Patrick O'Beirne | |
|---|---|
| Orders | |
| Ordination | March 14, 1834 |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1808-12-31)December 31, 1808 |
| Died | March 20, 1883(1883-03-20) (aged 74) |
| Nationality | Irish |
| Denomination | Roman Catholic,Latin Church |
| Occupation | Priest, author |
Patrick O'Beirne (December 31, 1808 – March 20, 1883[1]) was an Irish-born priest who ministered in theArchdiocese of Boston.
He was born inMohill,County Leitrim, on December 31, 1808, and arrived in America in 1833.[1] His brother, John O'Beirne, was also a priest inBoston.[1] Patrick died on March 20, 1883, and was buried next to his brother John on the grounds of St. Joseph's church in Roxbury.[1][2]
O'Beirne was ordained a priest in 1835[a] at theCathedral of the Holy Cross in Boston[3][1] by BishopBenedict Fenwick.[2] Over his career he served in Vermont, Rhode Island, and Maine, which were then parts of the Diocese of Boston.[4][2]
Immediately after his ordination, he spent some time at the cathedral before being transferred to St. Mary's in theNorth End[5][1][6] and then toBurlington, Vermont.[1] From 1841 to 1843, he served at what would later become theCathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Portland, Maine.[7][8]
O'Beirne then was assigned toRoxbury's St. Patrick's parish, in Boston.[1][9] As pastor of St. Patrick's, he established several new churches, includingSt. Joseph's, in Roxbury,[10] and St. Thomas Aquinas inJamaica Plain.[11][12][13] He served as the first pastor of St. Joseph's[3][14] and remained there until his death in 1883.[15][16] At the suggestion of thereligious sisters who ran the school, He also built a school house for the parish on the grounds ofNotre Dame Academy in Roxbury.[17][18] In 1858, he was the principal celebrant at the solemn high Mass dedicating Immaculate Conception Church inSalem, Massachusetts.[19] Ordained for less than a decade, the 33-year-old O'Beirne had charge of the Catholics in Dedham, Norwood, Randolph, Holliston, Walpole, and Needham, as well as Roxbury.[4]
Prior to his pastorate at St. Joseph's, O'Beirne had charge of the parish and mission inQuincy, Massachusetts, in West Quincy, St. Mary's 1843–45.[20] While there, he purchased the land for what would become St. Mary's Church in Randolph.[21][22] He also served in St. Mary's early days.[23] Prior to the church being built, he would occasionally come out to say Mass for the Catholics of that community.[24] He was also briefly pastor of St. Rose of Lima inChelsea, Massachusetts[25][26] and served at St. John the Evangelist inHopkington, Massachusetts,[27] and St. Mary's inHolliston, Massachusetts.[28]
O'Beirne served on the Archbishop's Council[29] and opened theToll Gate Cemetery on Hyde Park Avenue.[30]
O'Beirne served as co-pastor of St. Mary's Church in the North End with Fr. Thomas J. O’Flaherty beginning in 1840.[31][26] The parish, made up largely of Irish immigrants, soon split into two camps with each supporting one of the two priests.[31] The differences were partly political and partly about church governance.[31] By January 1842 the congregation was so divided that Bishop Fenwick was worried that violence may erupt and so visited on January 9, 1842, to try to restore the peace.[31] During Mass, he preached an hour long sermon on obedience and warned that those who attended mass meetings of protest could be excommunicated.[31]
Just a few days later, on January 13, 1842, a large group of O'Flaherty supporters gathered. When a member of the O'Beirne camp disrupted the meeting's opening address, a "mob situation" arose.[31] Police had to be called in to restore order.[31] In response, Fenwick wrote to parishioners and invited them to attend another meeting on January 16, 1842.[31] Parishioners from other parishes attended the meeting, disrupting it, and cutting it short to avoid another mob break out.[31] Fenwick then ordered the two priests to publicly reconcile on January 23, 1842.[32]
Not long after, O'Beirne requested a transfer to a different parish and was sent toProvidence, Rhode Island, which was then part of the Boston Diocese.[32][26] His supporters at St. Mary's were not happy, however, and 400 of them signed a petition calling for his return.[32] When Fenwick refused, a riot broke out on February 20, 1842, during a vespers service O'Flaherty was presiding over.[32]
Parishioners were arrested, and Fenwick placed the parish under aninterdict that shuttered it for two weeks.[32][26] In Providence, O'Beirnes new parishioners were not happy with him and told Fenwick so in insulting terms that the bishop would call "insolent" and "anti-Catholic".[32][33] Still seeking a solution, Fenwick reassigned all the priests in the troubled parishes in March.[32] O'Beirne moved again, this time toTaunton, Massachusetts.[34]
By 1846, the Catholic community inDedham, Massachusetts, was well established enough that the town became part of the mission of St. Joseph's Church.[35][36][37][38] The flood of Irish immigrants escaping theGreat Famine necessitated holding Mass in theTemperance Hall, often O’Beirne.[37][39][40][35][36][41][42][43][44][45] Mass was also occasionally celebrated in the Crystal Palace on Washington Street.[46] Worshipers came from Dedham,South Dedham,West Dedham, andWest Roxbury.[46]
While at St. Joseph's, he had charge of the mission in Dedham, Massachusetts, and he established what is todaySt. Mary's Church there.[47][45] In 1856 the cornerstone was laid and, in 1857, the first St. Mary's Church was completed on Washington Street between Spruce and Marion Streets.[35][37][38][48][49] On Easter Sunday, April 12, 1857, Father O’Beirne said Mass for the first time in the new 600 person church.[39][49][50][38][42][4][51][b] Reading from the 20th chapter of John's Gospel, O'Beirne proclaimed the news of Jesus' empty tomb.[38] Though it was still part of the Roxbury Parish, O'Beirne or one of his assistants would travel to Dedham each Sunday to say mass.[51]
In April 1863 he purchased the Unitarian meetinghouse inSouth Dedham, today the parish of St. Catherine's in Norwood.[51][52] Prior to this, he would say mass in the homes of South Dedham parishioners.[53][54][52]
O'Beirne remained pastor of St. Mary's until 1866, when Fr.John P. Brennan took over.[39][40]
st mary dedham.
