St. Mary's Church (Dedham, Massachusetts)

St. Mary of the Assumption Church (commonly referred to as St. Mary's) is a Roman Catholic church in Dedham, Massachusetts and the Archdiocese of Boston. The first church was constructed in Dedham Centre in 1857 and it was formally established as a parish in 1866.In 1880 the parish built a larger church on High Street, towards East Dedham. The laying of the cornerstone for this "cathedral in the wilderness" attracted more than 4,000 people, and special trains were run from Boston and Norwood. The new church would not be completed until 1900, and was dedicated by Archbishop Sebastiano Martinelli, the papal delegate. Today the church hosts one of the largest Life Teen programs in the country.HistoryEarly historyThe history of Catholicism in Dedham begins in 1758, only 120 years after the settlement of the Contentment Plantation and fully two decades before the American Revolution. During the French and Indian War the British expelled over 11,000 Acadians from what is today Nova Scotia. Eleven of them resettled in Dedham, and though the town and the Massachusetts Bay colony were both officially Congregationalist, they were allowed to reside here as French neutrals until they returned to Canada in 1760.After the Acadians returned to Canada in 1760, Dedham would not see another Catholic resident for decades. The first Catholic who spent any length of time in Dedham was Mr. Gill, who lived in what is today known as Riverdale, but was then called Dedham Island. The few Catholics who lived in Dedham would have to travel 16 miles to St. Joseph's in Roxbury, the Cathedral of the Holy Cross on Franklin Street in Boston, or to St. Mary’s in Waltham to attend Mass.