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Cardinal Medeiros is the principal celebrant at the NCCB's American Revolution Bicentennial Mass in New Orleans, July 1976. Pilot photo/courtesy Archdiocesan Archives

From the Archdiocesan Archives

The archdiocese celebrates America's Bicentennial

Friday, April 17, 2026Culture

Fifty years ago, America was gearing up to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. The anniversary was a cause for celebration, and also an opportunity for organizations throughout the country to reflect on their relationship to American history, culture, and values. For the occasion, the Archdiocese of Boston collaborated with local and national committees to celebrate and reflect on the Church's role in America's history.
In Boston, Bicentennial celebrations were sponsored and organized by a committee known as "Boston 200." The committee oversaw numerous task forces and projects in the years leading up to 1976, including the Bicentennial Task Force on Catholic History, which was led by Msgr. John Grant of The Pilot. The task force contributed to an ecumenical exhibit on Boston's religious heritage, called "Religion in Process: Faith and Freedom in Boston," which was supported by the archdiocese, the Massachusetts Bicentennial Commission, the Jewish Bicentennial Committee, and individual Protestant churches in Boston. The exhibit consisted of a slide projection and panels displayed on the Skywalk at the top of the Prudential Tower in 1976, explaining the evolution of worship and religious freedom in Boston.

The Catholic Task Force also designated St. Joseph's in the West End, which was founded in 1862, as the Bicentennial church and a gateway to remembrance of the Bicentennial for Boston Catholics. A series of Thanksgiving Masses were held at St. Joseph's, including one on Patriots Day, 1976, in celebration of contributions made by French settlers in the Boston area.
The National Council of Catholic Bishops also used the Bicentennial as an opportunity to reflect on the present and future of the United States. On June 30, 1975, Cardinal Medeiros announced to the archdiocese the council's plan to sponsor a bicentennial program called "Liberty and Justice for All." In the letter, Cardinal Medeiros says, "promoting justice is a 'constitutive dimension' of the Church's mission. Pope Paul and the 1974 synod affirmed that, 'while the truths about human dignity and rights are accessible to all, it is in the gospel that we find their fullest expression and our strongest motive for commitment to their preservation and promotion.' The bicentennial gives us an opportunity to re-examine and re-affirm our commitment to such principles."
The program featured liturgical celebrations throughout the country in honor of the Bicentennial, and published histories of the Catholic Church's influence in the country from 1776 to 1976. Particularly, "Liberty and Justice for All" was focused on defining and explaining Catholic teaching on social justice in the United States. Parishes participated through a "discussion-listening program" and regional hearings were held on the topic throughout 1975. In October 1976, a national policy meeting was held, and Cardinal Medeiros attended. Delegates considered 800,000 responses from the parish discussions, on a variety of topics including worker's rights, priestly celibacy, and family life. American bishops promised to consider resolutions in eight categories -- Humankind, Nationhood, Work, Ethnicity and Race, Personhood, Neighborhood, the Family, and the Church -- and create a five-year plan of action.
Earlier that October, Cardinal Medeiros celebrated a Mass at St. Ignatius Church in Chestnut Hill to begin Respect Life Month. At the time, the American bishops were sponsoring a pro-life amendment to the Constitution that called for "the restoration of respect for life at every stage of its existence in our society," according to The Pilot. In his homily at St. Ignatius, Cardinal Medeiros urged the faithful to support the amendment, and to "protect and sustain life at all times, in every place, and under every circumstance."
Parishioners throughout the archdiocese were also asked to sign a pledge card at Masses that read, "In this Bicentennial year, we commemorate the Declaration of Independence, recalling both the principles upon which the nation was founded and the unalienable rights with which all people are endowed by the creator. As a sign of my own commitment to these God-given principles and rights, I pledge myself to exercise my religious and social responsibilities conscientiously in ways that will safe-guard and respect these principles and rights for every human being," according to The Boston Globe.
While the Bicentennial was a celebration of America's 200 years of history, Cardinal Medeiros and the bishops of the U.S. used the occasion to ground citizens in the reality of the present -- 1976 -- and to look forward with ambition to the future of the country. They encouraged the faithful to be dedicated to the mission of the Church, and to the spirit of American independence.
This summer, in honor of the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution, a National Eucharistic Pilgrimage will travel from St. Augustine, Florida to Portland, Maine and back to Philadelphia, stopping in Boston from June 26 to June 28. The pilgrimage carries the theme "One Nation Under God," and is an invitation for Americans to unite through prayer. For our own celebration, the Archives has created an interactive timeline of the history of the archdiocese, which will also be displayed as an exhibit at the Pastoral Center in Braintree from mid-April through early July. Visit our website to learn more: bostoncatholic.org/archives.

SAVANNAH MILLER IS AN ARCHIVIST FOR THE ARCHDIOCESE OF BOSTON.