Photo book shows Maine Catholic churches

In celebration of its 150th anniversary, the home diocese for all of Maine’s Roman Catholics has published a 160-page official history.

“The Catholic Church in the Land of the Holy Cross: A History of the Diocese of Portland, Maine” is an oversized book full of photographs.

The first two chapters are devoted to the growth of Roman Catholicism in Maine while it was part of other dioceses.

The other 10 chapters chronicle the history of the diocese under each of its 10 bishops. The book also includes a photograph of every Catholic church in Maine and an appendix that includes the year each parish was organized and each Catholic school was opened.

“Just 11,000 books were printed in this one and only edition,” said Sue Bernard, spokeswoman for the diocese. “Most parishes have ordered copies of the book and it can be purchased through them.”

The book took two years to research, edit and publish. It was written by Portland native Vincent A. Lapomarda. Lapomarda, 69, is a Jesuit priest and history professor at College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Mass.

In the 1970s, he researched the history of the diocese for his book “The Jesuit Heritage in New England” and contributed an article on Maine Catholics to “The Encyclopedia of American Catholic History.”

The new volume is the third official diocesan history published since 1853, when the Portland diocese became independent of Boston. A history written by Edmund J.A. Young was published in 1899.

The Rev. William L. Lucey, a Jesuit priest, wrote the second. “The Catholic Church in Maine,” published in 1957, was criticized for embellishments and its limited references to Maine’s Franco-Americans, according to an story in the Dec. 4 edition of Church World, the diocesan newspaper.

The new book elaborates on particular incidents many readers are familiar with.

While the story of John Bapst’s tarring and feathering in Ellsworth is well known, the book explains what touched off the incident. Bapst provoked locals by complaining about Catholic students in public school having to listen to readings of the King James Version of the Protestant Bible.

Lapomarda’s text is full of interesting tidbits that illuminate the rich history of Roman Catholics in Maine.

He said Thursday via e-mail that he found the “whole history quite interesting.”

“The 250 years before the diocese was established, particularly the role of the Jesuits, especially Father Sebastian Rale in serving the Native Americans and Father John Bapst and his companions in helping to shape the foundations of the new diocese in the 19th century, have an attraction to historians beyond the diocese itself since their lives involved issues of human rights, particularly religious freedom,” Lapomarda said.

The $30 book is available through Catholic churches throughout Maine and at some bookstores.