By BRIDGET TURCOTTE
BOSTON — A Secret Santa gifted a $100,000 winning lottery ticket, purchased at Cal’s News Store in Lynn, to the St. Anthony Shrine in Boston.
Maryanne Rooney-Hegan, director of development at the shrine to the Roman Catholic saint, said she was stunned by the gesture.
“To say the least, I was flabbergasted,” she said. “I started to cry. It was really a lot for me to process but I’m so appreciative. The reality is, we are completely dependent on our benefactors and our budget. We’re not part of the archdiocese of Boston.”
The donor, who was “very clear he wants to be anonymous,” said Rooney-Hegan, called her on her cell phone on a Saturday.
“He said, ‘Maryanne, I have this and it’s a winning Mass Cash ticket. I know the shrine can use it, especially this time of year,’” she said.
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The ticket was declared a winner during a Mass Cash game drawing last month. Fifteen tickets with the same five-number combination were purchased from Cal’s News, each winning the game’s $100,000 top prize.
If a single person purchased all 15 tickets, they will take home $1.5 million, or $1.05 million after state and federal taxes are deducted, said Christian Teja, a spokesman for Mass Lottery. The win would break a record for the game that was set in 1993 when Robert Shilowski of Sharon, Mass., bought 12 winning tickets.
The money will be awarded in 15 checks, each for $70,000. The winner has one year to claim the prize, Teja said.
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So far, only three of the 15 winning tickets have been cashed in; one by Fr. Thomas Conway, the executive director of the Shrine, and two by Lynn resident Frank Obey.
Obey declined to comment on whether he was the donor.
“I thought it was a great gesture,” he said. “The church, they do a lot of good things around Christmas time and help out a lot of good people — people I know. I’d like to just leave it at that.”
Either way, Rooney-Hegan said the money will help the Shrine provide outreach services to the poor, support a pantry that feeds 500 families each week, and much more.
Bridget Turcotte can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @BridgetTurcotte.
