Beverly Churches Celebrate 150th Anniversary​

Beverly MA

10 November, 2021

12:35 PM

Description

BEVERLY, MA —Cardinal Sean Patrick O'Malley visited the Saint Mary Star of the Sea Parish on Oct. 17 as part of the Beverly Catholic Collaborative's celebration of the 150th anniversary of the church's founding and 150 years of Catholicism in the city. Current and prior priests joined Cardinal O'Malley celebrating a joint mass of Saint Mary Star of the Sea, St. John the Evangelist and St. Margaret of Scotland. Cardinal O'Malley presented St. Mary's Parish with a Papal Blessing from the Vatican prior to the conclusion of the mass. Rev. David Michael, Pastor of the Beverly Catholic Collaborative, said the parish had planned an anniversary celebration in 2020 in conjunction with the first public mass at St. Mary's church on July 23, 1870, but the coronavirus health crisis postponed those events. The Oct. 17 celebration was scheduled in conjunction with the founding of the parish as a canonical entity on Oct. 16, 1871. "In other words, we outsmarted the pandemic," Rev. Michael said at the service. "And the fact that you, your Eminence (Cardinal O'Malley), are able to be with us on this date so close to the original founding of the parish is a blessing for all of the Beverly Catholic community. "One-hundred and fifty years ago, a new Catholic parish was formally established here. We might ask what our forebears in faith were holding in their hearts and minds as they looked into an unknown future at a time when so many challenges and changes were at work in their own lives, and in the church and in the world? What were their hopes and dreams and concerns for themselves, for their children and loved ones? For this parish and their new community of faith? "One thing we know for sure — and it should fill us with great hope — is that they came to the same place to which we come. They came here to the altar of the Lord. They came to the Eucharist and to other sacraments. They came here for instruction in the ways of faith and they came here to live the life of Christian clarity." The Collaborative held a brunch at Danversport to continue the celebration after the mass. On Nov. 21, the Saint Mary Star of the Sea will host an additional celebration with organist Leo Abbott. Admission is free, but donations are accepted. Go here for more on that event. Did you find this article useful? Invite a friend to subscribe to Patch. (Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at [email protected]. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)