| | A History of Malden, Medford and Immaculate Conception Parish In 1629 this area was a wilderness that was inhabited by the Pawtucket Indians and explored by English scouts. Located north of the Mystic River, the land was purchased from the Indians and became known as Mystic Side. Medford, located on the Mystic River, became an English settlement in 1630. MYSTIC RIVER, MEDFORD MALDEN SQUARE, MALDEN PLEASANT STREET, MALDEN Initially part of Charlestown, it was difficult for the residents of Mystic Side to travel to Charlestown to worship. The inhabitants formed their own church and petitioned the General Court to be set off as a separate town. The petition was granted and the Malden township was formed in May, 1649. The original town included what is today Everett and Melrose. The town was named after a community of the same name in Essex, England. Some of the most prominent citizens of Maldon emigrated from that English town. By the early eighteenth century, the inhabitants of Malden Village numbered around 1000. The city of Medford, on the other hand, was emerging as a leader in the Clipper Ship building and distilling industries. Many immigrants, mostly Irish, came to work in the area's shipyards, brickyards and quarries. FORREST STREET, MEDFORD The need and desire to worship, that was instrumental in founding the city of Malden in the mid-1600's, also played a role in establishing and nurturing a Catholic faith community in the Malden/Medford area. Before 1854, the area did not have a resident priest. The spiritual needs of the people were taken care of one Sunday a month, when Father Doherty would come to Medford from St. Peter's in Cambridge. He would celebrate Mass in the Medford town hall, as well as baptize, hear confessions, officiate at weddings and teach the religious doctrines of the Church. On the remaining Sundays of the month, some of Malden's residents would journey to St. Mary's in Charlestown to attend Sunday Mass. One Sunday, the people learned of the arrival of Father John Ryan from England who was helping at St. Mary's. A committee was formed and a petition was made to Bishop Fitzpatrick to send Fr. Ryan to be the resident priest of Malden. "Ask and you shall receive." Fr. Ryan was appointed the pastor of the newly established parish in Malden. The new parish extended from Charlestown on the south, to the Lowell and Lawrence parishes on the north. Eight towns comprised the newly formed parish - Malden, Medford, Stoneham, South Reading (now Wakefield), Reading, Winchester and part of Everett. In September 1854, land was purchased as the site for the new church. On Christmas morning, 1855, the faithful assembled to celebrate the first Mass in the basement chapel of the unfinished church. Since the dogma of the Immaculate Conception had been recently proclaimed, it was thus fitting that the new church of Malden/Medford would bear that name. Fr. Ryan served as pastor until his death in 1863. Fr. Thomas Scully was appointed to succeed Fr. Ryan and served as pastor until 1867. Two brief pastorates followed - Father John McShane and Fr. Michael Carroll. MEDFORD 1880 Fr. Thomas Gleason became pastor in 1868 and served the Catholic faithful for 16 years. Shortly after his arrival, the whole north portion, i.e. Stoneham, South Reading (Wakefield), Reading and Melrose were set off as a separate parish. Despite this division, the church was not large enough so Fr. Gleason enlarged the church twice. In 1880, a new rectory was built beside the church, and the former rectory was refitted as a convent for the School Sisters of Notre Dame who came to staff the new school. In 1881, the first school was opened on the north corner of Highland Avenue and Charles Streets. The Catholic population of Medford was steadily increasing and they were eager to have a church of their own. Their wish was granted in 1876 when a Catholic parish was established on High Street. Fr. Gleason added to his duties and also served as pastor of the newly formed church until 1883 when Fr. Richard Donnelly was named the first pastor of St. Joseph, Medford. Fr. Gleason died in 1884 and was succeeded by Fr. Michael Flatley. Fr. Flatley renovated the upper church, enlarged and beautified the sanctuary, installed an organ, repaired the convent and parochial house, and purchased property for a cemetery. In 1891, Fr. Flatley opened the second parish school - a large school for girls, located on the corner of Highland Avenue and Charles Street. Upon Fr. Flatley's death in 1896, Fr. Richard Neagle began a pastorate that lasted nearly half a century. The parish of Immaculate Conception grew both spiritually and physically during his tenure as pastor. Fr. Neagle enlarged the convent, renovated the schools and purchased the schoolyard