St. Susanna Church (Dedham, Massachusetts)

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St. Susanna Church
St. Susanna Church (Dedham, Massachusetts)
St. Susanna Church
42°16′05″N71°11′06″W / 42.268°N 71.185°W / 42.268; -71.185
LocationDedham, Massachusetts
Address262 Needham St
CountryUnited States
Denomination Roman Catholicism
Website www.saintsusanna.org
History
FoundedFebruary 1960;65 years ago (1960-02)
Administration
Archdiocese Archdiocese of Boston

St. Susanna Church is a Roman Catholic parish of the Archdiocese of Boston. It is located in Dedham, Massachusetts, at 262 Needham St. The pastor is Father Stephen S. Josoma, and Laurence J. Bloom is the deacon. [1] [2] It is known as "one of the most liberal parishes in the Archdiocese of Boston." [1]

Contents

History

20th century

The parish was founded in 1960 due to overcrowding at St. Mary of the Assumption Church in Dedham. [3] By the 1930s St. Mary's was one of the biggest parishes in the Archdiocese with over 6,000 parishioners and 1,300 students in Sunday School. [4] During the middle of that decade there were four priests and six nuns ministering to the congregation. [4]

In the 1950s it became clear that a second parish was needed in Dedham, [a] and so St. Susanna's was established in February 1960 to serve the needs of the Riverdale neighborhood. [7] [8] When St. Susanna's opened it had 300 families, while 2,500 stayed at St. Mary's. [9]

During construction, masses were held at Moseley's on the Charles. [8] The first pastor of St. Susana's, Father Michael Durant, lived at St. Mary's while his church was being constructed. [10] The first mass was said in the new church on February 11, 1962. [8] The church was named by Cardinal Richard Cushing after his titular church, Santa Susanna, in Rome. [8]

21st century

In 2000, average attendance at Sunday mass was 1,671, making it the 63rd most active parish out of the 357 parishes then in the archdiocese. [11] It performed the 314th most sacraments in 2001–2002. [11]

The parish is a member of Parishes Organized to Welcome Immigrants and Refugees (POWIR). [12]

Nativity scene controversy

The parish garnered the attention of national media during Advent 2018 when the Nativity scene outside of the church showed the Baby Jesus in a cage and the three wise men separated from the others by a fence labeled "deportation." The scene was a statement on the Trump administration family separation policy and on the condition of refugees more generally. [13] [14]

In 2025, the parish altered their Christmas nativity display, removing the figurines of Jesus, Joseph, and Mary, replacing them with a "ICE Was Here" sign, referring to the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency. The Boston Archdiocese requested that the sign be removed as Church law requires that sacred objects "are to be used solely to foster faith and devotion," and not for political messaging. [15] Rev. Stephen Josoma, the pastor, said the sign was his idea and highlighted the need for the message. Critics called it a "crackpot publicity stunt". [16] C.J. Doyle, executive director of the Catholic Action League of Massachusetts, described the display as "offensive" and said he had received a complaint about it from a parishioner. [17]

The parish has a history of making similar displays; in 2017, they showed some of scene partially submerged in water to draw attention to climate change. [14] [b]

Notes

  1. ↑ The population of the town as a whole more than doubled between 1930 [5] and 1970. [6]
  2. ↑ St. Susanna is not the only Catholic church in the United States to make similar displays. Lake Street Church in Evanston, Illinois showed Mary and Joseph wearing gas masks and the baby Jesus bound with zip ties. [18] The Urban Village Church in Chicago suburb River Forest removed all three figures, replacing them with a sign that read "Due to ICE activity in our community, the Holy Family is in hiding". [19]

References

  1. 1 2 "Catholics in the age of Francis". The Boston Globe . Retrieved 2015-09-01.
  2. ↑ "Current Bulletin" (PDF).
  3. ↑ "Boston Catholic Directory. Saint Susanna, Dedham". TheBostonPilot.com. Retrieved 2015-09-01.
  4. 1 2 Smith 1936, p. 102.
  5. ↑ Guide Book To New England Travel. 1919. Retrieved March 14, 2015.
  6. ↑ State Data Center/Mass. Inst. for Social & Economic Research. "Population of Massachusetts Cities and Towns, 1940-1990" (PDF). Boston Metropolitan Planning Agency. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 6, 2004. Retrieved 2006-12-10.
  7. ↑ "Saint Susanna". Archdiocese of Boston. Retrieved March 13, 2015.
  8. 1 2 3 4 Dedham Historical Society (2001). Images of America: Dedham. Arcadia Publishing. p. 34. ISBN   978-0-7385-0944-0 . Retrieved August 11, 2019.
  9. ↑ Berry, Jason (2012). Render Unto Rome. Crown Publishers. p. 109.
  10. ↑ St. Mary's Church, Dedham, Massachusetts, 1866-1966, Our Centennial Year. Hackensack, N.J.: Custombook, Inc. Ecclesiastical Color Publishers. 1966.
  11. 1 2 "How the achdiocese's parishes compare". The Boston Globe. December 10, 2003. p. 16. Retrieved June 5, 2019.
  12. ↑ Cipolla, Wes (March 14, 2025). "Catholic Charities faces challenges amid federal funding freeze". The Pilot . Retrieved March 14, 2025.
  13. ↑ Heald, Jimmy (December 7, 2018). "St. Susanna's makes national news with its Nativity scene". The Dedham Times. Vol. 26, no. 49. p. 1.
  14. 1 2 Russell, Jenna (December 8, 2025). "Massachusetts Church Keeps Anti-ICE Nativity Scene, Defying Diocese Leaders". The New York Times .
  15. ↑ Fraga, Brian. "Boston Archdiocese wants ICE message gone from parish's outdoor Nativity scene". National Catholic Reporter. Retrieved 2025-12-09.
  16. ↑ "Away from the manger: Church sparks controversy with ICE nativity scene - Premier Christian News | Headlines, Breaking News, Comment & Analysis". premierchristian.news. Retrieved 2025-12-09.
  17. ↑ Palombo, Olivia (2025-12-02). "Church sparks controversy with empty Nativity scene and ICE enforcement message: 'Politicizing Christmas'". Fox News. Retrieved 2025-12-09.
  18. ↑ Jenkins, Jack (2025-12-05). "ICE Nativity scenes: Churches reimagine Christmas story amid deportations". Religion News Service. Retrieved 2025-12-09.
  19. ↑ Flores, Christine; Ong, Eli; Victor, Emmy (December 8, 2025). "Nativity scenes around Chicagoland opt for political theme during holiday season".

Works cited

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