Immaculate Conception Parish, Malden, MA

Immaculate Conception Parish, Malden, MA

My visit to Immaculate Conception on Ash Wednesday is part of an effort to explore and experience the services of many different churches, predominantly near where I live in Massachusetts. These institutions are important, often overlooked and even misjudged centers of our communities that seek to make a positive impact on their participants as well as others through their generosity and public service. It is possible that through this activity I may eventually consider a long term relationship with one of these pillars and foundations of the community, however I am eager to do a lot of exploring first.

Building and History

The parish itself was founded in 1854 however the current sanctuary appears date from the mid 1960s. The church building is modern, but still possesses a more traditional layout. It has art deco features throughout the church, and I had always assumed that it may have been older than it actually is. The stained glass windows are quite magnificent, and I was able to photograph them a little bit from the outside as the church lights illuminated them. Admittedly, my pictures aren't the best as they were taken on an iphone at night while trying to navigate the traffic exiting mass.

There is a large brass crucifix behind the altar that is quite beautiful and unique to anything I can recall seeing. I wasn't able to find quite as much on Immaculate Conception's history I would have liked, however the details I provided above I owe in part to a nice write up on Immaculate Conception by Cailyn Schmid.

Who are the Parish?

Immaculate conception is a large parish in one of Boston's larger suburbs, Malden, Massachusetts. The sanctuary seats 1100 people, and even on this Ash Wednesday service there were probably hundreds of people there. The parish reflects the vibrancy and the diversity of Malden, Massachusetts.

The Mass:

This was the first "Ash Wednesday" service I attended since being a child. I think I had only gone when it was necessary for CCD (the confraternity of Christian doctrine, Catholic religious education). I did not know what to expect entirely, but it was a full mass with both the distribution of ash, as well as Communion.

Father Albert Capone gave a relatable sermon about Ash Wednesday, Lent, repentance, and how it is never too late to get back upon the right path in life. He mentioned when he was young he used to go out driving in his car, and he would intentionally try to get lost. And I suspect besides the obvious analogy of finding ones way back, he may have been speaking to the pursuit of various things, often in our youth but not exclusively, that may not always be virtuous.  Father Capone also read from Matthew 6:16-18, advising that fasting should not something that one is ostentatious about, that it should be personal. The idea being if one treats lent as more of a duty and a ritual without exploring themselves, their sins and looking to repent and improve, they are being hypocrites, they are not being true to the purpose.

Because of flu season, the service included a non-contact passing of the peace where everyone waved and gave each other the peace sign. As I understand, this has become a common practice, but it is the first I've seen of it.

What the Parish does:

Beyond providing a spiritual home for its parishioners, Immaculate Conception provides benefits to the greater community.  Immaculate Conception highlights their relationship with Knights of Columbus to serve members of the community in need. They have a knitting and crochet group that provides baptismal blankets and prayer shawls and lap robes. They support a food pantry, and provide some community meals throughout the month. In addition Immaculate Conception also has some social groups including a book club, and a social club for seniors.

Conclusion

It was clear that the people of Immaculate Conception love their parish, and I suspect we are lucky that many of them pay that love forward in their lives.

Text and photographs by George Parks

Sources are embedded in links