Saint Florence Parish, Wakefield, MA

St. Florence Parish, Wakefield, MA

Pillars & Foundations was initiated as an exploration of communities, as well as faith through religious institutions. My intent is to share experiences, and spread the positivity that I observe. Faith centers embody a drive to make a difference which they deliver upon, regardless if it is with one person looking for hope & community, or a recipient of their expansive charitable work.


Building & History

St. Florence's neighborhood is not where one would expect to find a Catholic church. It is situated on a seldom travelled side street, with a posted "weight limit" in a sleepy area of family homes with well manicured lawns and grand leafy trees. The church has an air of tranquility to it, perhaps due to its light brick A-frame like structure creating a vaulted nave with a rough finish ceiling. Large colorful windows fill the sanctuary with warm sunlight. A beautiful campus of impressive trees and expansive lawns adds to a feeling of comfort that really can't be captured in photographs.

Founded in 1947, St. Florence Parish grew from a chapel constructed in the 1920s on Water St. in Wakefield, catering to Italian Americans. The actual Saint Florentina (Florence) was a nun from Spain who lived in the seventh century. However this church was named for Reverend Florence J. Halloran who was instrumental in starting the chapel which later became the church.


 The church mostly has a modern feel, from its windows to its rough finish vaulted ceiling and suspended crucifix. The area behind the altar and tabernacle does have some traditional touches, and the church actually boasts prayer candles, something usually reserved for larger churches.

Looking upwards to the choir loft where the organist is situated

The Parish

St. Florence appears to be an active parish in contrast to its quiet location. It has three weekend Masses at 4:30 PM on Saturday, and at 8:00 and 11:00 AM on Sunday. The church also has weekday Masses at 9:00 AM. The church is open for prayer from 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM which can be an unusual offering for a suburban church of this size. Various activities including scripture study, choir and other ministries speak to the engagement of the parish.

The Mass

We attended the 11:00 AM mass which had beautiful music courtesy of Organist Phyllis Bunnell and Cantor Michelle Manzi-Grasso who has a very powerful voice. The readings for this Mass included Reading 1, Second Kings 4:42-44, and Gospel, John 6:1-15, both dealing with having faith. In both examples a small amount of food is made to nourish many in an example of how God can provide to the faithful. Reading 2, Ephesians 4:1-6 ties things together by describing how people should lead lives where they support one another,  by following the example of doing incredible things with their faith.

Father Vincent Gianni's homily built on these themes impressing upon the parish the importance of using their faith and gifts to help each other.

At the end of the service Father Gianni took time to mention that Blessed Nunzio Sulprizio will be canonized by Pope Francis on October 14th of 2018. Nunzio Sulprizio is of particular significance to Saint Florence as there is a statue of him in the entryway. This soon to be canonized figure had significance to the Italian immigrants that formed the basis of the parish when it was founded. Many of the local immigrants in Wakefield were from the same area as the Blessed Nunzio Sulprizio which led the church to have the statue of this figure. Sulprizio had a short, difficult life of illness, but in it he was considered a very virtuous and heroic figure that tended to the needs of others. Relics of Sulprizio's were later attributed to miracles of healing that the Vatican ultimately acknowledged to support the canonization this year.

Saint Florence's statue of the Blessed Nunzio Sulprizio

Outreach

Saint Florence gives back to Wakefield in and the greater community in many ways. Either through the sense of community that the church fosters in Wakefield itself, or through various charitable activities, the parish has left a positive mark on inhabitants for decades. An example of this is a collection recently made to support Catholic Relief Services which serves various global emergency relief, development, and peace initiatives in 99 different countries.



Text and photographs by George Parks
Sources are embedded in links


Comments

  1. UnknownAugust 24, 2018 at 7:17 AM

    This has been my church my entire life and even though I no longer live in its district I attend mass regularly and have been a choir member for over 20 years

    ReplyDelete
  2. George N. ParksAugust 25, 2018 at 11:02 PM

    Thank you for sharing! Good memories are powerful.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Ferdinand WIlliamDecember 9, 2019 at 4:14 PM

    This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete

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