Shortly after the final addition to the grade school had been completed in 1928, the nation fell into
an economic depression that cast millions from the prosperity of the 1920's into the poverty of the 1930's. Resurrection
parish felt the effects of unemployment and food shortages; and so, Father Quinn's dream of building a large church to
replace the one on the ground floor of the school had to be set aside.
But the dream of a new church was kindled
anew in the mid-1930's as Brookline and the nation struggled out of the depression. Although money and jobs had been in
short supply over the previous decade, growth continued with the parish population doubling since 1928. There were more than
1516 families in the parish, and a new and larger church was an absolute necessity.
As parish leaders coordinated
a massive fundraising drive, Fr. Quinn hired an architect, then a contractor, to begin construction of the church where Resurrection
parishioners continue to worship
to this day.
The parish already owned the property on which the new church
and rectory would sit. Fr. Quinn had purchased the land in small lots over a four year period between 1915 and 1919.
Construction took less than a year. Groundbreaking ceremonies were held April 25, 1938; the cornerstone was laid September
11, 1938. Before work was completed on the inside of the church, the very first Mass was celebrated at midnight, Christmas
Eve, 1938. Finally, the official dedication and first Mass was celebrated on February 13, 1939.
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