Fr. Carney’s land purchases were not over! in July of 1941 he received permission to purchase the Bowditch Estate which was then 336 Adams Street for use as a school and convent. Ernest Bowditch, the original owner of the property who died in 1919 was a nationally known landscape architect who had also designed the Town of Milton sewer system and had been its Sewer Commissioner for many years. The purchase was finalized on July 29, 1941, allowing Sr. Savina, CSJ, the first Principal, just enough time to ready the building for 50 children in the first 1^st Grade class on September 22, 1941. Each subsequent year an additional grade was added so that by the end of the decade the school had all eight grades. Many alterations were made to the estate to accommodate the large enrollment, including the purchase of 3 Quonset Huts to serve as temporary classrooms. Not only was the school full to capacity, but there was a lengthy waiting list and it was clear that a new building would be necessary. However, raising the money to build the new school would be a herculean task. In 1945, Fr. Ralph Gallagher—who had been assigned to the parish since 1933 as a “Curate” or what we know today as a Parochial Vicar— organized a series of horse shows that were very successful. The first one was held on September 29, 1945 on what is now the playground for the current school. Cardinal Cushing even attended the inaugural show. The shows were so popular that the last several were held at Boston Garden. In 1946, Fr. Carney received permission to purchase 36,000 square feet of land which had been a town playground for $5,490. Now the quest for a new St. Agatha School had begun in earnest. Unfortunately, Fr. Carney passed away in the Rectory at the age of 75 in 1947 after serving 25 years as Pastor, guiding the parish through its formative years. He left an indelible mark on the parish and blazed a trail few could have envisioned, much less tackled. A number of years later when several lots on the Bowditch estate were sold, a new street was created, and was fittingly named “Fr. Carney Drive”.

A group of our altar boys: 1938

A group of our altar boys: 1938

A group of our altar boys: 1938

A Group of Our Altar Boys: 1938

horse shows were held on the field behind Saint Agatha School: 1945-1948

Msgr. John J. Starr, who had previously been Pastor at Holy Ghost Parish in Whitman, was appointed as his successor on June 4, 1947. Msgr. Starr was said to be a very quiet and pious man and his short time at St. Agatha’s was largely uneventful. Fundraising for the new school continued even after the departure of Fr. Ralph Gallagher in 1947 who became Rector of Holy Cross Cathedral and a close aide to Cardinal Cushing. Msgr. Starr left after only 3 years to become Pastor at St. Lawrence in Brookline.
(left: Msgr. John J. Starr)



This left the monumental task of completing the new school to his successor, Msgr. Daniel J. Donovan who became Pastor on May 22, 1950. Interestingly, Msgr. Donovan holds the distinction of being the last Pastor of the parish born in the 19^th century. He was said to be very energetic and organizationally savvy. These qualities served him well as he worked to build the new school. As it neared completion, Msgr. Donovan accepted a donation from a parishioner to purchase a statue of Our Lady of Fatima and the children who witnessed her apparitions with the intention of naming the school “Our Lady of Fatima”. However, his request to name the school was denied by the Cardinal who felt it would be confusing to give the parish school a name different from the parish itself. Nevertheless, having already purchased the beautiful statue, it was installed in front of St. Agatha School where it remains to this day. On September 9, 1951 the school was dedicated by Cardinal Cushing, who made a point in his remarks to emphasize that parents have the key role in educating their children. The school officially opened on September 14, 1951 to 587 students. In addition to classrooms, office space and a cafeteria, it also included the attached Parish Center—later renamed in honor of Msgr. Gallagher—which served the school as well as the parish at large. This portion of the complex included meeting rooms, a gymnasium and stage for plays and other productions. It even had a projection room in the balcony so movies could be shown. It is worthy of note that the gymnasium spawned the development of one of the largest and most successful CYO basketball programs in the Archdiocese. The former school had housed not only the classrooms but also the devoted Sisters of St. Joseph who staffed the school. With the opening of the new school, the “old school” building became exclusively the Convent for the sisters. The logistical issue that needed to be addressed was how to transport the Sisters from the Convent to the School each day, and this was addressed by the purchase of a small bus-type vehicle. To this day one can see the vestiges of this arrangement, since one bay of the current Rectory garage is oversized. This was to accommodate the storage of the vehicle that transported the sisters each day. (right: Msgr. Daniel J. Donovan)

