Culture

At midnight, one of the Redemptorist brothers was awoken by the sound of shattering glass and the smell of smoke.

May 28 marked 150 years since the blessing of the cornerstone of one of Boston's great churches, the Basilica of Our Lady of Perpetual Help.
The origins of Our Lady of Perpetual Help (also known as "Mission Church") date to August 1869, when the Redemptorist Fathers were granted permission to establish a church in the Diocese of Boston "for the purpose of giving Spiritual exercises to the Clergy and Laity, and ... missions" to those within the diocese. The Redemptorists arrived in February 1870 to take up their mission, establishing a temporary church in January 1871. Quickly clearing the debt on their property, they began work on a more fitting permanent church "adequate to the importance of their mission in Boston," breaking ground in September 1874.
By 1876, The Pilot reported that the "walls are now raised to a considerable height" and the time had come for Archbishop John J. Williams to bless the cornerstone.
The solemn ceremonies took place on May 28, 1876. The day began with a procession of 1,200 people, escorted by companies E and F of the Massachusetts Volunteer Militia. Among the procession were "a number of school girls dressed in white and wearing wreaths of flowers," the Roxbury branch of the Ancient Order of Hibernians, the St. Francis de Sales Mutual Relief Society of Boston Highlands, and, of course, dozens of clergy from across and beyond the Archdiocese of Boston.

Bishop James Augustine Healy, the former chancellor of the Archdiocese of Boston then in his second year as Bishop of Portland, was also in attendance and was given the honor of preaching the sermon. He took his text from Joshua 24:27, "This stone shall be our witness, for it has heard all the words which the Lord spoke to us." Before the assembled crowd, he declared, "Let the walls of this church then arise; let it spring from a foundation of living stone; let it rise high, surmounted by a cross, and stand as a sign and a monument for our covenant with God."
Turning his attention to the receptacle to be placed under the cornerstone -- a time capsule of sorts documenting the historical moment -- he remarked, "Should time, whose march destroyeth all things, destroy also this temple, then the documents placed under this stone shall declare the founding of this church in the pontificate of Pius IX, the successor of St. Peter, by the Most Rev. Archbishop Williams, the angel of the city."
Following the sermon, those gathered sang psalms, "How lovely are thy Tabernacles, O Lord of Hosts!" and "Unless the Lord build a house, they labor in vain who build it." Finally, Archbishop Williams set the cornerstone, saying the blessing in his characteristically soft voice, "In the faith of Jesus Christ, we lay this corner-stone on this foundation: In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit." He blessed the crowd, and the ceremony was concluded.
The Redemptorists retired to their rectory adjoining the church. It was an old house, having once been the home of Revolutionary War hero Gen. Henry Dearborn, and it was not to survive the night unscathed. At midnight, one of the Redemptorist brothers was awoken by the sound of shattering glass and the smell of smoke. A fire had broken out in a first-floor closet and was rapidly spreading. Frantic, the brother ran to the community bell to rouse his sleeping housemates, as flames leaped from the house's library and staircase. All made it out of the building safely, though The Pilot reported that one priest, a Father Bausch, was "compelled to jump from a window."
According to one account found in the "Glories of Mary in Boston," which may be apocryphal, one of the Redemptorists, concerned that the church structure might catch fire, rushed to the building and "at once removed the Blessed Sacrament and the sacred vessels to the home of a devout Catholic family nearby." What is certainly true is the total commitment of the Redemptorists to their church building project, and the community to the Redemptorists.
Their rectory rendered partially uninhabitable, the fathers and brothers were immediately offered shelter with the Jesuit Fathers at Boston College. The faithful brought food, clothing, and monetary donations to the rectory to sustain the Redemptorists, leading one of them to write in his account of the events, "May the Redemptorists of Boston never forget the generosity of these good people."
The Redemptorists repaid their community by redoubling their efforts to erect their church building, which, remarkably, took just two years to complete. It was dedicated by Archbishop Williams on April 7, 1878. The soaring Romanesque structure, of Roxbury puddingstone, immediately became one of the largest and most beautiful churches in the archdiocese.
Our Lady of Perpetual Help was elevated to a basilica in 1954. It continues to be staffed and led today by the Redemptorists, who have now served the parish for more than 150 years. You can learn more about the basilica and find Mass times at bostonsbasilica.com.

VIOLET HURST IS AN ARCHIVIST FOR THE ARCHDIOCESE OF BOSTON.

- Violet Hurst is an archivist for the Archdiocese of Boston.

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