Nine years after Father Galligan took over the pastorate of St. Margaret's parish, in 1921 the parish debt of $82,000 was wiped out.{Keep in mind that back then $82,000 a tremendous among of money compared to today's cost of living standards} Until then all Masses took place in the upper church, but because of the ever-increasing number of parishioners, the basement of the church was converted into a lower chapel. The alterations to accomplish this conversion cost $22,000. In 1923 the wooden Corinthian columns lining the nave of the upper church were treated so that they resemble Siena marble.

Another monumental work which goes back to the pastorate of Father Galligan was the erection of the parochial rectory. This beautiful building was finished in the spring of 1928. It replaced the old rectory which had served the priests and people of St. Margaret's parish for 17 years going straight back to the wintry morning when Father Harkins first raised the Sacred Host in one of the rectory rooms as he said the first Mass ever celebrated in the Highlands section of Lowell.

The old rectory, renovated over the years, continues as part of the history of St. Margaret's. It is the parish clubhouse, scene of all kinds of Catholic Action both on the teenage and adult levels.

The cornerstone of the present rectory was laid on September 10, 1927, and when the building was completed in 1928, it was debt free! - a remarkable achievement in the annals of church finance. There were now 3500 parishioners.

Records show that well over seventy years ago the Sodality of the Blessed Virgin Mary was established for all women in the parish to meet their spiritual and social needs as well as to develop a love for Our Blessed Mother for themselves and the parish. The revenues they raised went for the parish and school expenses and were donated to the pastor for disbursement at his discretion.

On January 1, 1936, the parish celebrated its silver jubilee and pastor Galligan's 40th anniversary of ordination with a Solemn High Mass at 10 o'clock. The celebrants were three natives of the parish:

Like his predecessor Father Harkins, Father Galligan achieved a great deal for the Catholic community in Lowell before he died on November 21, 1948.

Rev. John Joyce became the third pastor of St. Margaret's church when he was appointed in December 1948 by the then Archbishop Richard J. Cushing to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Father Galligan.

Under Father Galligan the long-dreamed-of parish school became a reality. St. Margaret's school opened its doors in September 1941. Enrollment increased with such speed that an eight room addition was started under Father Joyce and was completed in the beginning of his successor's pastorate, Monsignor Hyder.

Real estate across from the church on Stevens Street was also purchased by Father Joyce and the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth were installed in a modern convent within walking distance from their well-loved St. Margaret's school.

The Legion of Mary was established in 1948; they made visits to nursing homes, hospitals, and shut-ins. They also made door to door visitations and occasionally visited those unable to cope with bereavement. They also attend Nocturnal Adoration the night before First Fridays at St. Joseph Hospital Chapel.

The St. Vincent De Paul Society was established here on July 15, 1948, and met on the second and fourth Thursdays of the month. During Thanksgiving and Christmas seasons meetings were held weekly. This society, which aided those in need of financial help, didn't receive any direct help from the parish but depended solely on the generosity of the parishioners via boxes placed at the entrances of the church.

Father Joyce was pastor of the parish for the next 10 years until his unexpected death (shortly after he had said his Sunday Mass in St. Margaret's) on March 16, 1958.

During the first years of Father Joyce's pastorate and under his direction, Father Hyder headed programs for repair and renovation of all parish property.

During the latter years of Fr. Gilligan's pastorate, he also acted as church administrator and did so until Father Joyce's arrival. In 1951 he was named director of the Lowell Catholic Charitable Bureau and assumed, at the same time, his duties as business manager for Keith Academy, Keith Hall, and St. Peter's Orphanage. In 1956 Father Hyder was appointed pastor of St. Patrick's church, mother church of Catholic Lowell. One year later (1957) he was elevated to the Monsignori by Pope Pius XII. In the spring of 1958, Monsignor Hyder came back to St. Margaret's church where he had first come as a newly ordained priest in the spring of 1929.

It was with this background and church experience that Monsignor Raymond L. Hyder was named by Cardinal Cushing to succeed Father Joyce as the fourth pastor of St. Margaret's Church. He came to St. Margaret's first in 1929 as a curate in the 18th year of the existence of the parish, and served there practically all of his priestly life. He was also the pastor during the parish's Golden Jubilee.

In addition to being pastor, he also retained his position(s) in charge of the Catholic Charitable Bureau, St. Patrick's cemetery, St. Mary's cemetery, as well as business manager of Keith Academy, Keith Hall, and St. Peter's Orphanage.

In 1959 in anticipation of the 50th anniversary of the parish in 1960, the walks around the church building were relocated, the rear walk of the church was repaired. To add a final touch of beauty to the outside of the edifice, two granite statues of the Sacred Heart and of Our Blessed Mother were erected on either side of the main entrance of the church.

The Nocturnal Adoration Society had been active since its initial meeting in November 1962. St. Margaret's assigned a different hour each First Friday when it met at St. Joseph's Hospital Chapel.

From 1910 to 1975 there were some 140 religious vocations from St. Margaret Parish. Among the diocesan clergy they included: the Jesuits, the Dominicans, the Franciscans, the Oblates of Mary Immaculate, the Maryknollers, the Marists, the Oblate and Xaverian Brothers, the Sisters of St. Joseph, the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth, the Poor Clares, and the Sisters of the Assumption.

Monsignor Hyder continued in what was known as the "Progress-for-God" tradition which was the cornerstone upon which St. Margaret's parish was built and which is the foundation upon which it continues to grow.

Up to 1960, St. Margaret's had only four pastors in its 50 year history!

Msgr. Jakul established the Parish Finance Council in 1985. It was composed of ten members and the pastor and met ten times a year. The council established annual budgets for both the rectory and school and at the end of each fiscal year it published a financial report for the benefit of the parishioners.

In 1986 the Council installed the envelope system.

By 1989 there were only two priests, Msgr Jakul and Fr. Paul Finegan, as well as Deacon Barry Lloyd.

There were only two Masses on Saturday evenings at 4 and 6 o'clock and during Lent there was a 7 pm Mass. There were 30 Extraordinary Ministers of the Eucharist, 30 Lectors, 25 Ushers, 44 young altar servers, a 15 member adult choir and a 5 member folk group led by a lay volunteer.

On July 31, 1991, Monsignor Jakul died unexpectedly, and in December Bernard Cardinal Law appointed Father Joseph Ruggeri, the sixth pastor of St. Margaret Parish.

[ The next 15 years, to the present ]