A Brief History of
Notre Dame de Lourdes Parish
Lowell, Massachusetts (1908-1983)
[Editor’s Note: In 1983
Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes Parish celebrated its 75th anniversary. The information that appears below is taken from
the Souvenir Program published for the occasion.]
In order to fill the religious needs of the Franco-American Catholics in the South
Common district of Lowell, Massachusetts, Father Joseph Campeau of the Missionary Order of
the Oblates of Mary Immaculate of St. John the Baptist parish arranged the purchase of the
old Branch Street Baptist Church (sometimes referred to as Tabernacle Baptist) for
$26,000.00 in 1908. This was part of Cardinal
O’Connell’s drive to create new parishes in the diocese. During the years 1907-1911, thrity two new parishes
were created.
Approximately five hundred families were to be served by the Rev. Michel Dubreuil,
O.M.I., who was chosen as the first pastor. The
building was blessed on August 6, 1908, the thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost. The first wedding performed in the “new”
Notre Dame de Lourdes Church was between George Gendreau and Regina Lapanne on October 4,
1908. Father Dubreuil served as pastor until
December of 1909 when ill health forced his retirement.
His successor, Rev. Leon Lamothe, during his tenure as pastor, saw the
founding and subsequent growth of the parish school, which began with approximately 200
students. The school was funded entirely by
the generosity of the parishioners since the Archdiocese refused a plea for financial
assistance. In June of 1910 (Fete Dieu) there
occurred at Notre Dame de Lourdes, the first outside procession in the highlands section
of the city with the Blessed Sacrament, a feat which astounded the local Protestants with
its magnificence.
By October of 1910, the parish census indicated a population of 698 families (3213
persons). The parish school was growing
rapidly with over three hundred students in spite of repeated difficulties in keeping the
staff of the Grey Nuns of the Cross of Ottawa in residence.
In August of 1911 occurred the formation of the Caisse Populaire (Credit Union) of
Notre Dame de Lourdes. Both adult parishioners
and school children were encouraged to become members and the Caisse Populaire flourished
for some years.
Since the founding of the parish, the priests had been housed in makeshift quarters
but in March of 1912, the decision was made and finally approved by Cardinal
O’Connell to purchase and unite two small adjoining houses located beside the church
in order to provide a suitable home for the priests.
In June of 1913, the school produced its first two graduates, Honore Lemire and
Joseph Renaud. By September of 1915, the
school population was 340 and a full staff of the Sisters had replaced the few lay
teachers previously employed. The parish
itself was also growing, numbering 740 families, 3408 parishioners.
Many parish organizations are mentioned in the early annals of the parish. Among the earliest listed were the “Confrerie
du Tres Saint Rosaire,” “Ligue du Sacre-Coeur,” “La Congregation de
Ste-Anne,” “Enfants de Marie,” “Cadets du Sacre Coeur,” and
St-Vincent de Paul. Parish records indicate a
great enthusiasm on the part of parishioners which was reflected in their involvement in
parish affairs and organizations.
Notre Dame de Lourdes parish, with the rest of the city of Lowell, suffered through
the devastating effects of the “Spanish Influenza” of October 1918. The Board of Health forbade Sunday church services
for two weeks and funerals were reported as occurring every day.
In May of 1920, the parish purchased the “Dozois Block” on East Pine
Street in order to enlarge the convent in the future and to provide a yard for the
teaching sisters. This building was renovated
and enlarged to include a parish hall. The
parish debt for the purchase of the Church in 1908 was paid off to the Old Lowell National
Bank on December 2, 1923, and the parish now also owned the Horn property on Smith Street
which had been purchased in April for $24,000.00. Shortly
thereafter, Father Lamothe, pastor since 1909 was replaced by Father Guillaume Ouellette
who was himself soon replaced in January1924 by Father Joseph Denis. Until 1928, Father Denis and Father Lucien Brassard
were the only priests serving this growing parish.
In 1930, fundraising began for the building of a new parish school to be erected on
the Smith Street property. At this time,
Father Adolphe Fortier was appointed pastor. It
was during his tenure that the parish school was actually begun. The parishioners enthusiastically undertook the
funding of the proposed school with pledges of financial support, but these were the
Depression years and Lowell, like all other cities at that time, was wracked with
unemployment and all the related disasters that difficult economic times bring on the
working person. Though construction started in
July of 1930, there were various financial difficulties and many conflicts with the
Chancery office of the Archdiocese of Boston on the rising debt of the parish and also on
the many large cost overruns on the construction. In
August of 1933, Father Fortier, with the parish school still unfinished, was transferred
to Egg Harbor, Wisconsin. His replacement,
Father Arthur St. Cyr, struggled through these Depression years with the problem of the
unfinished school and the burden of the debt coupled with an almost fatal illness.
