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The first Catholics who came to Worcester were chiefly Irish immigrants, and were brought here by the contractors of the Blackstone Canal.
As time went on, the number of Catholics increased. In 1834, Bishop Fenwick of Boston appointed the Reverend James Fitton to visit the Catholics of Worcester once a month. This was welcome news.
The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass was first offered in Worcester on North Main Street at approximately the location of the Crown Plaza, in 1826. The foundation of Christ’s Church (now Saint John's Church, Temple St.), the first Catholic Church in Worcester, was laid July 6, 1834. Many churches followed as Worcester grew. Churches were built through the following years and began appearing further away from the center of town.
Religious gatherings were taking place in the Tatnuck area from about 1847. Tatnuck and Paxton were missionary journeys for Fr. Fitton or the pioneer priests who followed him. Mass was celebrated in Catholic homes.
Tatnuck and Paxton became a part of St. Paul’s Parish in 1866 and Blessed Sacrament Parish in 1912. On September 15, 1936, the Sacrifice of the Mass was celebrated by Fr. John Reilly in the rectory of Christ the King Parish.
Catholics from Paxton belonged to Christ the King Parish. Fr. Reilly negotiated with the Town Fathers of Paxton to celebrate Mass in the Paxton Town Hall until a "more suitable" location could be found.
An exchange of letters between Fr. Reilly and Mary M. Daniher, Clerk for the Paxton Board of Selectmen, and news accounts of those days, indicate that Fr. Reilly’s initial request in that regard (September 14, 1936, the day before the first Mass was to be celebrated in Tatnuck), was not received without some reservations.
A regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen on September 24th, resulted in a two-to-one vote against granting Fr. Reilly’s petition for the Town Hall Masses in Paxton.
In a letter dated October 9th, 1936 however, Miss Daniher told Fr. Reilly that at another meeting of the Board the night before the selectmen received a petition "containing 128 signatures of Protestants as well as Catholics, asking the Selectmen to reconsider their September 24th vote". She further informed the pastor that "the other two members of the board... feel that the responsibility of deciding this question should be passed on to the people and then there will be no criticism of them". Accordingly, Miss Daniher’s letter continued "it was unanimously voted, under these circumstances, to as clerk to issue a warrant for a special town meeting, as soon as possible, for the purpose of acting upon an article to permit the use of the hall on Sunday mornings, for our services".
That special town meeting was held on October 26, 1936. It resulted in a vote of 88 townspeople in favor of Mass in the Town Hall and 50 against. The vote was subsequently made unanimous on a motion of Gustaf A. Rossier, a former deacon of the Congregational Church in town. Mr. Rossier and Earl Bemis, then deacon of the Congregational Church, earlier had spoken in favor of Fr. Reilly’s application. The Worcester Evening Post of October 27, 1936 reported that "only two residents.... voiced their disapproval of the movement." One opponent, the Post reported, expressed his belief that "the town was establishing a precedent by voting in favor of the petition and intimating that the Catholics would be given a special privilege denied to others in the town." Town Moderator Rufus B. Dunbar countered that opinion, The Post reported citing that "the town itself was formed along parish lines and that the first public property was the First Congregational Church." That property in the center of town, Mr. Dunbar recalled, was later assigned to the religious body through an "amicable" exchange of deeds.
Fr. Reilly was celebrant of the first Paxton Mass with William Harney as "server" and 110 persons in the congregation on November 1, 1936. Masses were held in the town hall for 16 years. Each month families took turns setting up and dismantling the altar. Business as usual was the order on Mondays.
During the October 26, 1936 town meeting in Paxton, The Evening Post reported "application for use of the town hall for church services was made only as a temporary measure, until such time when chapel quarters are established within the town... When the new quarters have been established, services in the town will be conducted as a mission by the Parish of the Church of Christ the King in Worcester."
That such a "chapel" was not only contemplated but was, indeed, almost consummated, was made public in early 1951. It was in the very first edition of the Catholic Free Press on May 4th of 1951 that a Page One headline stated: "Mission Church Planned For Paxton".
The Free Press story said that plans were being discussed "for the establishment of a mission church... on a plot of Church-owned land facing the Common" and that it would be served by priests from Christ the King Parish.
Three weeks later, on May 25th 1951, the Free Press further reported that "a generous gift from the parents of Arthur D. Lamotte" would be used in building a memorial within the proposed Christ the King mission church "to their patriot – son," a parishioner who was a Marine hero and gave his life during World War II.
