A nostalgic look back over the past as well as a hopeful eye toward the future equally inform a newly published hardcover work about a Dorchester landmark, Saint Peter’s – A Church to be Treasured.
The 100-page, 9 x 11 volume combines the best features of a coffee table book, a parish reunion keepsake, and a fund-raising prospectus. The lavishly illustrated study was compiled and written by St. Peter’s parishioner and lector, John Joseph Fahey, a history teacher who hosts his own talk show on BNN-TV.
Fahey, of course, celebrates those who created the edifice like founding pastor Fr. Peter Ronan and architect Patrick Keely, who also designed Holy Cross Cathedral.
Complementing the many reproductions of historic black-and-whites and tinted postcards provided by the Dorchester Historical Society are striking new color photos by Peter Garnett. His close-ups reveal the richness of decorative and architectural detail that are hard to appreciate when viewing the now dimly lit upper church interior.
The importance of the parish in Dorchester’s past is given context by the opening sections on Meeting House Hill and the Protestants who built the First Parish Church and all its predecessors. Later chapters commemorate the cultures of Irish immigrants and of the current wave of Vietnamese and Cape Verdean worshippers.
The long lists of priests and religious sisters who served over the decades contrast with Fahey’s noteworthy factoids. (Ripley’s Believe or Not! once hailed St. Peter’s as being the only church in the country standing on the same Roxbury Puddingstone from which its walls were quarried. St. Peter’s throne-like main celebrant’s chair was used by Pope John Paul II when he said the historic Mass on Boston Common in 1979.)
A generous selection of snapshots of bygone parish activities as well as “heart-warming memories” of longtime parishioners guarantee this volume would be a much-appreciated gift for Catholics and non-Catholics alike from the Meeting House Hill area.
In the introduction, Rt. Rev. Jack Ahern, the latest in a long line of Irish-surnamed pastors, clearly spells out the book’s fundraising purpose.“With the generosity of the wider group of St. Peter’s family and friends the beauty of the grand architecture, mystical artwork and intricate stained-glass windows can be restored to their initial glory.” All proceeds of the $25 cover price go to renovation fund.
Call the parish office at 617-265-1132 to reserve a copy of the fast-disappearing initial press run.
