St Andrew the Apostle church building (copyright 2007)
Boston Daily Globe September 13, 1921
New Church Of St Andrew, Forest Hills, Under Construction
Ground has been broken and work is under way for the construction of the church of St Andrew the Apostle, which will be erected at the corner of Walk Hill and Wachusett sts in Forest Hills Section. The proposed ediface will be a most artistic one. The plans are that it will be ready for occupancy by New Year's Day next.
While the start of then new year is designed for the first service, considerable will depend on the weather the next few months and possibilities are favorable that Christmas Day may witness the holding of the first service.
Rev Fr William J. Casey, the pastor, has done considerable work in planning for a permanent church for the parish. Aug 12, 1918, the parish was founded, being set aside St Thomas Aquinas parish in Jamaica Plain principally, though a small section of the Sacred Heart parish in Roslindale also was included in the boundary lines.
For some time services of the parish have been held in Minton Hall, just opposite the terminal of the Elevated in Forest Hills sq. The new ediface will be about five minutes' walk from the temporary location, and will occupy a site on the summit of the district, affording a fine view of the surrounding country.
The location will be central for all sections of the new parish. It is planned to have the parochial residence along side the new church. On the estate secured for the site stands a house which will be renovated and brought up-to-date for the residence.
The zeal of Fr Casey, the pastor, in developing the parish, has found the parishoners taking an active part in furthering every undertaking that has been carried on. Rev Fr Francis P. Doyle, the assistant, also has worked hard in all these details, so that the work of building the new church has started with a comfortable amount of money in the parish treasury.
The new church will stand back from the main highway and will be approached by a circular drive, some 35 feet wide. There will be no basement for the ediface, the main auditorium being planned to accomodate a congregation of about 1000 people, while a chapel will stand at one end and will accomodate about 350.
The chapel will be available for the weekday services of the parish. Sunday mornings it will be possible to open the doors leading from the chapel to the main auditorium, so that a congregation of nearly 1400 will be enabled to attend mass.
The plans for the ediface, which were made by O'Connell & Shaw, combine in bringing about a fine ventilating system so that it will be cool in the Summer and warm in the Winter. The exterior will be of Weymouth seam face granite.
My heart is broken. For years my family and I attended St. Andrew's Church. I considered the church the nucleus of our community. My siblings and I attended St. Andrew School, taught our catechism lessons, grew to partake in the Communion . For years I volunteered after school to clean the church with the Sisters. And now it's gone..... Good-bye Monsignor Dolan, Father Kennedy and Father Conlon. Good-bye and thank you to the Sisters who shaped our lives and enriched our lives: Sister Bellarmine, Sister John Clare, Sister Helene Joseph and others. Gone but not forgotten.
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