byFather Robert M. O'Grady Pilot Staff
Pilot photo/Gregory L. Tracy
Listen to this article now
In a year when deadlines and production plans were, to say the least, a challenge to its staff, the archdiocese's "go-to resource" was shipped recently to subscribers: parishes, agencies, institutions, and individuals.
The cover photo of this year's Boston Catholic Directory, taken by Pilot Managing Editor Gregory L. Tracy, features the splendid renovation and restoration of St. Mary of the Annunciation Church in Danvers. The parish, under the leadership of its current pastor, Father Michael Doyle, sponsored the cover, while his right-hand man, Msgr. Frederick Murphy, provided the condensed version of the history of the parish on page two. Thanks to both of them and to their parish.
The data for the directory is provided by its users: parishes, institutions, and several archdiocesan offices. The collaboration of all these individuals and others as well makes the annual resource possible.
The "yellow pages," the advertising section of the BCD, contains all those who support the BCD with their advertising. We find more than a bit of overlap between our Pilot advertisers and those of the BCD. Our advertising manager, Dan Maguire, did outstanding work, returning long-time advertisers and securing new ones.
As noted above, the information is gathered over the months prior to publication from various sources. Thanks to the efforts of Editor Antonio Enrique, who designs and refines the databases, we had a much more effective gathering of data and, we hope, more accurate reporting.
Regular users will note an expanded listing in the parish section. Parishes with multiple worship sites now have these all included within their parish listing; parishes present in different municipalities now have them listed in all locales. The information present in this printed version is also available on the "Parishes and People" section of the archdiocesan website. This new format of listings gives better and expanded search possibilities. The data here, www.bostoncatholic.org/parishes-schools-people-finder, is updated daily, and reported and requested changes are generally reflected within 24 hours.
The pages with parish statistics have seen some changes this year. The regular sacramental statistics were gathered and are reported. However, because of the variations between and among parishes regarding Sunday Mass schedules, the usual "October" count was not taken this year. There is a dramatic drop in all statistics; we are all hoping that next year's stats will double or triple this year's. Thanks to the pastors and their staff for their response to data collection. This year, of the 282 parishes who could report statistics, 278 provided the requested information.
The actual production of the book was even more interesting. One staff person in Bolivia, Maria del Pilar Guzman, and another on-site at Braintree, Mike Strong of Pilot Bulletins, assembled the book and readied it for the presses. Throughout January, two or three days a week the "production team" met from a distance to bring everything together.
Copies of BCD 2021 are often available from parishes, and can also be purchased at area religious goods dealers. See our ad on page 8.
Already the process for next year's BCD has begun. Suggestions and corrections are welcome at bcd@pilotcatholicnews.com.