SB seeks public input on St. Gerard’s purchase

By Mike Berger

The Canton Select Board wants to take the next step in exploring the town acquisition of the St. Gerard Majella property at 1860 Washington Street, starting with an open discussion and planning session set for the next board meeting on Tuesday, September 28.

St. Gerard Majella

The board may possibly set a special town meeting date for resident approval sometime before the end of 2021.

Select Board Chair Mike Loughran said earlier this week that the board is looking for resident input into possible uses of the property and could hold several public forums before the special town meeting, similar to the forums the School Department held on its facilities master plan when Loughran chaired the School Committee.

At their September 14 meeting, Select Board members went into executive session to discuss the possible real estate transaction. The sale of the church property will be managed by the Boston Archdiocese.

In mid-July, Reverend Thomas Rafferty, pastor of the newly renamed St. Oscar Romero Church, informed worshippers that the Canton parish will continue to use the church building that is known as St. John the Evangelist and that St. Gerard Majella Church will be closed and the property sold. Final Masses at St. Gerard’s will be held during the last weekend of September, and all parish activities will shift to a single location beginning October 1.

Rafferty said that Kevin Provencher of the architectural firm Habeeb and Associates assessed both church buildings, finding that both were sound. St. John’s had some advantages in that the church was built in a more durable fashion than St. Gerard’s; it is situated on flat land, making it easier to expand the building; and there are four stairwells in the church that lead to the lower level, which will aid in the installation of an elevator. Another factor taken into consideration was the proximity to St. John’s School.

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