St. Paul Parish celebrating historic milestone

July 12, 2021 by Carol Britton Meyer

Photos courtesy of St. Paul Parish

St. Paul Parish in downtown Hingham is celebrating "150 years of faith, family, and friendship."

Following numerous postponements due to the pandemic, St. Paul was excited to kick off the celebration recently with a special Mass, at which Cardinal Sean O'Malley -- serving as the Archbishop of Boston -- was the principal celebrant. More events are planned and will be announced at a later date.

"St. Paul was founded right after the Civil War and has continued for all these years," Fr. Tom Nestor, the current pastor, told the Hingham Anchor. "That's a significant amount of time, and some of the tensions and disputes that marked that [conflict] are still with us today."

While the times have changed in other ways, the St. Paul mission remains the same -- "sharing the good news of Jesus with the people," Nestor said. "We want to be a good citizen in the community."

Director of Ministry Elizabeth Reardon shared, "Our faith is not just for the Catholic community -- it's meant to be shared with the greater community. Our hope and our goal is that others will come to know Christ's love through us."

The recent service went "beautifully," she said. "There were several priests who have served at St. Paul previously in attendance, including Fr. James Rafferty, who was our pastor for 18 years."

St. Paul School students created welcoming signs for the parishioners and O'Malley and participated in the Mass. "They are part of everything we do in this parish," Reardon said, and "are very much a part of or prayer life," according to Nestor.

One of the biggest challenges in at least recent years was the pandemic. "This posed issues for people of every walk of life, but it was a great opportunity spiritually," Nestor said. "While we were limited in the number of people we could host in-person inside, we were able to serve a much larger number who were able to attend outdoor services at Resurrection Church."

Remote services allowed individuals to engage in Masses "without having to go anywhere, including people from half-way around the world," Nestor said.

In 2016, St. Paul joined with Resurrection Church on Main Street to form a collaboration. "Many of the founders of Resurrection Church in 1957 had formerly been members of St. Paul," Reardon said, "so there is that continuity. Now we're back as one big family."

Since Gov. Charlie Baker's lifting of COVID-19 restrictions recently, St. Paul continues to offer both live and remote services.

"There were enormous spiritual opportunities [for us all] during this crisis, including developing a deeper appreciation of things we normally take for granted -- such as enjoying one another's company," Nestor said.

St. Paul Church was dedicated on July 23, 1871. According to information provided by St. Paul member Kerry Ryan from a book he helped put together with Rafferty to announce the 150th anniversary, on that day, the steamer "John Romer" brought numerous guests from Boston to join with a large gathering of local participants in the exciting dedication of the new church. According to local newspapers at that time, “the day was one of the very best and brightest of the season."

The architect, Patrick C. Keely -- who designed more than 600 churches in his time -- has been described by some "as the most prominent American Catholic architect of the 19th-Century."

The property where St. Paul Church now stands was purchased on August 10, 1866, for $1,700. The land on which the church now sits was part of one of the original town grants of land made in 1635.

The construction of St. Paul Church began on November 29, 1869, with the digging of the "cellar." Much of the work was done by men and boys who labored with picks and shovels as the weather and their own spare time allowed.

Over the years, various repairs were made. In 1985, the steeple was re-slated, using polychromatic Vermont slate set in a pattern surrounding crosses on each of the six sides. St. Paul Church received an architectural preservation award for this restoration from the Hingham Historical Society in 1988, stating that the parish “has been most vigilant in protecting and maintaining its superb Gothic Revival Church, one of the most important components and contributing factors in the historic streetscape of downtown Hingham.”

Nestor said he feels blessed to be serving at St. Paul. "It's been a remarkable parish for a century and a half, and we have extraordinary people who are part of the Parish," he said. "This was quite evident during the Mass [that started the celebration]" and the contributions they made that day, from providing beautiful flowers to making music.

"Week in and week out our folks step up to volunteer their efforts and goodness, sharing their zeal for the Gospel," Nestor said. "I feel abundantly blessed."

Watch for news of other events that will be part of the celebration.