Saint Leonard 150th Anniversary Gala
Gala Photos:

Photographer Photos: Click Here

Photobooth Photos:     Click Here

Wrap Up:

                                      
 By Bennett Molinari and Richard Molinari

In the year 1873, Archbishop Williams of Boston called upon the Franciscans of the Immaculate Conception Province, to minister to the spiritual needs of the Italian immigrants in Boston. Fr. Angelo Conterno, O.F.M., was the first pastor.
    Two years later, a plot of land situated on Prince Street  measuring seventy-four by thirty feet, was purchased for a little less than $9,000.00. The foundation was laid for the first Italian parish in New England.
  The year 2023 marks the 150th anniversary of Saint Leonard Church.  On Friday, May 5th, a Black Tie Gala was held at New England Aquarium as part of the year long celebration of the founding of the Franciscan parish in Boston’s North End.
  Father Michael Della Penna, Pastor of Saint Leonard’s, greeted guests as they arrived at the Gala that began promptly at 6:30 PM. Cocktails were served while penguins in matching black and white attire looked on in curiosity at the party goers and for a moment you wondered who is copying whom? A signature Sesquicentennial cocktail of Prosecco, cranberry juice and orange juice was featured as part of the two hour open bar.
   As guests wandered the winding ramp surrounding the center tank, champagne and cocktail glasses in hand, observing the denizens of the deep, they in-turn were being observed by turtles and a wonderful array of marine life swimming gracefully past the observation windows; old friends and new acquaintances greeting each other under their impassive gaze.
   After two hours of “How wonderful to see you again”, and “Don’t you look lovely”, guests were directed to an outdoor ramp leading to a wonderfully decorated tent where a buffet dinner was served and dancing took place while Boston Harbor in full view under sunny skies gradually dimmed as evening grew closer, and the Gala came to a lovely end.