Somerville Churches Ring Bells for Outgoing Pope Benedict XVI

St. Catherine's joined Catholic churches throughout the Archdiocese of Boston in ringing bells to mark Benedict XVI's last eight minutes as pope.

Somerville's three Roman Catholic parishes, including Saint Catherine of Genoa parish on Summer Street, seen in this video, joined Catholic churches and institutions throughout the Archdiocese of Boston Thursday in ringing bells to mark the end of Pope Benedict XVI's tenure as head of the Church. The bell ringing began throughout the archdiocese at 1:52 p.m., and the bells rang for eight minutes, one minute for each of Benedict's years as pope.

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Somerville Parishes Share Priests

There's a priest shortage in the Archdiocese of Boston. As a result, some parishes, including three in Somerville, have started sharing priests.

Cardinal O'Malley Celebrates Saint Clement's 100th Anniversary [PHOTOS]

On Sunday, the archbishop of Boston performed mass at Saint Clement Parish, which was established in 1912 to serve the Somerville and Medford communities.

Cardinal Sean O'Malley, archbishop of Boston, performed mass at Saint Clement Church Sunday to celebrate the parish's 100th anniversary. "One hundred years ago, it wasn't easy to be a Catholic here in Massachusetts. Some people say it's not easy today," O'Malley said in his homily to nearly packed pews. "As we celebrate these 100 years, we do so with great gratitude," he said. Saint Clement Parish was founded in April of 1912 in an era when Catholics were moving out of ethnic enclaves in Boston and into outlying communities like Somerville and Medford, according to a history of the parish distributed Sunday. The first services were held in a tent, and for most of its first 30 years the church was a relatively small stucco building. The …

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