The seeds of what would become St. Agatha Parish actually began in the mid-19^th century. For many of us who have grown up with the concept of multiple Catholic churches within a few miles of each other, the struggles of the early Catholics to practice their Faith are a foreign concept. In fact, Catholicism was barely tolerated in the early 19^th century, and until the 11^th Amendment to the Massachusetts Constitution was passed in 1834, exclusionary practices based on religion were common. For example, citizens of Milton who were not members of the “town Church” were not allowed to be Town Meeting Members. There was no Catholic Church between Boston and Plymouth until 1826 when St. Mary’s in West Quincy was established as a mission Church of St. Peter and Paul in South Boston. Catholics in East Milton finally had a place to worship, although the very first St. Mary’s was housed in a borrowed Unitarian Church on the corner of Church Street and Adams Street near what today is Duggan Lane. The first Masses were celebrated by Fr. Terence Fitzsimmons from South Boston. St. Mary’s moved to its current location in 1840, and East Milton Catholics became members. In 1862 St. Gregory Parish was established on Dorchester Avenue, just on the other side of the Neponset River. Most Catholics in East Milton became parishioners there, although it involved a long walk over Milton Hill to reach the Church. The alternative was a trolley which cost 5 cents and ran from East Milton Square up Edgehill Road and eventually ended at Eliot Street. However, the weather would often dictate whether the faithful would attend St. Mary’s in West Quincy or St. Gregory’s. The long walk in either direction could be uncomfortably windy and cold, particularly in the winter. So, parishioners would choose their destination by whichever would allow them to have the warmth of the sun to temper their walk home. When the wind was from the north they would choose St. Mary’s and when it was from the south they would head for St. Gregory’s!

In the first decade of the 20^th century it was estimated that there were approximately 500 Catholics living in East Milton. These hardy Catholics sought their own spiritual home, and petitioned Cardinal O’Connell to consider a separate Catholic Church in the East Milton area. In 1915, the Cardinal directed Fr. Francis X. Dolan, pastor at St. Gregory’s in Dorchester, to search the area for a suitable parcel of land for a new Church. In 1916 Fr. Dolan informed the Cardinal that he had located two suitable lots. The first was the site on which the Church is now located. The asking price by the owner, Denis Crowley of Quincy, was $6,000. The Crowley’s were a very active and prominent “pioneer” family among the Catholics in the area. The second parcel was much larger and housed the Blue Bell Tavern which would have to be demolished. This is now the site of the Post Office and Public Library. The asking price was $17,500. The former site was selected, and with the assistance of attorney Henry V. Cunningham the purchase was finalized on April 6, 1917, the same day the U.S. House of Representatives voted to declare war on Germany, marking the United States’ entry into World War I.

And now the hard work began. A $30,000 construction loan was obtained from the Union Institution for Savings and construction of an 850 seat Church was begun. During construction Cardinal O’Connell gave permission for Mass to be celebrated in a suitable location. Ellsworth Hall, a building later demolished during the excavation for the Southeast Expressway (now Route 93) was selected. Two Masses were celebrated each Sunday at 8:00 and 10:00 AM by priests from St. Gregory’s. Construction was slowed by the onset of the flu epidemic. In fact, Joseph McGinnis, the original architect of the Church, died during the epidemic. But by June of 1918 the super-structure of the Church, looking much the same as it does today, had been completed and the basement Church was finished for services. At this point, the building was still a missionary chapel of St. Gregory’s Church. The first Mass and dedication were held on the October 6, 1918.

As the population of the town of Milton expanded by nearly 30% between 1900 and 1920, so too did the Catholic population. In 1922 Cardinal O’Connell officially determined that a new parish was to be established in East Milton, thereby ending the “missionary chapel” designation the new church building had carried. The honor of selecting the name for the new parish was conferred upon Fr. Dolan, who was still pastor at St. Gregory’s. After prayerful consideration and in light of the closely entwined history of this new parish and St. Gregory’s, he named the new parish after St. Agatha who had been martyred in 251 A.D. and was canonized some 350 years later during the reign of Pope St. Gregory I between 590 and 604 A.D.

From our vantage point in the year 2022 it is hard to imagine the much different world faced by the intrepid founders of our parish. Two days before the property was purchased the United States entered World War I where 53,000 troops were killed and 204,500 were wounded. Another 63,000 troops died of the flu epidemic which hit in 1918. This epidemic took the lives of 675,000 United States citizens, but infected over 500 million people worldwide and killed nearly 50 million people. One of the largest outbreaks in the United States was right here in Massachusetts where 25% of all the soldiers at Ft. Devens became infected, and 757 died. And it was a turbulent world in other ways as well. The 18^th Amendment to the Constitution was ratified in 2019 prohibiting the “sale, distribution and transportation” of alcoholic beverages. Women still did not have the right to vote! The 19^th Amendment was not ratified until 1920. In fact, 1922 was the first year that women in Massachusetts were made eligible to hold all public offices. And as if to dramatize the difference between 1922 and 2022, the Vice-President (Calvin Coolidge), the Speaker of the House of Representatives (Frederick H. Gillett) and the Senate Majority Leader (Henry Cabot Lodge) were all Republicans—and all from Massachusetts! It was also the year the Lincoln Memorial was dedicated and the year of the first radio address by the President. In 1922, a Model T Runabout cost $315. The average price for a house was $6,296, and the average rent was $60 per month. It cost 15 cents to go to the movies. On the other hand, the average hourly wage was 66 cents and the average weekly income was $32.92. It was against this backdrop that our forebears set out with full faith and confidence to establish a vibrant Catholic community.