Holy Trinity German Catholic Church Door - Boston, MA
Posted by: 
silverquill
N 42° 20.757 W 071° 03.967
19T E 329815 N 4690255
Quick Description: This landmark church by noted church architect Patrick Keely, with its old wooden door and intricate frieze, was built in 1877, often called the New England's National Parish, serving German immigrants.
Location: Massachusetts, United States
Date Posted: 9/27/2009 8:26:23 AM
Waymark Code: WM7AG2
Views: 0
Long Description:
From the church web site " http://www.holytrinitygerman.org/">
Holy Trinity German Catholic Church
In the early 19th Century, German immigrants landing in Boston
faced the challenge of adapting to a new social environment, while
striving to preserve their unique cultural and religious heritage
Foremost among their concerns was the fear that a rapid
assimilation into American society would result in a loss of their
cultural identity and even of their Faith.
While Boston’s predominantly Irish pastors tried to be
responsive to the needs of their German Catholic flock, none of
them spoke German, and so they could neither preach nor hear
confessions in the immigrants’ native tongue. They were also
unfamiliar with German religious traditions including age-old
customs that revolved around important religious holy days. For
example, Germans traditionally put a high priority on the
celebration of Christmas. In fact, it was German immigrants in
Boston who introduced the use of Christmas trees and greeting cards
to New England. They also celebrated Easter in a unique way by
participating in a wake from Good Friday until Easter Sunday at the
Holy Grave with a figure of the dead Christ lying in the
ground.
Sympathetic to their plight, Bishop Benedict Joseph Fenwick,
S.J. (consecrated 2nd Bishop of Boston in 1825) requested secular
clergy from Germany. Between 1836-1846 five priests answered the
bishop’s call, but they all moved on, wishing to serve where there
were larger German Catholic populations in the Midwest.
In interim periods, Rev. John Stephen Raffeiner from the Diocese
of New York traveled several times a year to Boston to minister to
the German Catholic community. Recognizing the need for a permanent
German parish and clergy, Fr. Raffeiner diligently worked for the
establishment of a German national parish. Under his leadership,
the cornerstone for Holy Trinity (German) Church was laid in June
1842, constructed of Roxbury puddingstone and Maine granite and
sporting two imposing towers, and with the generous assistance of
Bishop Fenwick, the church building was completed and the first
mass celebrated in June 1844.
Later Fr. Reiter, S.J. took on the task of paying-down the
parish’s debts and raising money to buy land on Shawmut avenue in
order to build a bigger church. The cornerstone was laid by Bishop
John Williams on November 10, 1872 and was completed by Fr.
Reiter’s successor, Fr. James Simeon, S.J. (1870-1877) with the
first Mass celebrated in the church basement on May 1, 1874. On May
27, 1877, the Feast of the Holy Trinity, Archbishop Williams (who
became Boston’s first archbishop in 1875) dedicated the new church,
which cost roughly a quarter of a million dollars for the church,
land, and rectory.
The new building with seating for 1,200 parishioners upstairs
and 700 in the lower church, was, like the first church, made from
Roxbury puddingstone and Maine granite. But unlike the first
structure it had tall central steeple that graced Boston’s South
End skyline until 1938 when a hurricane damaged it to the point
where it had to be removed.
Holy Trinity was designed by one of New England's most
distinguished church architects, a Brooklyn native named Patrick C.
Keely. Keely designed over sixteen cathedrals (including Boston's)
and six hundred churches throughout the country.
Holy Trinity is known as the Christmas Parish, having introduced
to New England and the country many of the Christmas customs that
were brought here by German immigrants during the early and
mid-1800s, including the ever-popular decorated pine Christmas Tree
and also the German Candlelight Procession and Midnight Mass.
Around 1850, Louis Prang, a German immigrant to Boston, began
the practice of exchanging hand-made Christmas holiday cards with
his friends. By 1865 he was printing and selling multi-colored
cards throughout the United States. To this day he is considered
the Father of the Greeting Card Industry.