Boston Herald
August 27, 2002
The Archdiocese of Boston claims it would need to close schools and churches if it was to make good on settlements to victims of sexual abuse by clergy, but a Boston Herald investigation found nearly $160 million in church property the church no longer uses.
[The following table accompanied a two-part article {1} {2} in the Boston Herald, which also ran an editorial. The archdiocese of Boston published a reply to this analysis in the Pilot, its weekly newspaper. BishopAccountability.org has also sorted this table in descending order of assessment value. At the bottom of this page we have reproduced the map that appeared with the original Herald article.]
Property listings followed by assessed value:
| ARLINGTON | ||
| Arlington | Land used for Little League | $435,600 |
| Arlington | More recreational land | $2,945,400 |
| BELMONT | ||
| Belmont | 160 Lexington St. (former St. Luke’s school) | $1,597,000 |
| Belmont | 132 Lexington St. (rents for $127,000) | $498,000 |
| Belmont | 407 Belmont St. (former convent-CCD) | $558,000 |
| Belmont | 23 Oakley Rd. (former Our Lady of Mercy parish hall) | $3,508,000 |
| BOSTON | ||
| Boston | 60 O'Connell Way (Regina Cleri) | $10,959,000 |
| Boston | 516 Columbia Rd. | $787,100 |
| Boston | 211 Bay State Rd. (B.U. Catholic Center) | $492,600 |
| Brighton | ||
| Boston-Brighton | 2102-2121 Commonwealth Ave. (land only) | $2,467,000 |
| Boston-Brighton | 9-27 Lake St. | $25,784,000 |
| Dorchester | ||
| Boston-Dorchester | 750 Dorchester Ave. (former central laundry) | $1,669,000 |
| Boston-Dorchester | Bowdoin St. (St. Peter's convent) | $524,800 |
| Boston-Dorchester | 530 Columbia Rd. (former parsonage) | $770,700 |
| East Boston | ||
| Boston-East Boston | 54 Ashley St. (youth center) | $508,400 |
| Hyde Park | ||
| Boston-Hyde Park | 1286 Hyde Park Ave. (former Most Precious Blood school) | $2,517,000 |
| Jamaica Plain | ||
| Boston-Jamaica Plain | Woodman St. (former St. Thomas school) | $1,033,500 |
| Boston-Jamaica Plain | Jamaica St. (former Leo XIII school) | $435,900 |
| Boston-Jamaica Plain | Haverford St. (Our Lady of Lourdes convent) | $94,800 |
| Roslindale | ||
| Boston-Roslindale | 190 Cummings Hwy. (former St. Clare's high school) | $3,563,000 |
| Roxbury | ||
| Boston-Roxbury | Circuit St. (former St. Joseph parish) | $828,700 |
| South Boston | ||
| Boston-South Boston | 70 Gen. William Devine Way | $784,900 |
| BROOKLINE | ||
| Brookline | 918 W. Roxbury Pkwy. (Infant Jesus church) | $1,086,300 |
| Brookline | 6 Woodcliff Rd. (Infant Jesus rectory) | $426,100 |
| Brookline | 207 Freeman St. (former St. Aidan) | $2,222,900 |
| Brookline | 158 Pleasant St. (former rectory) | $657,300 |
| BRIDGEWATER | ||
| Bridgewater | 123 Center St. (St. Thomas Aquinas parish center) | $1,155,700 |
| BROCKTON | ||
| Brockton | 37 Erie Ave. (former St. Colman's school) | $2,567,530 |
| CAMBRIDGE | ||
| Cambridge | 170 Rindge Ave. (Our Lady of Pity church and school) | $7,487,300 |
| Cambridge | 80 Seventh St. (former Sacred Heart school) | $1,935,400 |
| Cambridge | 44 Dudley St. (Rev. Thos. J. Williams Park) | $511,000 |
| Cambridge | 122 Rindge Ave. (former St. John's school) | $6,720,400 |
| CHELSEA | ||
| Chelsea | Vacant land | $113,100 |
| Chelsea | Parcel at former church | $366,400 |
| Chelsea | Parcel at former church | $775,700 |
| Chelsea | Clark Ave. (apartments) | $209,500 |
| FOXBORO | ||
| Foxboro | 99 Mechanic St. | $119,300 |
| Foxboro | 50 Carpenter (land and building) | $419,700 |
| FRAMINGHAM | ||
| Framingham | 25 Clinton St. (former St. Stephen's school) | $1,689,500 |
| FRANKLIN | ||
| Franklin | Union St. (37.5 acres) | $225,000 |
| Franklin | Vine St. (26.1 acres) | $199,600 |
| Franklin | 201 Main St. (Benjamin Franklin charter, 5.29 acres) | $1,524,000 |
| GLOUCESTER | ||
| Gloucester | 15 Ocean Ave. (one parcel) | $127,000 |
| Gloucester | 6 Lake Rd. (one parcel) | $127,100 |
| Gloucester | 165 Eastern Ave. (one parcel) | $350,400 |
| Gloucester | 15 Farrington Ave. (one parcel) | $47,700 |
| GROTON | ||
| Groton | 29 Old Orchard St. | $183,300 |
| GROVELAND | ||
| Groveland | Undeveloped land (10.7 acres) | $198,000 |
| HAVERHILL | ||
| Haverhill | Chadwick St. (12,300 sq. ft. of land) | $10,000 |
| HINGHAM | ||
| Hingham | French St. (20.8 acres) | |
| Hingham | Woodlock Rd. (19 acres) | |
| Hingham | Crestwood and Woodlock Rds. (4 parcels) | $836,000 |
| HUDSON | ||
