St. Mary's Catholic Church (Winchester, Massachusetts) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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St. Mary's Catholic Church
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 Location in Massachusetts
Location in the United States
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| Location | Winchester, Massachusetts |
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| Built | 1876 |
| Architect | Ford, Patrick W. |
| Architectural style | Gothic Revival |
| MPS | Winchester MRA |
| NRHP reference No. | 89000625 |
| Added to NRHP | July 5, 1989 |
St. Mary's Catholic Church is a church community in Winchester, Massachusetts. It is part of the Catholic Church in Boston. The church building at 159 Washington Street is very old and important. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1989. This shows how important it was to the Irish Catholic people living in the area. Today, the church also runs St. Mary's Early Learning Center, which is a preschool and kindergarten.
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What Does St. Mary's Church Look Like?
St. Mary's Church is found at the corner of Washington and Bridge Streets in Winchester. The church building was built in 1876. It replaced an earlier small chapel from 1874. This area was home to many Irish-American families at that time.
The church was first made of wood. But in 1897, it got a big makeover. Architect Patrick W. Ford led this work. He was known for designing churches. During this time, the church was covered in brick. It looks a bit like older churches from the New England area. The main part of the church is richly decorated. It has fancy brickwork and strong supports called buttresses.
The church has a square tower on its northwest side. This tower has a special entrance with a pointed arch, like those seen in Gothic buildings. It also has a bell tower with louvered (slatted) windows. A small room was added around 1900. It was first used as a library but now serves as a baptistry and meeting space.
A Brief History of St. Mary's Church
The Catholic community in Winchester started growing in the 1840s. An early resident named Jerome B. Judkins bought a lot of land. His house later became a rectory (where priests live), a convent (where nuns live), and a community center for the church.
Around 1874, a small wooden chapel was built. This was the first Catholic church building in Winchester. It was a "mission" church, meaning it was part of a larger church in Woburn.
Becoming an Independent Parish
St. Mary's became its own independent church community in 1876. Rev. Cornelius O'Connor was the first priest in charge. He made the chapel bigger and lived nearby. In 1882, the next priest, Rev. Patrick J. Daly, made the church even larger. He also had the church tower built.
More land was bought by the church in 1888. This included the land where the school now stands. In 1894, beautiful stained glass windows were put in. A new organ and a church library were also added. The outside of the church was covered in brick in 1896–97. This work was done by architect P.W. Ford from Boston.
St. Mary's School and Its Changes
St. Mary's School opened in October 1914. It was blessed by Archbishop William Cardinal O'Connell. Nuns from the Sisters of St. Joseph taught at the school until 1973.
Because fewer students were enrolling and due to the COVID-19 pandemic, grades one through five closed in 2020. Now, the school is a preschool and kindergarten. St. Mary's also had a high school for girls from 1922 to 1950.
Working Together with Other Churches
In the 1990s, there was a plan for churches in Winchester to work more closely. This was because there were fewer priests. In 2004, Archbishop O'Malley announced that some churches would close. St. Joseph's and Immaculate Conception churches then joined with St. Mary's. St. Mary's also shares a priest with St. Eulalia, another church nearby in Winchester.
See Also
