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	Bishop Dooher Presides at the Final Mass at Star of the Sea, Squantum Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston September 6, 2010 http://www.bostoncatholic.org/Utility/News-And-Press/Content.aspx?id=18416 Auxiliary Bishop John Dooher (South Region) presided at the final Mass at Star of the Sea Church in Squantum. Bishop Dooher was joined by Rev. John O’Brien, pastor of Sacred Heart parish in Quincy, which is the welcoming parish for Star of the Sea. In his comments at the end of the Mass, Bishop Dooher said, “You have much to be proud of here at Star of the Sea. Your faithfulness to the Eucharist and to prayer is evident by your desire to celebrate Mass. The Cardinal and I appreciate your fidelity to your Catholic faith.” Bishop Dooher added, “The Cardinal and I are enormously grateful to Fr. O’Brien for his service to offering the Mass each week. He has done this at our request and out of his pastoral concern for you our Catholic brothers and sisters. He cares about you. We thank Fr. O’Brien for all he does on behalf of the good people of the Archdiocese and for his continued service to Christ and His Church.” Fr. O’Brien stated, “I am blessed by the wonderful opportunity to serve the parish of Sacred Heart and for the chance to work with the community of Star of the Sea. We are a grateful people who offer our love and support for Cardinal Sean, Bishop Dooher and the entire Archdiocese of Boston. I look forward to continuing to serve the local Catholic community of Quincy and to work to bring all of the talents, dedication and spirit together for the glory of God.” Cardinal Sean allowed a Sunday Mass at Star of the Sea while the appeal of the parish closing was being heard in Rome. Recently the Apostolic Signatura, which is the highest court at the Vatican, issued the final ruling on the appeals of several closed parishes. This included Star of the Sea parish here in Squantum. Now that there are no further appeals allowable by Canon law, Cardinal Sean’s promise has been fulfilled and Star of the Sea parish will not reopen. Star of the Sea was established in 1945 in Squantum and a new Church erected in 1957. As part of the reconfiguration process, the parish was suppressed on October 24, 2004, with Sacred Heart in Quincy determined to be the welcoming parish. Appeals were initiated in 2005 with decisions affirming the closing rendered in 2005 by the Congregation of the Clergy, 2008 by the Apostolic Signatura and the full college of the Signatura in 2010.
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