| Hudson | 13A Green St. (Christ the King school) | $203,100 |
| Hudson | 44 Central (church) | $310,700 |
| Hudson | 246-250 Main St. (recent purchase) | $500,000 |
| Hudson | 186 Main St. (recent purchase) | $600,000 |
| HULL | ||
| Hull | 212 Samoset Ave. (single-family home) | $229,200 |
| IPSWICH | ||
| Ipswich | 20 Topsfield Rd. (.4 acres residential land) | $147,600 |
| Ipswich | 22 Topsfield Rd. (.44 acres residential land) | $100,800 |
| LEXINGTON | ||
| Lexington | 718 Massachusetts Ave. | $240,000 |
| LOWELL | ||
| Lowell | W. 6th St. (8-bed, 6.5-bath house) | $643,500 |
| Lowell | Dracut St. (3-story apartment building) | $1,486,500 |
| Lowell | Merrimack St. (9-bedroom-plus building) | $771,500 |
| Lowell | Moore St. (3-story, 9-plus bedroom house) | $376,000 |
| Lowell | 327 Gorham St. (commercial building) | $252,600 |
| Lowell | Gorham St. (demolition site) | $182,200 |
| MARBLEHEAD | ||
| Marblehead | Atlantic Ave. (former school used for CCD) | $3,549,000 |
| MAYNARD | ||
| Maynard | 65 Great Rd. (former St. Casimir) | $553,400 |
| Maynard | Great Rd. (land) | $234,400 |
| Maynard | 1 Percival St. (former St. Bridget school) | $308,100 |
| MEDFORD | ||
| Medford | St. Raphael church dormitory | $404,200 |
| MILLIS | ||
| Millis | Curve St. (11.18 acres) | $137,100 |
| MILTON | ||
| Milton | Our Lady's Hall (Regina Cleri) | $1,210,400 |
| Milton | 265 Wolcott Rd. (2.19 acres) | $199,800 |
| Milton | 865 Brush Hill Rd. (7.3 acres) | $258,200 |
| NATICK | ||
| Natick | 4-6 Lincoln St. (recent purchase) | $600,600 |
| Natick | 45 Central St. (former St. Patrick's school) | $2,467,600 |
| Natick | 5 Wilson St. (former convent) | $1,227,000 |
| NEWBURY | ||
| Newbury | 111 Northern Blvd. (.749 acres on Plum Island) | $389,100 |
| NEWBURYPORT | ||
| Newburyport | Former church/school property | $3,400,000 |
| NEWTON | ||
| Newton | 253 Watertown St. (former St. Jean's) | $313,600 |
| Newton | 8-28 Commonwealth Ave. (former St. Ignatius) | $2,848,100 |
| Newton | 64-90 Crescent Ave. (former school and convent) | $3,671,000 |
| Newton | 12 Allen Pl. (former rectory) | $369,000 |
| Newton | 24 Prospect Pl. (former convent) | $1,306,600 |
| Newton | 1497-1505 Washington St. (former school and convent) | $2,656,300 |
| Newton | 1522 Washington St. (former rectory/schoolhouse) | $1,198,400 |
| QUINCY | ||
| Quincy | 32 Phipps St. (former St. John's school and convent) | $2,228,770 |
| Quincy | 31 Gay St. (apartments) | $160,700 |
| Quincy | 882 Hancock St. (Labor Guild) | $602,080 |
| SALEM | ||
| Salem | Federal St. (rented by city) | $1,980,000 |
| Salem | Margin St. (office building) | $560,200 |
| Salem | St. Peter St. (former St. John the Baptist school) | $649,100 |
| SALISBURY | ||
| Salisbury | Parsonage at beach | $414,200 |
| SCITUATE | ||
| Scituate | Hatherly Rd. (10.2 acres) | $106,400 |
| SHERBORN | ||
| Sherborn | 14 Farm Rd. | $275,000 |
| SOMERVILLE | ||
| Somerville | Land used as athletic fields | $1,198,500 |
| Somerville | Central St. (office building) | $310,000 |
| Somerville | 9-plus bedroom dorm-like building | $644,900 |
| SWAMPSCOTT | ||
| Swampscott | Former school, now CCD | $1,330,000 |
| Swampscott | Humphrey St. (CCD and nursery school) | $902,000 |
| Swampscott | Humphrey St. (condo building) | $339,900 |
| WAKEFIELD | ||
| Wakefield | Butler Ave. (parcel near church) | $12,600 |
| WALTHAM | ||
| Waltham | 527 Main St. (former St. Joseph's school) | $2,376,900 |
| Waltham | 880 Trapelo Rd. (25 acres) | $2,500,000 |
| Waltham | 133 School St. (former convent) | $3,818,300 |
| WATERTOWN | ||
| Watertown | 25 Chestnut St. (former school and convent) | $3,633,700 |
| WESTON | ||
| Weston | Boston Post Rd. (1-acre vacant lot) | $431,300 |
| WESTWOOD | ||
| Westwood | Gay St. (1 acres [sic?]) | $33,200 |
| WEYMOUTH | ||
| Weymouth | 1199 Commercial St. (former school and convent) | $2,154,100 |
| WINTHROP | ||
| Winthrop | Rented portion of church-owned building | $289,000 |
| Winthrop | Winthrop St. (undeveloped parcel) | $86,100 |
| Winthrop | Lincoln St. (CCD etc. complex) | $2,550,000 |
| WOBURN | ||
| Woburn | 8 Summer St. (former St. Charles convent) | $1,407,816 |
 |
Note: This table was transcribed from the Boston Herald by the staff at BishopAccountability.org and carefully checked. If we have made any errors, please contact us at staff@bishop-accountability.org.
Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.