In 1954 an additional piece of land was purchased from the town to provide playground space for the school. Land was sold on St. Agatha Road to families being displaced by the construction of the Southeast Expressway (now Route 93) and additional land which had been part of the Bowditch Estate was sold as well. St. Agatha Parish and School seemed to be well on their way to a successful future when on February 19, 1955 Msgr. Donovan passed away very unexpectedly at the age of 59. The rapidly expanding parish was in shock and understandably wondered who the next Pastor would be and whether he would be able to continue Msgr. Donovan’s example of leadership and vision. They need not have worried! Cardinal Cushing in his wisdom appointed a very familiar face to succeed Msgr. Donovan—Msgr. Ralph Gallagher who had already served the parish for 14 years from 1933–1947. He scarcely missed a beat, reimmersing himself quickly into parish affairs. Because of the rapid expansion of the parish and the addition of the school, the parish was heavily in debt—a situation Msgr. Gallagher set about rectifying throughout the 1950s. Continuing the process begun by his predecessor, surplus parcels of land on the Bowditch estate were sold, creating the street which was named Fr. Carney Drive. Property on Cabot Street and St. Agatha Road were sold and the proceeds were applied to the debt. But erasing the debt did not preclude several large projects from moving forward though the late 1950s and into the 1960s. In 1955 the entire interior of the Upper Church was repainted, a garage was added behind the Rectory, and in 1958 the wood frame Rectory which had been purchased in 1925 was razed and replaced with the brick Rectory in use today. In 1961 a new section was added to the rear of the school for additional classroom space and a Library. In 1967, the Church tower was reinforced to accommodate the installation of an entire set of 13 electronically controlled bells donated by the Theodore Dran family. The bells range in size and tone up to one which weighs 1 ton! The sides of the tower were open at that time, so the bells were lifted into place by a giant crane. In 1983 the louvres which are currently in place were installed as a part of a larger masonry project to protect the bells from the elements and nesting birds. The bells are still in place to this day, but do require refurbishment. In 2004, the three most often used bells were restored and the strikers were repaired. They are operational today, but the remainder would need extensive work.

It was also during Msgr. Gallagher’s tenure at St. Agatha’s that St. Pope John XIII convened the Second Vatican Council. The results of this convocation were felt throughout the universal Church and the leadership of the Pastor was critical to the mission of communicating the changes to parishioners and implementing them. The 1960s and 1970s were also turbulent times in general manifested by campus unrest, opposition to the war in Vietnam by some, violent uprisings in some major cities, and the assassination of Martin Luther King and Robert F. Kennedy. Through the tumult, Msgr. Gallagher maintained a steadying influence on the Parish, and his purposeful leadership was vital to reassuring and encouraging the parishioners. This tower of a man passed away in the Rectory on April 19, 1981 after having served St. Agatha Parish for a total of 41 years. His passing was a huge milestone in the life of the parish. His stewardship and leadership indelibly impacted the story of St. Agatha Parish. In addition to the Parish Center being named in his honor, the small square at the intersection of Brook Road and Adams Street bears his name. (above: Msgr. Ralph Gallagher)

One of the changes brought about by the Vatican Two Council was the relaxation of the fasting requirements for the reception of Communion. Prior to the mid-1960s Catholics were not allowed to eat or drink after midnight if they were to receive Communion. This was relaxed at first so that food could not be consumed for three hours before Communion and drink for one hour. This was later changed to one hour for each. This change also facilitated the addition of evening Masses on both Saturday and Sunday. The first afternoon/evening Masses at St. Agatha’s were celebrated in September of 1969 at 5:00 and 8:00 on Saturday and 5:00 on Sunday. This proved to be very popular and by 1972 an additional Saturday afternoon Mass was added at 4:00.

The Mass schedule published in the 50th Anniversary Booklet in 1972 was as follows:
                Saturday Evening:            4:00, 5:00, 8:00
                Sunday Masses:               7:00, 8:15, 9:30, 10:45, 12:00, 5:00
                Holyday Eve Masses:      4:00, 5:00 and 8:00
                Holyday Masses:             7:00, 8:00, 9:00, 10:00, 5:00, 8:00
                Weekday Masses:           7:00, 9:00
                First Friday Masses:        7:00, 9:00, 5:45
                Confessions:                    Before Masses at 3:30 and 7:30 PM