On April 24, 1936, after much negotiations with the city of Lowell and the
approximately $70,000.00 invested to date in the still unfinished school, the parish
received a check for $50,000.00 from the city as payment for the school of Smith Street. At least one parish chronicler seemed to feel that
the sale of the unfinished school and the permission from the city to use space in the old
Franklin school, which the parish later purchased from the city, was, in reality, the only
alternative for a parish in desperate financial straits and allowed the parish to clear
itself of most financial obligations connected with the building of the school.
During the years 1936 and 1937, a number of renovations were carried out on both
the exterior and interior of the Church which had throughout the years since 1908 been
reported as being in very poor condition. Again,
the great generosity and enthusiasm of the parishioners was responsible for the collection
of the necessary funds.
In September of 1940, during the tenure of Father Eugene Labrie, the Lowell School
Committee voted to rent the Franklin School on Branch Street to the parish for $5.00 per
year. Five years later, the parish bought the
building for $1,500.00 and it became the Notre Dame de Lourdes School. The arrival in 1945 of Father Lucien Brassard as
pastor coincided with the establishment of the Holy Name Society in the Parish. The years of the mid-forties were years of great
activities for the Holy Name Society both on the local and regional level, with large
processions and regional gatherings.
In 1951, Father Alphonse Houle was named pastor, to be succeeded in 1954 by the
returning Father Lucien Brassard. In 1955,
there is mention of a Cana Conference in February which was prepared by the rapidly
developing Christian Family Movement (C.F.M.). This
group was instrumental in providing many services to the parish and its parishioners
during the late fifties and early sixties.
It was during the latter years of Father Brassard’s leadership that the idea
was conceived and the early fundraising began for a new church to be located on Smith
Street adjacent to the school. On February 2,
1958, there was a dinner meeting for the “chef de rues” (street captains) to
organize the campaign for construction funds and to prepare for the pledge campaign. Approximately one year later, on February 9, 1959,
Richard Cardinal Cushing officiated at the official start-up of the drive. The entire focus of parish life now centered on
fundraising and many dinners, fairs and “vente de bricques” (brick sales) raised
thousands for the campaign. Fundraising
continued and intensified with the arrival of Father Herve Gagnon as the new Pastor in
August of 1960. In the midst of all this
financial activity, the other side of parish life was not forgotten. The C.Y.O. was founded in November of 1961, and
other parish societies were also thriving as they grouped together in many communal
undertakings.
The bids on the new church construction were opened at the Chancery office on
November 17, 1961, and the contract was awarded to Louis Pasqualuci and Son of Quincy at
$420,000.00. The groundbreaking and blessing
took place on November 22, 1961, while excavation began on December 8, 1961, the feast of
the Immaculate Conception (a symbol not to be ignored!).
Work was delayed somewhat by a stormy December and January but slightly more than
one year after the excavation began, on December 16, 1962, the new church of Notre Dame de
Lourdes was opened for worship, even though the benches had not yet been installed.
Many of the fundraising activities that originated at the time of the building of
the new church are remarkably still part of the parish and functioning well, twenty years
later. The Ladies’ Sodality had its first
annual Christmas fair in 1957,and while “whist parties” have now become
“Blitz”, the level of enthusiasm and the spirit of hard work have not
diminished. In September of 1964, the parish
census registered 896 families, while in 1965, this had diminished to 810 families, 2610
parishioners, while the school had an enrollment of 359.
In June of 1966, 32 students were graduated from Notre Dame de Lourdes School.
The years 1966-77 brought many changes to Notre-Dame de Lourdes. A leadership change with the departure of Fr.
Herve Gagnon and the arrival of Father Emile Rossignol as pastor indicated administrative
change while there were many liturgical changes coming from the Second Vatican Council in
Rome. The introduction of the vernacular mass
along with many other liturgical innovations meant that adjustment was necessary. The familiar occurrences, however, continued: Holy
Name Communions, P.T.A. Talent Shows and Spaghetti Suppers, Men’s Club Thursday night
Blitz, Holy Name Cabaret Dances, and, of course Les Artisans’ French “Spelling
Bees” and Sodality May Processions. By
the end of 1968, the church construction debt was $121,000.00, the bulletin was bilingual,
only one Mass was in French, and Parish Christmas cards (featuring Notre-Dame de
Lourdes’ manger scene and pictures of the church were also on sale.
