Steeple of St. Catherine’s Toppled By Hurricane Edna-This Day in Norwood History- September 11, 1954

Famed Norwood Steeple Crashes; Church Flooded

Bishop Minihan’s First Pontifical Mass Postponed

NORWOOD, Sept. 11 -The 50-foot steeple of St. Catherine of Sienna Church in Norwood lay in ruins on the ground tonight, a victim of the wrath of Hurricane Edna.

The well-known spire, a Norwood landmark, toppled about 4 p.m. during the height of the storm. It left a huge gaping hole in the rooftop. Damage was unofficially estimated at more than $25,000.

Very Rev. Jeremiah F. Minihan, church pastor who was elevated to the post of Auxiliary Bishop of Boston only last Wednesday, announced tonight that the church will be closed until repairs can be made.

He said all six masses tomorrow will be said in the nearby State Armory on Nahatan st.

He also announced postponement of the pontifical mass he was to have celebrated in the church tomorrow at 11:30. It was to be his first such mass since his consecration by Archbishop Cushing in the Cathedral of the Holy Cross in Boston.

Rains swept through the hole and quickly flooded the church As soon as the hurricane s fury had been spent, firemen spread tarpaullins over the hole to prevent further water damage.

The steeple of the church, located at the corner of Washington and Nahatan sts. in the center of Norwood sq., was a victim of both Hurricane Edna and her sister, Carol.

The steeple had been badly weakened by Hurricane Carol and was in the process of being repaired.

With it went the scaffolding which had been erected to make repairs.

The steeple of the 100-year-old brick church was made of wood, covered by copper sheathing. Much of the sheathing was torn off by Carol. All the sheathing that was left was ripped off by yesterday’s gale force winds before the structure itself collapsed.

Sun, Sep 12, 1954 – 21 · The Boston Globe (Boston, Massachusetts)