Another significant event specifically concerning Catholicism in Paxton was reported just one week after that. It was the lead story in The Catholic Free Press of June 1, 1951, announcing: "Anna Maria College moves to Diocese". The news account reported that Moor Acres, a 293 acre estate on Sunset Lane had been purchased by the Sisters of St. Anne and that the Sisters would move their five-year-old all-girl college from Marlborough to the new location in Paxton the following summer. The property, which had been a breeding and training ground for saddle horses, surround a picturesque 150-year old New England colonial residence, which was to be renovated for convent and classroom use until additional buildings could be built.
| Assignments to St. Columba Church in Paxton | |
| Dates | Priests |
| 1951 to 1955 | Rev Harry A Brabson, Pastor |
| 1955 to 1960 | Rev. John M. Flaherty, Pastor |
| 1960 to 1961 | Thomas J. Daley, Pastor |
| 1961 to 1961 | Rev. Edmond T. Tinsley, Temporary Administrator |
| 1961 to 1968 | Rev. Harold F. Griffin, Pastor |
| Rev. Roger E. Racine, Residence | |
| Rev. John Melampararampil, Residence | |
| 1968 to 1970 | Rev. John P. Martin, Pastor |
| Rev. Paul T. O’Connell, Residence | |
| Rev. Charles J. Dumphy, Residence | |
| 1970 to 1975 | Rev. Roy J. Devaney, Pastor |
| 1971 to 1972 | Rev. Wayne F. Benton Associate Pastor |
| Rev. Peter J. Inzerillo, Residence | |
| 1975 to 1982 | Rev. Thomas F. O'Brien, Pastor |
| 1980 to 1980 | Rev Gerard P. Walsh, Associate Pastor |
| 1982 to 1985 | Rev. James B. Kelly, Pastor |
| Rev. Daniel P. Dower, Temporary | |
| Rev. Richard P. Hokanson, Residence | |
| 1985 to 2003 | Rev. John D. Thomas, Pastor |
| 2003 to 2006 | Rev. James M. Shea, Pastor |
| 2006 to Present | Msgr. Thomas J Sullivan, Pastor |
Whether it was because of the impending development of Anna Maria College in town or not, is lost to history; but within three months of that June 1st announcement, plans for a mission church of Christ the King in town were scuttled and a complete division of the Tatnuck-based parish occurred with the appointment of Reverend Harry A. Brabson as founding pastor of the new St. Columba Parish, effective on September 5, 1951.
The purchase of the land on which St. Columba Church stands was made from Arthur Maccabee on June 14, 1948. The Maccabee property was never put to church use prior to the establishment of the new church. Mass continued to be celebrated in the town hall by priests from Christ the King until Fr. Brabson decided upon his arrival in September of 1951 to have the campus of Anna Maria College also serve as the temporary center of St. Columba Parish life.
Ground was broken in January of 1952 and plans were that the structure would be finished by June of that year. The church would hold 300 people and would have a recreation hall, kitchen, check room, boiler room and restrooms. J.E. Antell and Sons of Spencer were the contractors. The building design is classified as modified colonial architecture.
The first Mass was celebrated in the new structure on July 27, 1952 and it was formally dedicated on October 26th of that year. The years since 1952 and the formal dedication of St. Columba’s have been busy and productive. Many priests have made their home here, each bringing a new personality and anew life to the parish family.
The Sisters that have come here have cared for and educated our children and made the responsibilities of the parish priest a bit lighter. They have provided continuity in an ever-changing world.
Monsignor John Martin renovated the church during the years of 1968 to 1970. Interior painting was done, new drapes, and pews were replaced. The church was given a fresh new look.
A plaque at the rear of the church pays tribute to the many generous parishioners that made this possible.
Through the years the St. Vincent De Paul society flourished, Thomas F. Harney was its first President. Some of the early committee members were: Frank Ryan, Ulysses Trudeau, John Ahearn and William Feen.
The Woman’s Guild here at St. Columba also had many active years. Catholic women here in Paxton found that the guild provided friendship and strengthening of faith for many years. As new families came into town, the women of the parish found this to be a pleasant and happy place to begin to make friends.
Activities through the years have been varied and have provided much enjoyment for Paxton families. Dances, family picnics, suppers, and flea markets are among the events that have taken place over the years.
A History of Religious Education
Religious Education classes have grown and changed over the years. During the early and mid-sixties, Fr. Griffin held CCD classes in the Parish Hall with many mothers as teachers. This continued for about ten years until Fr. Devaney and Fr. Benton’s time here. At this time a change was made. For a period of time, classes were held at the Paxton Center School with Fr. Benton in charge. He was a man full of energy who had gone "door to door" to recruit many new teachers.
The early 70’s brought three Sisters to our Parish Family. They worked as a team and reorganized our Religious Education Program.
This new approach to Religious Education was a tri-parish program. Three parishes were selected to pioneer this new program with St. Columba being one of them. The other two parishes were St. George’s in Worcester and St. Christopher’s in West Boylston.
