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St. Francis Xavier Church
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The only Catholic Church in
Acushnet
,
Massachusetts
, St. Francis Xavier Parish began as a mission in 1906 under the care of the
Very Rev. Bernard Pierson, SS.CC,
Superior
of the Sacred Hearts Monastery in
Fairhaven
and Father Charles DeBaetselier, SS.CC. Previously
in 1905, the Fall River Diocese’s first bishop, Most Reverend William Stang DD
invited three Sacred Hearts Fathers to come to
America
. They came from a French order
founded in
Paris
in 1800. It was these same priests
who became the Congregation of Fathers of the Sacred Hearts in
Fairhaven
and who started the mission in Acushnet. At
that time, however, there was no church building so services were held in a
transformed grain and feed store. The
location of this particular store is where the first church was built. On
January 1, 1911
, a new chapel was blessed by Bishop Daniel Feehan, Bishop of Fall River.
Regular celebration of Mass and the Sacraments began on this day. The very first
baptism recorded in the parish registers is dated
19 June 1910
, Joseph Arthur Bisaillon. On
February 2, 1915 at night, a fire destroyed this first church.
Services were held in the
town hall
of
Acushnet
for some time afterward.
Two months later, on
April 7, 1915
, St. Francis Xavier mission became a parish. Father Seraphim Ooghe, SS.CC. was
appointed the first pastor. Two
short years after that, the basement of the present church was completed and the
church was dedicated on
April 9, 1916
by Bishop Daniel Feehan, Bishop of Fall River. By
1924, due to the large amount of parishioners and students of the parish school,
the need for a new church building was obvious.
The new church was designed by Joseph I. Higgins of
Fall River
, who also designed St. George Church in
Westport
, and was built over the existing basement church at a cost of $50,000. The new
church was constructed of red brick with a red tile roof described by an earlier
historian as being Romanesque architecture. The Stations of the Cross were taken
from the old chapel and were hung in the new “upper church”.
The church tower, as an accessory, has
a large bell. In June of 1925, this
new church was dedicated.
The basement church was then used for classrooms, which accommodated 350
pupils, and is still being utilized today as the Parish Offices,
Hospitality
Center
and Religious Education classrooms.
At
the request of Father Andrew Lariviere, SS.CC, the Dominican sisters started
teaching in 1922 in Quonset huts, which were adjacent to the church and with the
completion of the upper structure of the church in 1925, the 7th and
8th grades were added. In the 1960’s, Father Alexis Wygers, who was
pastor form 1953-1963 began raising $250,000 for the new
St.
Francis
Xavier
Elementary School
. In 1965, a new modern school building was opened at a cost of about $550,000.
At present there are eight grades with pre-school and Kindergarten and a student
enrollment of about 225.
The
Dominican Sisters convent used to be Captain Shockley’s house,
and in the niches along the stairs where there were once models of ships, there
were statues of saints. The convent
was a summer home for many of the out of town sisters. On some summer nights, as
many as 36 sisters would sleep in the summer house, some having to sleep on the
front porch. On the 60 acres of land the convent originally owned, the sisters
would plant vegetables and pick fruit to preserve them.
Some were sent to the mother house in
Fall River
, and some were kept in Acushnet. The convent no longer houses any occupants,
but acts as a storage space for the Parish and School.
In
1976 a new Rectory was built near the church and the old rectory property was
sold to the New Bedford Institution for Savings Bank. It now is the Acushnet
Federal Credit Union.
In
1996 the Congregation of the Sacred Heart Fathers turned the parish over to the
Diocese. In 1996, Fr. Paul Caron was named the first Diocesan priest as Pastor
In 2000 the Rev. Richard Beaulieu succeeded Fr. Paul Caron until April 18, 2001
when the Rev. Daniel W. Lacroix was named Pastor. This was Fr. Lacroix’s first
pastorate; he was formerly the parochial vicar of St. Mary’s
Mansfield
.
Our
Accomplishments
Since
2001, the Parish and School have begun a $250,000 renovation and restoration
campaign.
The church’s exterior trim
has been covered with aluminum, the church chimney has been pointed, the church
porch has been rebuilt as well as redesigned for aesthetics. New doors were
installed on the main church level as well as the
Parish
Center
. New carpeting was installed in the
Parish
Center
hallway and landings. Two Parish
center classrooms were divided for our increasing number of children in
Religious Education as well as for Parish Administrative and Spiritual Meetings,
RCIA, AA, Scouts, etc.. Natural gas lines have been laid allowing the conversion
of our boiler from oil to more efficient and clean natural gas.
In 2003, the Parish tied into town
sewerage, with new sewer lines and an environ-one grinder pump handling the
church, parish center and rectory. Through the kindness and generosity of the
Holy Ghost Society, the aluminum siding of the rectory was painted.
A new “floating floor” was installed in the school gym.
NSTAR Electric, through their conservation program, has upgraded the
light fixtures in the school for better energy conservation and fiscal savings.
. The church and parish center fire alarm system was repaired and
upgraded. The two lower entries were framed in. The entry near the handicap
entrance became a small oratory. The oratory will be open for visits during the
week. The Blessed Sacrament will be present. A new vinyl tile floor was
installed in the Parish Center Hospitality Room.
A new roof for the rectory was installed in September/October
In
2004, we upgraded our security in the
Parish
Center
and offices with deadbolts and an
alarm system. NSTAR Electric,
through their conservation program, has upgraded the light fixtures in the
church and parish center for better energy conservation and fiscal savings The
church fire escapes were being worked on, as many of the steps had rusted and
the welds failed. Bracing and new welding is currently taking place and will
continue into 2006. In the summer of 2004 air conditioned was installed in the
church and parish center through the kindness of John Pimentel, Richard Gwozdz,
Rene Trial, Ray Sleight and Freddie Valentim. The church parking lot was
expanded and the existing parking lot re-graded and resurfaced New outside
lights were added for safety and security and landscaping has been included in
the project. The School’s windows
were reglazed and the pre-school play area received cushioning material and the
driveway was resurfaced.
In 2005,
the Church Nave, Narthex and Sanctuary were painted. In the summer new fire
retardant carpeting was installed in the nave and tiles were installed in the
Sanctuary. New doors were added to the Sacred Heart Chapel and a beautiful
stained glass window was designed and created by parishioner Ken Daniels.
The tabernacle was repositioned in the middle of the Sanctuary.
Our
Vision
ST. FRANCIS XAVIER PARISH
began
as a mission in 1906. In 1915, we became a parish to serve the needs of those
around us. We continue to be accountable stewards who recognize our dependence
on God. We cultivate our talents and take advantage of the opportunities God
gives us to minister in His name. We collaborate with God by sharing the gift of
faith with those in Christian Initiation, by reaching out to our youth with hope
and trust, by serving each other with a brother’s and sister’s concern and
by caring for our elderly with a son’s and daughter’s love. We invite all to
join our journey of Hope.
we serve to live and we live to
serve
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