Marking its 75th anniversary, archbishop says ‘extraordinary’ things happen at St. Anne's

By Maria Young
The Catholic Free Press

SHREWSBURY – St. Anne’s celebrated its 75th jubilee July 26 – the feast of its patroness and St. Joachim, the parents of the Virgin Mary – with Mass and dinner.  

Archbishop Michael W. Banach, apostolic nuncio to Hungary, celebrated the anniversary Mass and seven priests concelebrated.

Archbishop Banach was born and raised in Auburn and ordained in 1988 by Bishop Timothy J. Harrington at St. Paul Cathedral. One of his early parish assignments was as associate pastor of St. Anne’s. Father Adam R. Reid, pastor of St. Anne’s, had sent a letter inviting the archbishop to the parish for the anniversary earlier this year. Two of these correspondences were printed in an anniversary book that was being given out.

The roughly 200-page book details the history of the parish and its pastors, includes a letter from Bishop McManus celebrating the anniversary, information on current ministries and outreach programs and more.

Following Mass, a reception was held at the Beechwood Hotel in Worcester. Around 200 people were scheduled to attend, said Evelyn Gulledge, a member of St. Anne’s 75th Jubilee Celebration Committee and a parishioner since 1979. She said the committee began planning these celebrations last September.

St. Anne Parish in Shrewsbury, like the Worcester diocese, is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year.  It was one of the first two missions that Bishop John J. Wright elevated to parish status after he was installed first Bishop of Worcester on March 7, 1950. Later that month, he made St. Anne in Shrewsbury and St. Theresa in Harvard parishes.  

Archbishop Banach’s homily detailed some history and expressed hope for the community at St. Anne’s, using the word “extraordinary” more than a few times to describe it.

“Christ is in our midst,” Archbishop Banach reminded the congregation at the beginning of his homily and congratulated them on this diamond anniversary.

He detailed part of the history of the “church by the lake on Boston Turnpike” in Shrewsbury and the need to better serve the increasing number of Italians in the area. Bishop Thomas O’Leary of Springfield “dedicated St. Mary’s in the morning and St. Anne’s in the afternoon” on Aug. 17 1924, Archbishop Banach said.Maria Young | CFP
Archbishop Michael W. Banach greets 75th anniversary Mass attendees July 26 at St. Anne Parish in Shrewsbury.
“For me personally, it is good to be home at St. Anne’s parish,” he said. His connections there predate his appointment as associate pastor, as his mother and other relatives had visited the church.

To the amusement of the congregation, expressed with laughter, he recalled a time when he had to retrieve the pastor’s stole that had been discarded and said he would “never forget the surprise reaction of parishioners seeing me climbing out of the dumpster.”

Speaking of “extraordinary pastors” who “created an extraordinary community of faith, hope and love,” Archbishop Banach highlighted each pastor and some of their contributions that helped it grow physically and spiritually. From refurbishing the church, building a rectory, parish center, and shrines, to establishing human service ministries, a medical program, and even installing new sound and air conditioning systems, St. Anne’s pastors, have contributed to the history and legacy of the parish.  

The archbishop also spoke of ordained, religious, and “extraordinary parishioners” who have made their own contributions.  

“These people sat where you now sit,” he said. “In you, I see their faces ... hungering for peace at the end of a work week ... Faces longing for God. They came to St. Anne’s because God mattered to them ... [and for you] God matters.”

Also “extraordinary,” the archbishop said, are the things that happen in the church. It is a place for intercession and thanksgiving, a place to honor, consecrate and commune, he said. These extraordinary things happen when “babies turn into children of God” and the bread and wine turn into Christ’s body and blood, when couples turn into spouses and sinners into saints.  

“Such exceptional things deserve an exceptional place. And, St. Anne’s ... is truly an exceptional place.”

Remembering the patroness, St. Anne teaches lessons today.  

“She tells us we are children of a history that needs to be preserved,” Archbishop Banach said.  “We are not isolated …  the families and faith which we grew up with were part of a rich history that gave us life. We received it as a gift – one to cherish, one centered on fidelity to God and his will here at St. Anne’s.”

The saint, Jesus’ grandmother, also teaches “us that we are all her grandchildren,” he said.  “St. Anne does not want us to forget the history of the love that give birth to our own lives. For in this history we can find a light to guide us. ... It is essential to take care of our roots. To dedicate time to guard and remember their legacy.”