The coordinators were responsible for recruiting and training teachers and planning the program. They were responsible to the Pastors, Religious Education Board and Parish Council.
Classes were now being held in homes in small groups. This worked well for several years.
With the departure of two of the Sisters, Sister Catherine took the helm and directed our program for many years. Classes were brought back to the Church Hall. Teachers went through more training and a more formal program began.
The presence of Sister Catherine in our midst has indeed been a blessing. Her retirement in June of 2000 was expected and deserved, but left us all missing her and her leadership. Hopefully, the program will continue with new leadership and serve the children of our parish in the years to come.
Sister Catherine also made regular home visits to the elderly and homebound of the parish. Her visits were always a joy to them.
Under Fr. John Thomas’s leadership, the Human Service Committee was formed and continues. This Committee provides help and meals to those Parish members who have a need because of a family death. Those of us who have used this service know that it is a tremendous help to families at a sad time.
A special event in the life of our parish family is the Outdoor Mass for the elderly and Shut-ins. Through the years it has been a high point for many people, some of who are not able to get to Mass often. A festive meal makes the day a happy time for all.
St. Columba in Paxton has been a family – a place and atmosphere where children can grow, young people are married and in the sad days of our lives, we are given faith and strength.
All of those people who came before us – who worked so hard because they believed – have left us a legacy that makes us proud. In the 50 years that St. Columba has served the town of Paxton, many families passed through here. This Church has touched their lives in many ways.
| References: | Chancery Office | |
| The Catholic Free Press | ||
| Golden Jubilee Book of Christ the King Parish | ||
| Worcester Historical Museum Library | ||
| Special thanks to the many parishioners who opened their hearts and shared their memories. | ||
History does not cease; it is both ancient and as fresh as this morning. Here we present more recent events that have taken place in the last few years, so that you might understand events of today.
In September of 2001 Mary O’Neil, a teacher at Christ the King parish in Worcester, accepted the position as Director of Religious Education. In her role here she introduced changes in the Religious Education program and Sacramental Preparation program, placing an emphasis on some of the diocesan recommendations such as frequent prayer experiences and expanded classroom time. She stayed at St. Columba for the 2001-2002 school year before accepting a position in the Catholic School system of Worcester. For most of the 2002-2003 year, St. Columba did not have an "official" DRE, but the next DRE, Hal Campbell was already busy studying the curriculum, schedule and resources available as an applicant to that position.
Norbert "Deacon Archie" Archibald was ordained on December 8th, 2001 at St. Paul's Cathedral, and accepted an assignment at St. Columba just before Christmas 2001. This was a real blessing for our parish, as Deacon Archie showed both zeal for the message of Christian non-violence, and personal concern for those around him. His devotion to the Eucharist and his ability to network with people has had a very edifying effect on the life of St. Columba parish.
Administrative changes:
On November 12th, 2002, our friend Anita Glondek was called home. Anita quietly and unassumingly worked for St. Columba parish since before Fr. Thomas arrived in 1985. Over the years, she was a faithful and industrious help to Fr. Thomas in administrative affairs of the parish. She also served as a bookkeeper for many churches, including her own parish of St. Mary's in Southbridge.
Lisa Reider joined the staff of St. Columba at the end of 2002. She brought with her experience in new office technology which she utilizes in her own private business practice, and has worked in an administrative capacity in other parishes as well. Lisa has been instrumental in modernizing processes such as electronic submission of the bulletin to the publisher, and timely updates to this website.
Fr. John Thomas received his BA in Philosophy from Boston College in 1950 and continued studies in Montreal, Canada before receiving both the Bachelor of Sacred Theology (STB) in 1953 and Licentiate in Sacred Theology (STL) degrees in 1955 from the Gregorian University in Rome, Italy. He was ordained to the Roman Catholic Priesthood on December 8, 1954 at North American College in Rome .
In 1956 he was named Assistant Director of the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine (CCD) and then from 1957 to 1961 taught Theology at St. Vincent Hospital School of Nursing in Worcester while also teaching a course in the Classics at the Secondary School level. In 1961 Fr. Thomas was appointed Headmaster of St. Peter Central Catholic High School and Assistant Superintendent for Diocesan Primary and Secondary Schools. The year following his appointment, he received a dual Master of Arts in Guidance and Psychology from Assumption College in Worcester. In 1966 Fr. Thomas was made Superintendent, a position which he held for eight years. Again promoted in 1974, he became Director of Education.
Fr. Thomas was appointed Pastor of Our Lady of Good Counsel Parish in West Boylston MA in 1976 and served there for two years before he was appointed the Business Manager of the North American College in Rome and served as one of the Spiritual Directors for students in 1978. He remained in this position until 1985, when he came to us at St. Columba. On June 22nd 2003, after 18 years of service, Fr. John Thomas retired as pastor of St. Columba.
