a new saint in Boston

By Diogenes ( articles ) | Feb 07, 2007

It's no secret that some Catholics in Boston are unhappy with rash of parish closings. But here's a new twist. In suburban Wellesley the Maffei family, which sold the land on which St. James parish is located, has joined in a lawsuit against the archdiocese, claiming that the terms of the sale are being violated.

The legal arguments are predictable but interesting; they come down to the question: Who owns the parish assets: the (arch)bishop or the faithful?

However, the really fascinating part of the WCVB news story is the account of what happened long after the land was sold:

Nearly 60 years later, when the pastor of St. James the Great Church -- named after James Maffei -- asked parishioners for donations to refurbish the church....

And all these years you were thinking that "St. James the Great" referred to the apostle, the son of Zebedee. I wonder whether Santiago de Compostela is named after Mr. Maffei, too.