The Diocese of Fall River

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The Dioceseof Fall River

• The Establishment of
• The Fall River Deanery

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Map of the Diocese
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Introduction

• June 1780, the final version of a new state
  constitution was adopted
• Freedom of religion was finally established for
  the Catholics of Massachusetts
• Bill of rights provided freedom of conscience for
  all religions
• This was a change for Catholics in Massachusetts

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New EnglandsFirst Catholic Parish

• Catholics could not be free to worship publicly
  until they had a priest.
• Between 1788 1792, three priests served a small
  Catholic congregation in Boston
• Claude Florent Bouchard (Abbe de la Poterie)
• Louis Rousselet
• John Thayer

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Claude Florent Bouchard(Abbe de la Poterie)

• A former chaplain with the French fleet
• Celebrated the first public mass in a chapel
  owned by French Protestants in Boston, November
  2, 1788
• He and his successor, Father Rousselet, were
  dismissed because of being guilty of
  transgressions in France
• He was later reconciled returned to ministry in
  France

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Father Rousselet

• 1794, traveled to the island of Guadeloupe during
  the French revolution
• Was caught, imprisoned, and sentenced to death
• He was a heroic figure to all, admitting his
  sins, urging all to the act of contrition, and
  imparted absolution
• Led fellow prisoners to guillotine singing the
  psalm Laudate Dominum.

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Father Thayer

• A Yale graduate who served as a chaplain in the
  Revolutionary War
• Entered Catholic Church in Rome
• Ordained a priest in Paris
• Returned to his hometown, Boston in January 1790
  and developed a ministry, which turned out to be
  a disappointment

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• Served with Father Rousselet, which the
  congregation became divided along ethnic lines
• To restore unity, Bishop of Baltimore, John
  Carroll, visited Boston in May early June 1791
• He asked Father Rousselet to resign
• The next year, Father Thayer accepted another
  assignment from his successor, Francis Anthony
  Matignon

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Father Anthony Matignon

• Doctor of Theology from the Sorbonne
• The French revolution ordered him to escape to
  England and then offered missionary work in
  America
• Helped former confreres and a young priest named
  Jean Lefebvre de Cheverus

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Jean Lefebvre de Cheverus

• December 18, 1790, ordained a priest of Diocese
  of Le Mans in Paris
• He and Father Matignon began to care for missions
  south of Boston
• Thousands Catholics in Boston by the nineteenth
  century
• November 1, 1810, appointed as the first bishop
  of Boston
• They began creating churches in New Bedford,
  Sandwich, Taunton, and Fall River

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Fall River

• In 1854, Fall River officially becomes a city
  having a population of 12,000
• At the end of the Civil War, the city increased
  to 17,525 because of the increase of textile
  industrial jobs
• Many churches of different nationalities were
  developed such as French-Canadian

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French-Canadian

• 1868, Father Antoine Derbuel, a French priest
  visited St. Marys Parish counted exactly 100
  French-Canadian families
• Later on another person discovered five and six
  hundred French-Canadian families and realized the
  need for another church
• They created a church that was originally named
  St. Clothilde, but because of an incident, Father
  Montaubriq named it St. Anne

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Fall River vs.New Bedford

• During the time, Fall River and New Bedford were
  going in their own separate ways of gaining
  capital
• Fall River
• Multiplying of textile mills
• New Bedford
• Enriched whaling industry

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The Portuguesein New Bedford

• The Portuguese were known to be great whalers
  from the Azores the Cape Verde Islands
• Father Mcmahon found significant number of
  Portuguese
• Because of this, Bishop Williams appointed Father
  Joao Ignacio dAzevedo Encarnacao from Pico, to
  become priest of the Portuguese
• September 10, 1871, first established parish
  called Saint John the Baptist, for the Portuguese
  in the nation

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Development of Churchesin Fall River

• Fall River was in a great need for more churches
• Population boomed by 10,000 in 5 years because of
  the textile industry
• In 1872, 15 new textile mills were created and
  only 3 established churches stood
• St. Joseph
• St. Patrick
• Sacred Heart

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• Due to the over-population in Somerset, on
  November 2, 1873, Bishop Hendricken dedicated a
  small frame church, built by Father Bric, in
  honor of St. Patrick
• James Masterson, first pastor of the church,
  which contained 1,200 parishioners
• April 1882, two more parishes created
• Immaculate Conception Parish
• Saint Peter Paul

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Expansion of French-Canadian Parishes

• Bishop Henricken wanted to provide more churches
  for the increased number of French-Canadian
  immigrants
• Because of the long distance from the Flint
  Village to St. Annes Church, Father Bedard
  organized a church called Notre Dame de Lourdes
  Parish on December 1, 1874
• May 1892, father Sauval bought land and built a
  church on South Main Middle Street
• The name St. Annes was replaced and given to
  this church

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Expansion of Portuguese Parishes

• Due to jobs in the textile mills, Portuguese
  immigrants, especially those from New Bedford,
  overpopulated in Fall River, creating a
  population of 1,500 Portuguese
• A small worn-out Baptist church located at the
  corner of Columbia and Canal Street, was replaced
  and called it Senhor Santo Cristo dos Milagres
• Parishioners who lived on the north end found it
  difficult to attend the church
• This resulted into building another church called
  Saint Michael on May 10, 1896.
• This name was given after the place where most
  Portuguese parishioners came from, Sao Miguel,
  one of the Azorean Islands

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Polish Italian Parishes

• 1898, a corporation was established by polish
  Catholics in the south end of Fall River
• After purchasing old Methodist Episcopal Church
  on Globe Street, they created a polish parish
  known as St. Stanislaus on June 25, 1899
• Italian immigrants came and would attend masses
  at St. Annes Church
• Because of this, in 1903, Father Parillo, an
  Italian priest, blessed the church of Our Lady of
  the Holy Rosary of Pompeii

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The First Schools Charitable Institutions

• As Fall River became well over-populated with
  immigrants and established many churches, many
  catholic school flourished with the coming of
  religious sisters and brothers
• Catholic charitable institutions began in 1873 in
  New Bedford, the first year of Bishop
  Hendrickens ministry
• Institutions flourished throughout fall river
• St. Annes Hospital is presided over by the
  Dominican Sisters of Charity
• Three orphan asylums directed by the Sisters of
  Mercy, of Charity, and of St. Francis, sheltering
  600 orphans
• St. Vincent de Paul Society

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Bishop William Stang

• A seminarian at the Catholic University of
  Louvain in Belgium
• Became a priest to the Diocese of Providence to
  care for German immigrants
• Ordained on June 15, 1878 and served at SS. Peter
  Paul Cathedral until 1885
• Appointed pastor of St. Anns Parish in Cranston
• 1887, became bishops principal assistant in
  preparing for Third Synod of Providence

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• 1895, gave mission in New Bedford to German
  immigrants employed in textile industries
• 188, appointed professor of fundamental moral
  theology at the American College
• 1899, appointed chancellor secretary to the
  Bishop Harkins
• 1901, appointed pastor of St. Edwards Parish in
  Providence
• February 22, 1904, chosen to be the first bishop
  of the Diocese of Fall River