Joining with the global Church, the archdiocese celebrated World Day of Migrants and Refugees on Sept. 27. The Archive Department collaborated with the Office of Multicultural Ministries to share a series of historical migration stories that highlight the impact that immigrants and refugees have had on our archdiocese. We are all people on a journey, and our shared history is shaped by generations of journeys, experiences, and sacrifices. We invite you to remember those who have crossed borders in search of safety, opportunity, and a place to call home.

The Archive Department's final migration story highlights Father Andre-Marie Garin, an Oblate of Mary Immaculate from France who helped to found the first French-Canadian parishes of Lowell.

Andre-Marie Garin was born on May 9, 1822, in Cote St. Andre in France. He was the youngest child of Philibert Garin, a grocer, and Francoise Emptoz-Falcoz. In his youth, Andre-Marie studied at the local school in Cote St. Andre and had a habit of rising early most days and praying during his free time at the church in town.

At school, Andre-Marie learned about the Oblates of Mary Immaculate, a missionary order established in Aix-en-Provence in 1816. He was especially intrigued by their missions to the Native Americans in North America. When he told his mother he intended to join the Oblates, she revealed that she had dedicated him to the Blessed Virgin Mary before he was born, a revelation that assured him of his call to the priesthood.

Andre-Marie entered the Oblates of Mary Immaculate on Nov. 1, 1841. His time as a novice was picturesque, and it formed his passions for mission and living in a religious community. He entered the major seminary of Marseilles in fall 1842, and pronounced his perpetual vows on Nov. 1, 1843, becoming the 100th Oblate of Mary Immaculate. He was ordained a deacon in June 1844. It was originally planned that he would join the Irish seminarians from Marseilles in establishing the Oblates in Ireland. However, right after his ordination to the diaconate, it was decided that Brother Garin would be sent instead to Canada.

Brother Andre-Marie Garin sailed from Marseilles to Longueuil, Quebec, where he was ordained as a priest. His first missions while living in Longueuil served the Native Americans living around James Bay, Ontario. In 1856, Father Garin was sent by the Oblates to serve for the first time in the United States, first in Burlington, Vermont, then Plattsburgh, in northern New York, and Buffalo. The parishes in these areas served crowded city centers and the rural environs, a staggering amount of work for the Oblates. Father Garin had to resolve constant disputes about staffing and resources for the parishes, which were serving French, English, and German speaking communities.

In 1866, when Bishop John Williams became Bishop of Boston, there were growing communities of French Canadians throughout the diocese, but not a single dedicated French-speaking parish. Seeing the need for a priest for this community of immigrants, Bishop Williams met with the provincial for the Canadian Oblates of Mary Immaculate to arrange for the establishment of a mission for Canadians in the diocese. They decided that Lowell would be the best city in which to base this mission.

In the mid-19th century, Lowell became the home of thousands of French-Canadian immigrants. The reasons for the Canadian migration were mostly economic. As the agrarian economy of Quebec started to strain with overpopulation, people sought a new home where they could work and support their families. A few decades earlier, in the United States, inventors and capitalists had revolutionized the creation of textiles and established mills that would soon attract thousands of immigrants looking for work. Following the American Civil War, the production of textiles boomed in New England, and so did the migration of Canadians to the Spindle City.

The Oblates of Mary Immaculate sent Fathers Andre-Marie Garin and Lucien Lagier to preach a retreat and become acquainted with this new mission city. They soon realized that settling in Lowell would allow them to minister to Catholics throughout the Merrimack Valley. Father Garin purchased an abandoned Unitarian church on Lee St. in Lowell to be the first parish church for French Canadians. It was dedicated as St. Joseph Church on May 3, 1868, now the St. Joseph the Worker Shrine.

Establishing the parish also established a sense of belonging for the French Canadians in the city. After the first Sunday Mass at St. Joseph, Father Garin remarked that "Many tears flowed on that day from the eyes of Canadians who were saying to themselves: We are at home here, we have a church of our own." Father Garin also established the English-speaking Immaculate Conception Parish, St. Jean-Baptiste in the "Little Canada" section of the city, and St. Joseph Cemetery.

In 1868, there were 1,200 French Canadians in Lowell, and by the opening of St. Jean-Baptiste in 1890, the population had grown to 16,000, due to the rapid expansion of the textile mills. In addition to the parishes established by Father Garin, the Franco-Americans of Lowell attended St. Louis de France, St. Jeanne D'Arc, and Notre Dame de Lourdes parishes, all established in the early 20th century. Father Garin passed away in Lowell on Feb. 16, 1895. Thousands followed as his casket processed from St. Jean Baptiste to St. Joseph Church and finally to St. Joseph Cemetery. He was mourned by all in Lowell, Catholics and non-Catholics alike.

As we celebrate World Day of Migrants and Refugees, we recall the many immigrants from our country's history who, like Father Andre-Marie Garin, came to a new country eager to contribute, and left a lasting impression on the communities that they served. All six migration stories from the Archive Department can be found on our website, bostoncatholic.org/rcab-history. You can learn more about the Office of Multicultural Ministry's migration stories at evangelizeboston.com/migration-stories.



SAVANNAH MILLER IS AN ARCHIVIST OF THE ARCHDIOCESE OF BOSTON.