The first Catholics who came to Worcester were chiefly Irish immigrants, and were brought here by the contractors of the Blackstone Canal. As time went on, the number of Catholics increased. In 1834, Bishop Fenwick of Boston appointed the Reverend James Fitton to visit the Catholics of Worcester once a month. This was welcome news.

The holy sacrifice of the Mass was first offered in Worcester on North Main Street at approximately the location of the Crown Plaza, in 1826. The foundation of Christ’s Church, the first Catholic Church in Worcester, was laid July 6, 1834. Many churches followed as Worcester grew. Churches were built through the following years and began appearing further and further away from the center of town.

Religious gatherings were taking place in the Tatnuck area from about 1847. Tatnuck and Paxton were missionary journeys for Rev. James Fitton or the pioneer priests who followed him. Mass was celebrated in Catholic homes. Tatnuck (and Paxton) became a part of St. Paul’s Parish in 1866 and Blessed Sacrament Parish in 1912. On September 15, 1936, the Sacrifice of the Mass was celebrated by Fr. John Reilly in the rectory of Christ the King Parish.

Catholics from Paxton belonged to Christ the King Parish. Fr. Reilly negotiated with the Town Fathers of Paxton to celebrate Mass in the Paxton Town Hall until a “more suitable” location could be found. An exchange of letters between Fr. Reilly and Mary M. Daniher, clerk for the Paxton Board of Selectmen, and news accounts of those days, indicate that Fr. Reilly’s initial request in that regard (September 14, 1936, the day before the first Mass was to be celebrated in Tatnuck), was not received without some reservations.

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Written by Joan Bedard, September 2011