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by Anthony M. Sammarco (Author)
Today the Church of the Holy Spirit stands as a beacon of community, memory, and evolving faith.
The Church of the Holy Spirit was founded by Annie Lawrence Rotch as a memorial to her father, Benjamin Smith Rotch. She said in her booklet, Early Days of the Church of the Holy Spirit: "It must have been the faith and courage of youth which led me to embark on so bold a venture." The church was designed by the noted architect Arthur Rotch of Rotch and Tilden with the church silver, furniture, and organ given as memorial gifts from the Rotch Family. It was a splendid church set in the countryside when it was consecrated on Whitsunday 1886.
Over the years, the church has had a prominent congregation that reflected the areas of Mattapan and Milton. From pageants and musicals to stage productions, the church offered a myriad of activities. Following World War II, as the demographics began to change in Mattapan, many people from the Caribbean and the West Indies worshipped at Holy Spirit. By the 1980s there was a thriving nexus of cultures that reflected not just the neighborhood but how old and new parishioners helped to create the thriving church that it is today. The church started a new phase of its history, embracing parishioners with multicultural events and dinners featuring many dishes prepared by the new members and enjoyed by all in the Parish Hall.
Today, the church of the Holy Spirit is not just a place of worship, but also a place of contemplation, a place of prayer and solitude, and 140 years after its consecration, a place for all of us to share in the rich and ever-evolving history of the church established in memory of a much-loved father.
