LYNN ― To celebrate 50 years of service to the city and the parish, Edward T. Calnan ’57 was honored at St. Mary’s Sunday afternoon with a dedication of a newly-built St. Patrick’s gate.
The event was attended by about 30 members of Calnan’s family, state and city officials, St. Mary’s Board of Trustees, and friends.
Born in Lynn to Irish immigrant parents, Calnan graduated from St. Mary’s High School in 1957. He was appointed as the first director of the Lynn Department of Community Development in 1974, where he worked on improving the city’s neighborhoods, converting the former shoe factories and other vacant buildings into housing. He later went on to be a director of Single Family Programs at the Massachusetts Housing Finance Agency.
In 1991 Calnan was elected to the councilor at large office and served one term. He also chaired the Lynn Charter Commission.
Calnan was a founding member of the St. Mary’s Board of Trustees and was inducted into the school’s Hall of Fame. He still remains on the St. Mary’s Advisory Board.
He facilitated converting the former grammar school into St. Mary’s Plaza and the convent into St. Theresa House, both for senior housing. He founded the St. Mary’s Senior Life Foundation of Lynn Inc. as well.
Rev. Brian Flynn, pastor at St. Mary of the Sacred Heart parish, started the event by reciting part of St. Patrick’s prayer and added that this gate will be used for many years to come by hundreds of students and scholars who will walk between the high school and the church. Flynn said that the gate will soon become a landmark.
Mayor Thomas M. McGee shared with the attendees that St. Mary’s court meant a lot to him as he went to school there as well, and that Calnan got him involved with the Board of Trustees of the St. Mary’s Plaza.
McGee said that Calnan is the one constant piece among all the different projects and improvements at St. Mary’s; he said that the alumnus has done a lot of work for the school, the church, and the parish selflessly and with passion.
State Sen. Brendan Crighton (D-Lynn) called Calnan his friend and his mentor from the start.
“I think of the Calnan family as a positive force for change in Lynn,” said Crighton.
Calnan’s niece Mary Ann Calnan, who also serves on St. Mary’s Board of Trustees was the dedicated speaker from the family.
She said that Calnan was born in the Brickyard neighborhood in Lynn, the seventh out of eight children. His Irish parents didn’t have any material wealth to pass onto their children but they instilled in him a commitment to family, the Catholic faith, community, and his Irish heritage.
Calnan enlisted in the Air Force after high school and served in the Vietnam era for four years. He joined the Bricklayers’ Union after his return. After receiving his real estate and insurance licenses, he began his career in property development and management.
Mary Ann Calnan said that, in his retirement, Edward Calnan volunteers at St. Mary’s and at the Sacred Heart in a maintenance capacity.
“He told me that he felt very lucky. In his so-called retirement he was able to combine his love for construction with his Catholic faith,” Mary Ann Calnan said.
She said that Calnan’s children came up with the idea to honor his contributions and devotion to St. Mary’s and his community about a year ago.
The gate is formed by a welded-iron arch that says “St. Patrick’s Gate” resting on top of two brick pillars that match the bricks of St. Mary’s campus. Edward Calnan said he laid a few of the bricks himself. The left pillar displays a bronze cast statue of St. Patrick. There is a dedication plaque on the right pillar. Bricks on the ground at the foot of the gate include names of everyone in the family who attended the St. Mary’s High School.
Calnan said that the gate project was a complete surprise to him and he was deeply touched. His son, daughter, and niece ― all alumni of St. Mary’s ― funded the project.
As a first generation Irish American, Calnan said he has strong ties to Ireland and even has dual citizenship, but every once in a while he reflects on what a wonderful country he lives in. Through the hard work of his parents, in just two generations the younger members of his family are able to enjoy education at St. Mary’s, and his family is in the position to make this impressive contribution to the school.
“St. Patrick’s Gate is a ceremonial gate that will heighten the sense of importance of rituals for the school and the church. Freshmen will process through the gate to attend a mass in the church and seniors will do likewise for the closing mass as they graduate,” said Calnan.
The ceremony was adorned by Aniya Myette, 16, an 11th grade St. Mary’s student and a Garrity Scholarship recipient, singing her rendition of “The Holy Spirit.”
Monsignor Paul V. Garrity, the retired former pastor of St. Mary’s and of St. Brigid and Sacred Heart in Lexington, delivered the final blessing.
Alena Kuzub can be reached at [email protected].
