Hickey said its roots
are mostly Irish and Italian.
Prior to the civil war, present-day Rockland was attractive to those escaping
the Irish Potato Famine of 1845 and 1847. The impoverished workers found
opportunity making shoes in Rockland factories.
In 1872, the Archdiocese of Boston decided to establish a new church in East
Abington. Two years later, when Rockland broke free of Abington, plans for the
new church began.
The parish was founded in Rockland in 1882, with the opening of the lower chapel
of the Holy Family Church on Christmas Day. It took five more years to finish
construction, and 15 years to pay for it.
‘‘It really was a significant achievement for people who were new
immigrants,’’ the Rev. Hickey said.
While life was not easy for Catholics 125 years ago, work opportunities and
religious freedom enabled them to thrive on the South Shore.
By building a church, the growing Catholic community let it be known they were
here to stay.
‘‘They were saying to the Yankees, we’ve arrived,’’ the Rev. Hickey said.
‘‘We’re Americans too.’’
Over the years, the congregation evolved from a group that struggled to survive,
to one that is now concerned with social justice around the world, said Sister
Anne Conway, who has been at Holy Family for the last 16 years.
In recent years, church groups have partnered to feed people in halfway homes in
Boston and to educate the impoverished in Honduras, Sister Conway said.
The parish spirit and its faith are what make it special, she said.
‘‘Twenty years from now we’ll be doing something different,’’ Sister Conway
said, ‘‘but hopefully all of it will bring us closer to God.’’
Mary Lou Kraemer, a Holy Family parishioner for 45 years, said the church has
remained the vibrant epicenter of Rockland’s Catholic community, despite the
rise of television and the internet.
Kraemer, who wrote a book on the parish’s 100th anniversary with her husband in
1982, said the factory culture of Rockland and its downtown location make it
different from most suburban parishes.
Over the years, it has retained its close-knit feel, she said.
‘‘It’s a family,’’ she said. ‘‘It’s well named.’’
Copyright 2007 The Patriot Ledger
Transmitted Saturday, June 09, 2007
Holy Family Church