The years 1969-1970 showed enrollment difficulties in the school and rumors of the
closing of the school were heard. In November
1970, Richard Cardinal Cushing died, to be succeeded by Humberto Medeiros as Archbishop of
Boston. The Notre-Dame de Lourdes C.C.D.
program hired its first full-time coordinator in 1971 and increasing problems with the
school, which was now only grades 1 through 6, continued.
The illness of Father Rossignol in early 1971 eventually led to his resignation in
September of 1971. It was during this time
that Father Rossignol made the final payment on the construction debt and the burning of
the mortgage was scheduled for May 7, 1972, the day of his testimonial dinner.
The Parish Council was formed in 1972 under the leadership of Father Paul Levesque. It was at this time that the issue of the
increasing cost of maintaining the parish school became a central issue for the parish. An attempt was made in late 1974 to amalgamate the
Notre-Dame de Lourdes School with St-Joseph Elementary School, but this failed to
materialize. In February of 1975, during the
tenure of Father Paul Levesque as pastor, decreasing enrollment combined with increasing
costs finally reached a level where the only alternative was to close the Parish school. The building on Branch Street was then used for
C.C.D. programs and as a Parish Center while the old convent on Westford Street,
previously occupied by the teaching sisters, was rented.
The Parish Council continued to function through the administration of Father
Maurice Laliberte though there were difficulties in determining its function and in
setting goals. Under the administration of
Father George Capen, the old school was rented and the Westford Street convent was
extensively renovated and became the “new” parish and C.C.D. center. In June of 1981, after many difficulties over
attendance and procedures, the Parish Council was dissolved by vote of that body.
In 1982, the parish sold the Notre-Dame de Lourdes School, formerly the Franklin
School, to the Greater Lowell mental Health Association.
The past few years have seen an upsurge in lay involvement in liturgy and planning
of parish activities. The scope of the
pastoral team was broadened by the addition of a lay youth minister who has assumed many
youth-oriented responsibilities and has added a new dimension to the parish staff. The formation of the 75th Anniversary
Committee provided an opportunity for parish societies and parishioners in general to work
together to plan activities to celebrate the anniversary years. The sense of lay involvement was exemplified in the
process that led to the appointment of Father Bernard Belley as pastor. As a result of a request by some parishioners at
Notre-Dame who desired involvement in the selection process for a new pastor, Reverend
Maurice Laliberte, Provincial, provided a format whereby parishioners could express their
feelings and thoughts about the kind of individual they would like to see in a pastoral
leadership position in the parish. On March 1,
1983, the Parish Consultation took place in the presence of the Provincial Council. At this time, an updated parish profile was
presented along with the Parish Vision Statement, which was prepared by the Religious
Education Committee in collaboration with Father Normand Tousignant. The statement best states who we are as a parish
and what we wish to become.
“We are a parish of all baptized Catholics in the area. We shall reach out to all and provide all with the
occasion to partake in our fellowship, and enjoy the comfort and strength of the Catholic
faith and the Christian community.
We intend to make Christ known and provide all, whatever their habits or religious
practice or their living conditions, the opportunity to learn about Christ, grow in faith,
love and service to one another.
Since we exist to be the Church’s presence among all peoples in this area, we
would like to energize all segments of our parish. We
are a parish concerned with family life, children, adolescents, young adults, single
individuals, young and mature families, and the elderly.
As a faith and worship community, we seek to be followers of Christ and to become a
community of believers in, and doers of, the Word the Gospel proclaims. As such, we would like to promote and encourage
religious, educational, and social activities appropriate to the needs of each
group.”
[The foregoing
information was obtained from the Souvenir Book
commemorating
the 75th anniversary of the parish in 1983.]
Smith Street, Lowell, Massachusetts,
April 2004.
As a
result of reconfiguration within the Archdiocese of Boston it was announced, in early
August 2004, that three parishes, originally French ethnic churches, were to be
suppressed: St. Louis-de-France, Ste-Jeanne d’Arc and Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes. Also suppressed was Sacred Heart parish, which was
administered by the Oblates of Mary Immaculate.
At
Ste-Jeanne d’Arc the
final Mass was celebrated on
St-Louis-de-France church
celebrated its final Mass as a parish on Wednesday evening,
Parishioners
of Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes
attended their final Mass on