adjoining the girls' school. In 1908, Msgr. Neagle opened a parochial high school for girls that was staffed by the School Sisters of Notre Dame. St. Peter's Mission was formed in 1922 for the Italian people of the parish. In the late 1920's, the beautiful convent on the Fellsway was built for the School Sisters of Notre Dame. In 1932, a high school for boys was opened and staffed by the Xaverian Brothers. Msgr. Neagle died in 1943 and was succeeded by Fr. John Fletcher who was engaged in making improvements where necessary. He redecorated and fixed up both the upper and lower churches. While making needed improvements in the Boys' School, disaster struck - the school was destroyed by fire. A new school was built and dedicated in 1947. Msgr. Fletcher died in 1954 and was succeeded by Fr. Joseph J. Leonard. Immaculate Conception Parish celebrated its 100th anniversary in grand style. In the late 50's, it was determined that the existing church was too small and needed to be replaced with a larger structure. A capital campaign was begun to raise the money necessary to construct our beautiful church that was dedicated in 1963. The upper church seats 1,200 people and is perhaps the last church constructed before the changes instituted by Vatican II. For many years the lower church, which seated close to 1,000 people, was used for daily Mass. Toward the end of the decade of the '60s, Malden Catholic High School (a.k.a. Boys Catholic) moved to its current location on Crystal Avenue in East Malden. The church property at 599 Pleasant Street, home for the Xaverian Brothers for several years, was sold. Upon Msgr. Leonard's death in July, 1971, Fr. John Donovan served the Malden/Medford community for 3 short years. Upon Fr. Donovan's death in 1974, Fr. Paul McManus became pastor and served the parishioners until 1981. In 1980, the original grammar school, affectionately known as the Red Brick Building, was condemned. Fr. John B. McCormack was named pastor from 1981 to 1984. In 1995, he was ordained an Auxiliary Bishop for the Boston archdiocese and was named Bishop of the Manchester, NH diocese in 1998. In 1984, Fr. Arnold Colletti was appointed to shepherd the people of the Malden/Medford area. In the mid-80's, with dwindling numbers attending Sunday liturgies, a committee, consisting of parishioners and parish staff, was formed to determine how best to use the space in the lower church. Another capital campaign was kicked off to raise funds to refurbish the space into a large church hall with kitchen, an intimate chapel with reconciliation rooms, and a meeting room. The project was completed and dedicated in 1990. In 1992, our parish family received some devastating news - Cardinal Law had included Girls Catholic on the list of 5 schools that would be closed. The building was leased for several years. During the 1999-2000 school year, the classrooms were used for the parish's Religious Education Program (P.R.E.P.). In late 1994, Fr. Colletti was transferred to Sacred Heart Parish in Lexington, MA. Fr. Frank Silva was installed as pastor of Immaculate on the Feast of the Epiphany in January 1995. Upon his arrival, two important events occurred: the Good News - funding had been obtained to construct an apartment complex for senior citizens on the site of the old Red Brick School. What had been the dream of a couple of parishioners 20 years earlier would soon become a reality in 1998 with the dedication of the Msgr. Neagle Apartments. The Bad News - in November 1994, the School Sisters of Notre Dame moved out of the beautiful convent located on the Fellsway. In early October, after 6 years of dedicated service to the people of Malden and Medford, Fr. Silva was asked to lead the faith community of St. Ann's Parish in Wayland. His transfer was effective November 13, 2000. For several weeks, Fr. Steve Boyle served as "acting pastor" while we awaited the appointment of our new pastor by Cardinal Law. Since January 1, 2001, Fr. Richard Mehm from St. Andrew's Parish in Forest Hills has assumed the responsibilities of shepherding the good people of Immaculate Conception Parish. Throughout its history, the parishioners of Immaculate Conception Parish have been and continue to be a very generous people. Through their generosity, money was raised to install a new sound system in 1998. Over $25,000 was raised and wired to China to help build a church in Fr. Joseph Li's hometown. In 2004, our parish celebrated the 150th anniversary of its founding. Throughout these many years, God has showered us with His many blessings. We pray that "through the intercession of Mary, your Mother and Mother of the Church, may we realize our desire to be empowered as a community of love, growing in your likeness, through Christ our Lord."