St. Theresa Church on Still River Road will be sold to finance a newly merged Holy Trinity parish serving Harvard and Bolton. (Photo by Lisa Aciukewicz)
Just before Christmas 2008, the Catholic church in Harvard center, St. Theresa, the Little Flower, officially merged with Bolton’s Catholic church, St. Francis Xavier. The combined parish, Holy Trinity, hopes to sell its two existing churches and build a new one to serve the two towns.
Parishioners from both churches voted for the merger in May 2008. The Reverend Dennis O’Brien, the parish priest, announced the results of the merger vote and asked for parish names on May 18, the Feast of the Holy Trinity. Parishioners were asked to submit names for the new parish, with two stipulations: no names already in use in the Worcester Diocese, and no names of saints. The latter stipulation was so the new parish could continue having St. Theresa and St. Francis Xavier as co-patrons. The feast day prompted one parishioner to submit the name Holy Trinity; other parishioners and the bishop eventually agreed to it.
There are 250 families in the Bolton church and 500 at Harvard, resulting in standing room only at many Masses, and overflowing parking. In Harvard, it’s not only Catholics who have to deal with this, as anyone who’s experienced the Sunday morning congestion at St. Theresa’s on Still River Road can attest.
The merger, necessitated by a shortage of priests, will eventually make O’Brien’s job easier. But for now, he celebrates Masses at both locations. “It’s especially challenging on Holy Days, like Christmas and Easter, when you have to get two churches completely decorated and ready for these big celebrations,” he said. “You set up everything here [in Harvard], then take the whole show on the road and do the same thing at the next Mass in Bolton.”
“Right now we need a church that will seat 350 people,” O’Brien said. The new church, with parking, a well, and septic system, will require 15 to 20 acres, he said. A land search committee formed in May has found a few potential sites, including locations on Prospect Hill Road and Bolton Road in Harvard, he said.
O’Brien expects that building the new church, education center, and rectory will cost at least $6 million. The parish’s Preliminary Design Fund has more than $50,000 from recent private and memorial donations.
“Individuals in the parish have also done some fundraising,” O’Brien said. “Two women are making jewelry and selling it; others have made apples pies and sold them, all with the proceeds going to the Preliminary Design Fund.”
The parish also hopes to sell its two current properties in Bolton and Harvard for perhaps $500,000 each, but O’Brien thinks that may be conservative for St. Theresa: “It’s right on the main road, has three good buildings, and the rectory is the nicest house I’ve ever lived in.”
