Rev. William F. Toohig

Msgr. Joseph A. Brandley

Msgr. Gerard Shea

Rev. James H. Lane

1982 - 1996

Rev. Kevin Toomey

Rev. Ron Coyne

Rev. Stephen Josoma

Rev. James Fratus,

2001-2009

Rev. John J. Connolly, Jr.

2009 - present

“From our first Mass in a garage on the corner of Gallivan Blvd. and Granite Avenue  in 1929, until the present day, our parish has been under the patronage of St. Brendan the Navigator.  Much has changed since then.  A growing city has matured.  Families that moved here in the Depression have endured and expanded.  Homes that squeezed in families of five or eight children after WWII, now provide a quiet refuge for a mature couple. Their children have fanned out across the city and suburban developments.  Each decade has brought new blood which renews the houses and yards.  All of them are stamped with an ‘Originally From Dorchester’ trademark. They also have a master hallmark.  Like a master jeweler’s necklace, each family is a gem that shines about the cross of faith - the faith learned here at St. Brendan’s. .... St. Brendan’s had taken pride in its faith, its ethnic heritages and its strong community.”

                                                       ~ Rev. Clifton Thuma

                                           75th Anniversary, October 2004

Rev. James Donovan

Msgr. Edward Harrington

Msgr. George Wiseman

Rev. Francis McInerney

Rev. Arthur Norton

Rev. Lawrence Ryan

Msgr. William E. Collins

Rev. Charles Leahy

Rev. Wiliam Linehan

Rev. John P. Coffey

Rev. James M. Larner

Rev. John W. Chapman, SJ

Rev. William Hamilton, SJ

Rev. John Geoghan

Rev. James Nyhan

Rev. Charles McGahey

Rev. Joseph White

Rev. Dan Graham

Rev. Rodney Copp

Rev. Clifton Thuma

Rev. James H. Lane

Rev. Ron Coyne

Rev. James Fratus

Rev. John Connolly

Created on September 25, 1929 for the Cedar Grove section with territory derived partly from St. Gregory's and partly from S. Ann's, Neponset, St. Brendan's was organized under Rev. William F. Twohig, the first pastor. He held services for a time in the Granite Avenue Garage, but he moved quickly in erecting a brick Romanesque church on Gallivan Boulevard, which was blessed on November 5, 1933.

Daniel Hay, who is studying the Roman Catholic Churches of Massachusetts and Rhode Island, reported that the architect of St. Brendan's was Raymond Gorrani of Worcester, MA. He built a few other churches in Massachusetts including buidings in Worcester and Marlboro. He vanished in 1940 with no traces.

Source:

Dorchester Old and New, 1630-1930. Dorchester: Chapple Pulishing Company for the Dorchester, Massachusetts, Tercentary Committee, 1930.

Lord, Robert H., John E. Sexton and Edward T. Harrington. History of the Archdiocese of Boston. New York: Sheed & Ward, 1944. 3 vols.

Postcard. Caption on front: St. Brendan's Church, Dorchester, Mass. 7363. Postally unused. On verso: American Art Postcard Co., Boston, Mass. Photolux.

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