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

Comments

  1. UnknownApril 18, 2021 at 4:07 PM

    One of the most beautiful Churches in the world is the Immaculate Conception Parish Malden Massachusetts

    ReplyDelete
  2. George N. ParksJune 19, 2021 at 11:53 PM

    It’s very lovely and certainly unique. Thank you for your comment, and for visiting!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

First Congregational Church, UCC, Melrose, Massachusetts

Image
First Congregational Church, UCC, Melrose, MA Pillars & Foundations was started as an effort to explore my surrounding communities through their religious institutions, and to share my experiences at them with my neighbors and beyond. These organizations that are both social and spiritual, leave lasting impressions on the communities that they are in, and I find in my experiences that I've taken them for granted, and I suspect I'm not alone. What strikes me what all of these institutions strive to do is make a difference, and they do, regardless if it is one person looking for hope & community, or a with recipient of their charitable work. Building & History People who pass by the low profile octagonal church in Melrose should not be fooled by the contemporary campus. This organization has a long history ( information on FCCM website ) in the community dating back to 1848. The new building was constructed in 1970 following a fire tha
Read more

Mount Hood (Slayton Memorial) Tower, Melrose, Massachusetts

Image
When talking about pillars and foundations maybe a tower, like the Slayton Memorial Tower truly encapsulates both. Truly a hidden gem that locals know about, but transplants like myself can easily miss. It took me years to learn about its existence and years more to finally dedicate the time to walk through the Mount Hood Park & Golf Course to see this incredibly unique structure, hidden away in the far corner of tiny Melrose.  My photographs do not do this view out to the Boston skyline and the Atlantic Ocean justice. There’s been a few write ups on the tower through the years, so my post is far from original, however I do think in the course of our busy lives we take for granted what is in our back yard, and that is true for me and Mt. Hood. I write this with a focus on the tower, but really the whole area is quite beautiful with its ponds, trails, and a golf course that you’d expect to be private country club with a quick glance, when in fact it is open to the public (while bei
Read more

Saint Athanasius Parish, Reading, MA

Image
Saint Athanasius Parish, Reading, Massachusetts I intend to explore and experience the services of many different churches, predominantly near where I live in Massachusetts. Discovering all of these different faith communities builds my knowledge of the neighborhoods around me and the people who live there. 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. History & Building I was pleased to find that Saint Athanasius has an excellent write-up on their web page about their parish history. The parish is fairly new when compared to many I have visited, establishing in 1960, and their unusual, modern ch
Read more

Adams Free Library, Adams, Massachusetts

Image
While much of my focus in Pillars & Foundations had focused on places of worship and more recently, cemeteries, community cornerstones such as libraries has always been on my radar to feature. Undoubtedly the have an enormous impact on communities serving as fountains of knowledge and centers to organize activities that benefit the community they reside within. On an early summer trip to western Massachusetts we stopped in Adams, wandered around the town center, and took time to visit the prominently located public library. It's yellow/tan bricks make it stand out as it looks down upon McKinley Square. A statue of William McKinley stands in the center of the square. McKinley was the 25th president of the United States until he was assassinated in 1901 by Leon Czolgosz , an anarchist who saw the action as a protest against social inequity. Theodore Roosevelt ascended to the presidency ushering in the modern Progressive era. McKinley's connection to Adams, MA, was that he la
Read more

Bell Rock Cemetery, Malden, Massachusetts

Image
Bell Rock Cemetery in Malden is also known as the Old Burial Ground, and apparently according to Find A Grave , " Sandy Bank Cemetery ," originally, for which there is a Wikipedia page . According to Wikipedia it was placed on the U.S. Register of National Historic Places in 1981. Also of note, apparently the headstones and their engravings have been well documented and are searchable in the Malden Public Library. For those familiar with the layout of Malden Massachusetts its location would likely be surprising, several blocks away from what is currently "Malden Center," on the side of a hill in a relatively low lying area. The neighborhood today is comprised of dense residential approaching the Malden River and flanked by the MBTA train tracks and some industrial zones. The first meeting house of Malden was located near the cemetery, on Bell Rock hill, formerly called Bailey's Hill. The oldest headstone in the graveyard is said to date to 1670.  Pleasantly this
Read more