“St. Anne also teaches us that if we are children of a history that needs to be preserved than we are also authors of a history that is yet to be written.”

Acknowledging the parishioners of the past 75 years who “had hoped and dreams of us,” Archbishop Banach asked, “What do we want to do with ourselves ... What kind of society do we want to build?”

It starts in the relationships forged and the “extraordinary” things that happen in the parish community. It starts “right here,” Archbishop Banach said.


From tent to church – a brief history of St. Anne’s
By Tanya Connor | The Catholic Free Press

St. Anne Parish in Shrewsbury, like the Worcester diocese, is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year.

It was one of the first two missions that Bishop John J. Wright elevated to parish status after he was installed first Bishop of Worcester on March 7, 1950. On March 29 that year, he made St. Anne’s in Shrewsbury and St. Theresa in Harvard parishes.

St. Anne’s celebrated its 75th jubilee on July 26 – the feast of its patroness, the Virgin Mary’s mother – with Mass and dinner.

St. Anne’s had been a mission of St. Mary Parish in Shrewsbury, with which it grew simultaneously. Parish histories and Catholic Free Press stories offer the following information.

In the mid-1800s, Catholics living in Shrewbury near Lake Quinsigamond walked to St. Anne Parish in Worcester for Mass. That parish bought the land for St. Anne’s Cemetery that is on the front lawn of today’s St. Anne Parish in Shrewsbury. But that’s getting ahead of the story.
In the early days, priests from other churches came to minister to Shrewsbury Catholics.

Around 1870, people began to raise money for a church to serve all Shrewsbury Catholics. In two years, the Chapel of St. Theresa was built in the center of town. It was a mission of St. Anne’s in Worcester, then St. Rose of Lima in Northborough, according to a history in the 75th anniversary book.

After the turn of the century, with the town’s growth, St. Theresa’s was no longer large enough.

In 1922, a Mass station was set up near the lake. A hall was rented, but burned down before it could be used.

A tent was set up behind St. Anne’s Cemetery for a worship space. Among those buried in the cemetery are Father John J. Power, first pastor of St. Anne’s in Worcester, and Sisters of Mercy, whom he brought to staff the first public hospital in Worcester, which he established. Father Bernard E. Gilgun, long affiliated with St. Anne’s in Shrewsbury, was also buried on the church lawn after his death in 2011.

Before St. Anne’s Church in Shrewsbury was built, Mass sites included a dance hall and a dye factory.

In 1922 Father Thomas McKoan became the first resident pastor in Shrewsbury. In the spring of 1923 he began to build St. Mary Church in the center of town and, in November, St. Anne Church in the lake area, which took its name from the cemetery.    

On Aug. 17, 1924 Bishop Thomas M. O’Leary of Springfield dedicated each of the churches. St. Anne’s was a mission of St. Mary’s until Bishop Wright made it a parish in 1950 and named Father Thomas J. Smith, who had served  in Shrewsbury 25 years earlier, St. Anne’s pastor.

Bishop Wright blessed the renovated St. Anne’s Church on June 9, 1953 and dedicated the new parish hall named for Father Smith on June 9, 1956.

After Father William B. Welz became pastor in 1970, St. Anne’s Human Services was established under the leadership of parishioner Elaine Le-Blanc, says a history on the website stannesparish.org/about-st-annes. This ministry continues to meet needs through its food pantry.

The website says Father James A. Lehane, named third pastor in 1983, continued service and educational ministries and renovated the parish center.

Under Father Edward J. Moran, who came in 1989, the church was renovated and rededicated by Bishop Timothy J. Harrington. The free medical program was established through efforts of Dr. Harvey Clermont, and it continues today. Father Moran was also there to welcome members of St. Margaret Mary Parish in Worcester, which was merged with St. Anne’s in 2008.

Father John J. Foley, who came in 2009, improved the church and grounds and hosted social events that brought the community together, the website says.

It also speaks of Father Paul T. O’Connell, senior priest; Father Walter J. Riley, pastor from July 2022 until his sudden death on Feb. 9, 2024; Father Richard F. Trainor, temporarily an administrator and still in residence there; and Father Adam R. Reid, present pastor.