United in faith, tradition

Family day aims to energize Catholics as they look to the future

Sister Theresa Ryder gently touched wooden rosary beads, showing them to first-graders at St. Mary of the Annunciation School who soon will learn how to pray to their patroness.

"We'll say 'The Hail Mary.' That's Mother Mary's special prayer," said Ryder, who has taught at the Danvers school for 29 years. "We have a pair of rosary beads for everyone. We're going to say the rosary every day. It's the wish of the Holy Father that the rosary come back into the home."

Catholic tradition - such as nuns teaching children to pray the rosary - will be celebrated on Sunday at Bishop Fenwick High School in Peabody during Regional Family Day, which will mark the 200th anniversary of the Archdiocese of Boston.

"Hope is alive in every parish," said Auxiliary Bishop Francis X. Irwin, who oversees 58 parishes from Rockport to Woburn. "We are part of a church that is getting back on its feet. As [clergy] we are here to walk with [people] in faith."

The bicentennial - celebrated across the archdiocese with the theme Journey Together in Christ - comes amid challenging times. The clergy sex abuse scandal tested the church's relationship with its flock.

A wave of parish closings or mergers carried out since 2004 left bitter feelings. A handful of parishes, including St. Therese in Everett, remain occupied by parishioners who refuse to leave.

"We keep trying," said Joan Shepard, an organizer of the vigil that next month will enter its fifth year. "That's all we can do."

Irwin said he understands people's pain at losing their parish. But he hopes the family day will inspire both clergy and parishioners to look ahead. "We have to energize the people, the priests and the bishops," said Irwin, an auxiliary bishop for 12 years. "We must remember we are here, not to maintain [tradition] but to [fulfill] mission," he said

The family day aims to unite people in faith and fun. Priests and nuns will speak about parish life, diversity in the region, vocations, and the role of religious women in the church.

"I've had an unbelievable life," said Sister Theresa, a member of the Sisters of Notre Dame for more than 35 years. "I've had the privilege to teach so many children."

Bouncy inflatables, face painting, and games will be available. Song, music, and dance performances, along with plenty of food, are planned. Cardinal Sean P. O'Malley, the spiritual leader of 2 million Catholics in Greater Boston, will celebrate Mass at 4 p.m. with 28 local priests.

"Everything is focused on the family," said Irwin. "We want our youth to understand that the church today is no different than the church [of] 200 years ago."

Boston is one of four archdioceses, along with Louisville, Ky., New York, and Philadelphia, to have its bicentennial in 2008. Pope Benedict XVI, on his first visit to the United States last spring, acknowledged the milestone during Mass at Yankee Stadium. As part of the Boston celebration, O'Malley asked bishops in the four regions of the archdiocese to plan a local observance.

The north of Boston region today is home to fast-growing immigrant Catholic populations. Latinos, especially Brazilians, and Haitians are among the new faces filling the pews. "The early church was very much an immigrant church," Irwin said. "In many cases it still is today."

The area also has some of the oldest churches in the archdiocese. Immaculate Conception Church in Salem, founded in 1826, was the first parish established in the archdiocese outside of Boston. "Our parish has a special place in the archdiocese," said the Rev. Timothy J. Murphy, the 19th pastor of the downtown Salem parish.

Catholic worship in Salem started earlier. In 1820, as Irish immigrants worked on the city's busy wharves and shipyards, Bishop Lefebvre de Chevrus, the first bishop of Boston, purchased land for a Catholic church to be built in Salem, at the corner of Bridge and Mall streets.

Six years later, the parish was officially formed, its boundaries stretching from Marblehead to Dover, N.H., according to parish history. With only three priests in New England, Mass often was said only once or twice a year in Salem, because the priests traveled as far as Maine to minister to Catholics, Murphy said.

"Bishop Chevrus would take the ferry from Boston to Chelsea," said Murphy, a history buff. "From there, he'd either take the stagecoach or walk to Salem. . . . There were obviously more Catholics in Boston than Salem. But this area was growing then. . . . There were a few wealthy families, but most of the people were very, very poor."

As the immigrant population grew, more Catholic churches were added across the region. Many were ethnic, serving Irish, French, or Italian immigrants. Immaculate Conception, which outgrew its original building, moved to a stately red-brick church on Hawthorne Boulevard in 1858. The building is now the oldest parish church in the archdiocese, Murphy said.

O'Malley visited the Salem parish last week to celebrate the church's 150th anniversary. A stained glass window in the chapel depicts Bishop Chevrus blessing ships on the waterfront.

"It reminds us of our roots," Murphy said, the late afternoon sun shining through the colored glass panes. "It's fascinating to think of how far we've come, and what the Lord still commands us to do."

Kathy McCabe can be reached at kmccabe@globe.com.