Shortly before Fr. Thomas' retirement there was a change in the music: Organist and Choir Director Myles Tronic was offered a position in a large active church in Fitchburg. His replacement Clinton Fairbanks was organist and director for four short months. He passed away suddenly on May 2, 2003 after joining Saint Columba in January of 2003. Prior to that he served six years as the Music Director at St. Mary's in Uxbridge and served as organist at the Church of Notre Dame in the town of Southbridge for 25 years.
After a very quiet Easter season, Diane Desautels joined St. Columba as organist at the beginning of June 2003, coming from Southbridge where she is a partner in a local law firm.
Fr. Thomas' replacement, Fr. James Shea, became pastor of St. Columba from June 29th, 2003 to July 3, 2006. Fr. Shea graduated from Sacred Heart Academy in 1965 and entered the US Coast Guard in 1966, serving on a buoy tender in Alaska. Later he served at life saving stations in New Jersey and Massachusetts. He left the Coast Guard with the rank of seaman first class in 1970. He graduated from Worcester State College in 1980 with a bachelor of science degree in urban studies but then decided to study for the priesthood at Christ the King Seminary, East Aurora, N.Y. He was ordained by Bishop Harrington in St. Paul Cathedral, Worcester, on Jan. 5, 1985. Afterward Fr. Shea served as associate pastor of St. Peter Parish from Jan. 18, 1985, to Feb. 12, 1991 when he was named associate pastor at St. Joan of Arc Parish. While at St. Joan of Arc he spent three months in Puerto Rico studying Spanish. He was assigned as associate pastor at Our Lady of the Rosary Parish on June 15, 1996. On July 3rd, 2006 after a sudden hospitalization for a clot-related stroke, Fr. Shea went home to God. The church was filled with mourners for a man that the congregation knew as "a big guy with a big heart."
Shortly after Fr. Shea arrived, the need to replace interim Director of Religious Education Hal Campbell with a permanent position became apparent. Mrs. Terry Nummelin came to St. Columba in 2003 from St. George's parish in Worcester, bringing with her an extensive background as a Religious Education instructor. Terry placed a fresh emphasis on liturgical detail that displays itself particularly in the preparation and reception of Sacraments by children for the first time. Terry put in countless hours of time since then both to grow the program and to collect new ideas through additional training and through contacts throughout the Diocese of Worcester.
Mercifully for the parish, only a week after the sudden loss of Fr. Shea (on July 15th), Bishop McManus asked Msgr. Thomas J. Sullivan to pastor St. Columba. Msgr. Sullivan had been (and continues to be) very active as diocesan chancellor and diocesan director of development.
Msgr. Sullivan was born in San Francisco, Calif., son of Thomas H. and Rita B. (Roche) Sullivan. He attended schools in Pelham and White Plains, N.Y., and graduated from North Andover, Mass., High School.
He graduated from the College of the Holy Cross in 1971 and received a master’s degree in religious education from Boston College in 1974. He taught at Marian High School in Worcester and served as director of religious education at Holy Family Parish, Colorado Springs, Colo., and at St. Joseph Parish, Fountain, Colo.
He studied for the priesthood at St. Mary’s Seminary and University in Baltimore and was ordained a priest June 18, 1977, by Bishop Flanagan in St. Paul Cathedral.
He was named associate pastor at St. Andrew the Apostle Parish July 8, 1977. From 1979 to 1984 he served as associate director of the diocesan Office of Religious Education, specializing in adult education, and was the director of the South County Religious Education office. During that time he was in residence a time at Sacred Heart Parish, West Brookfield; St. Charles Borromeo Parish in Worcester and St. Andrew the Apostle Parish.
He was diocesan director of the Emmaus Program for Priestly Spirituality. He was a member of the diocesan Vocations Advisory Board and the Priests’ Personnel Board.
He served as associate pastor at St. Luke the Evangelist Parish, Westboro, and St. Mary’s and Our Lady of the Rosary parishes, Spencer.
In June 1990, he was appointed headmaster of St. Bernard’s Central Catholic High School in Fitchburg and was in residence at St. Bernard’s and at St. Richard of Chichester, Sterling. In 1995, Bishop Reilly named him diocesan director of vocations and secretary to the bishop. He was named chancellor in 1998. He continued as director of vocations until 2005.
He was named a monsignor by Pope John Paul II in 2001. He was administrator of St. Bernadette Parish in Northboro from April 2002 until August 2003.
In September 2004, he was appointed moderator of the Annual Partners in Charity Appeal and subsequently became director of the diocesan development office which is in charge of the appeal.