St. John the Evangelist Church History

Photo credit: Exterior view of St. John's Catholic Church, showing the front lawn and Rectory, Swampscott, Mass. Historic New England. Gift of William Sumner Appleton, 28 February 1933

One hundred twenty years ago, a modest, gray-shingled mission church built on Humphrey Street across from Black Will’s Cliff began serving a growing population of Catholics in Swampscott. Its first service had taken place with great fanfare on Christmas morning in 1904. For the 800 Catholics of Swampscott, this building was a physical manifestation of decades of hope: to have a place to worship within the borders of their own town. This mission church was still under the direction of the mother parish, St. Joseph’s of Lynn, while the parishioners took the necessary steps to achieve independence as a parish.
The church’s patron saint, St. John the Evangelist, was chosen to honor its first spiritual counselor, Rev. John C. Harrington, the Pastor of St. Joseph’s. Rev. Harrington had offered Swampscott’s first Mass at the town hall on July 20, 1879, twenty-seven years after separation from Lynn in 1852. By the turn of the century, immigrants from French Canada, Ireland, Italy and other Catholic countries had added to the town’s population which swelled to 4,500. In 1902, there were six Protestant churches in Swampscott. Anti-Catholic sentiment had blocked the purchase of a building site on Elmwood Road by order of the courts. In March 1904, a third party secured a portion of the Stone Estate on Humphrey Street for $5,000 that would become the location of the future new church. Altogether, supporters raised $12,000 for the lot and to begin construction. The cornerstone of the church was laid in June 1904. The pews are built of stained ash, and the altar is white with gold trim. The sixteen stained glass windows memorialize various Swampscott residents. The church has an organ and seats five hundred worshippers. The stately belfry with its large, gilded cross can be seen for miles out at sea. A formal dedication took place on September 3, 1905.
St. John’s first resident pastor, Rev. Patrick Colman, D.D. was appointed on April 21, 1906. The Stephen Wardwell house next door was purchased and remodeled as the rectory. Rev. Colman, who had assisted with the effort to establish the church, began his sixteen-year work as the new pastor, but also, as he said, “as an old friend.” The church bell installed in December 1906 was lovingly nicknamed “Patrick” in his honor.

This Month in Swampscott History: Swampscott’s St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church at 120 by Nancy Lusignan Schultz, Ph.D.

Thank you, Dr. Schultz, for writing this piece in our 120th year and for graciously allowing us to share this wonderful story here.