Robert J. Johnson (priest)

Robert J. Johnson (died January 1, 1916) was an Irish-born priest who ministered in the Archdiocese of Boston.

Personal life

Johnson was born in Ireland and fluent in Irish.^[1] He was friends with Henry Cabot Lodge.^[2] Following the Spanish–American War, Johnson spoke out against the atrocities the United States government was committing against the Filipinos.^[3]

He died on January 1, 1916, and was buried on January 4 in Lowell, Massachusetts, after a funeral at Gate of Heaven Church in South Boston. There was a large crowd of priests in attendance and the church was not big enough to hold all of the people who wished to attend.^[4]

Ministry

Johnson built St. Mary's Church in Dedham, St. Eulalia's at City Point, and Gate of Heaven Church in South Boston.^[4] He also served as a curate at S.S. Peter and Paul in South Boston.^[5] On July 1, 1898, he was appointed chaplain of the Suffolk County House of Correction.^[6] It was said that he "was a perfect treasure-house of theological lore."^[4]

St. Mary's Church

Johnson served as past of St. Mary's Church in Dedham, Massachusetts from August 1878 to 1890.^[1][7]

During this decade, Johnson was publicly raising the issue of discrimination against Catholics in the public schools. He served two terms on the Dedham School Committee, from 1884 to 1890.^[8] As a member of the School Committee in 1885, he claimed the principal of the Avery School ridiculed Catholic students,^[9] and several years later had a lengthy debate with a Protestant minister via letters in the Dedham Standard about the "rank misrepresentation of the Catholic Church" in a history book adopted by the School Committee.^[10]

During Johnson's pastorate, the cornerstone of the present St. Mary's church was dedicated on October 17, 1880, by Archbishop John Williams.^[11] A crowd of between 4,000 and 5,000 people attended,^[11] and special trains were run from Boston and Norwood to accommodate all those who wished to attend.^[12][13] It was one of the largest gatherings in Dedham's history.^[14]

The crowd included many of the leading citizens of Dedham^[12] as well as 30 priests.^[11][14] The clergy included Father Theodore Metcalf^[a] of the Cathedral of the Holy Cross who served as Master of Ceremonies.^[11][b] The footprint of the Gothic church,^[16] which Father Johnson said was to be a "cathedral in the wilderness,"^[17][18] measures 150' long by 65' wide, and the bell tower is 164' tall.^[11][19]

To serve the Catholics of East Dedham, he built St. Raphael's Church, but it was destroyed by fire a few years later.^[1] When he left St. Mary's, the Catholics and Protestants of the town were both sorry to see him go.^[1] He had become friends with all, including many of the leading men in town.^[20]

Gate of Heaven Church

After leaving St. Mary's, Johnson was pastor of Gate of Heaven Church from 1890 to his death in 1916.^[15][21]

Johnson became pastor on June 1, 1890.^[5] He was known as the "second founder" of Gate of Heaven.^[5] During his first years at Gate of Heaven, the parish had 10,000 parishioners and 600 girls enrolled in the school.^[22][1] With many societies and programs running, the church was too small to accommodate them.^[22] On March 4, 1895, the church caught on fire and the interior was destroyed.^[22][1] On April 10, 1895, services began inside the old church again, but it continued to be too small.^[22][1] Johnson began raising funds for a new church, partly though his personal magnetism.^[22][1] In 1896, the cornerstone was laid for a new church by Archbishop Williams.^[22] While construction was ongoing, he opened St. Eulalia's Chapel in City Point on May 6, 1900.^[22]

During construction, the stained glass windows were originally to be shipped from London duty-free.^[23] After two had been installed, however, the Treasury Department overruled the decision of the local collector and demanded a duty payment for the windows already installed and those yet to be delivered.^[23] Eventually Congress passed special legislation exempting the windows from the duty and, as a result of this precedent, all stained glass windows for houses of worship were exempt from duty in the Tariff Act of 1913.^[23]

Notes

1. Theodore Metcalf was a descendant of Michael Metcalf, a signer of the Dedham Covenant. Michael was also a teacher in Dedham, at the first public school in America.^[12]
2. Metcalf would go on to Gate of Heaven Church, where Johnson would succeed him.^[15]

References

1. Sullivan 1895, p. 80.
2. United States Congress. Congressional Record: Proceedings and Debates of the ... Congress. U.S. Government Printing Office. p. A2259. Retrieved 21 September 2019.
3. Michael Fellman (2010). In the Name of God and Country: Reconsidering Terrorism in American History. Yale University Press. p. 221. ISBN 978-0-300-15501-3. Retrieved 21 September 2019.
4. "Funeral of the Rev. Robert J. Johnson". The Sacred Heart Review. Vol. 55, no. 4. January 8, 1916.
5. Gate of Heaven 2013, p. 4.
6. Boston (Mass.). City Council (1899). Documents of the City of Boston. p. 532. Retrieved 23 September 2019.
7. Byrne et al. 1899, p. 323.
8. Election records. Town Clerk's office. Town of Dedham.
9. "Charges Against Mr. Howard: Does the Principal of the Avery School, Dedham, Discriminate Against Cath- olics". Boston Daily Globe. June 14, 1885. p. 16. Retrieved March 13, 2015.
10. Johnson & Cooke 1889, p. 18.
11. "Suburban Matters". Boston Post. October 19, 1880. p. 4. Retrieved March 9, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
12. "History: St. Mary's Church". St. Mary's Church, Dedham, MA. Retrieved March 9, 2015.
13. "Dedham". Boston Daily Globe. October 10, 1880. p. 2.
14. "An Interesting Ceremony: Performed by Archbishop Williams at Dedham. Laying the Corner-stone for a New Catholic Church. Sermon by Rev. Joseph Henning of Boston–A Large Gathering". Boston Daily Globe. October 18, 1880. p. 4. Retrieved March 13, 2015.
15. "Gate of Heaven Parish History". Gate of Heaven and St. Brigid's Parishes. Retrieved September 21, 2019.
16. Leahy, William Augustine (1892). The Catholic churches of Boston and its vicinity and St. John's Seminary, Brighton, Mass.: a folio of photo-gravures with notes and historical information. Boston: McClellan, Hearn and Co.
17. Berry, Jason (2012). Render Unto Rome. Crown Publishers. p. 109. ISBN 9780385531344.
18. "2009 Catholic Appeal To Launch" (PDF) (Press release). Braintree, MA: Archdiocese of Boston. March 6, 2009. Retrieved 2015-03-12.
19. Hurd 1884, p. 79.
20. Sullivan 1895, p. 670.
21. "WIDESPREAD MOURNING FOR MONSIGNOR O'CALLAGHAN". The Sacred Heart Review. Vol. 49, no. 15. March 29, 1913. p. 232. Retrieved September 21, 2019.
22. Gate of Heaven 2013, p. 5.
23. Gate of Heaven 2013, p. 6.

Works cited

• Johnson, Robert J.; Cooke, George Willis (1889). Sectarian School-books: A Series of Letters. A. Mudge & Son, Printers.
• Byrne, William; Leahy, W. A.; Dowling, Austin; Young, E. J. A.; Finen, J. E. (1899). Introductory. The Hurd & Everts co. pp. 323–324.
• Hurd, Duane Hamilton (1884). History of Norfolk County, Massachusetts: With Biographical Sketches of Many of Its Pioneers and Prominent Men. J. W. Lewis & Company.
• Gate of Heaven Parish 150th Anniversary. Gate of Heaven Parish. 2013.
• Sullivan, James S. (1895). A Graphic, Historical, and Pictorial Account of the Catholic Church of New England. Boston and Portland Illustrated Publishing Company.