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The
first Oblates arrived in Lowell in 1868 to minister to
the
migrants from Canada who came in large numbers to
work in the textile mills,
and those who had come earlier from Ireland and were hired mostly for labor
in heavy construction.
Father André Garin, OMI, established
Saint Joseph Church on Lee Street and
Immaculate Conception on East Merrimack Street.
In 1883, all the
Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate
ministering in
the United States became one province. The provincial house was in
Lowell,
MA the first provincial was Father James McGrath. |
