#USA #MA – Massachusetts’ highest court last week blocked the city of Quincy from installing two towering bronze statues of Christian saints on the façade of its new public safety headquarters, ruling that the display likely violated the state constitution’s requirement of religious neutrality.
The Supreme Judicial Court, in a unanimous 7-0 decision issued Aug. 20, 2026, affirmed a preliminary injunction first granted in October 2025 by Norfolk Superior Court Judge William F. Sullivan. The ruling kept the completed 10-foot statues of St. Michael the Archangel and St. Florian in storage while a lawsuit by local taxpayers proceeded. The court also rejected the city’s attempt to dismiss the case.
Mayor Thomas P. Koch had commissioned the sculptures in 2023 from an artist in Italy at an estimated cost of $850,000 in public funds. By early 2025 the city had already spent more than $761,000. The statues were intended for prominent placement on the front of the $175 million, 120,000-square-foot complex on Sea Street, which houses police, fire, emergency operations, and other city services and opened earlier in 2026. St. Michael, shown with wings, a shield, and his foot on a demon, is the traditional patron of police officers. St. Florian, depicted as a Roman soldier pouring water onto a burning building, is the patron of firefighters.
Koch and city officials maintained that the figures were chosen to honor first responders’ courage and sacrifice rather than to promote Catholicism. They pointed to the saints’ longstanding use as professional symbols: St. Michael tattoos among officers, the Florian Cross on fire department badges across Massachusetts including Quincy, International Firefighters’ Day on St. Florian’s feast day, and similar statues at departments in other states. Two Quincy first responders submitted affidavits stating the statues represented values they aspired to in their work. The city was represented by the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty.
Opponents, including 15 Quincy residents of various faiths and none, sued in May 2025 with support from the ACLU of Massachusetts, Americans United for Separation of Church and State, and the Freedom From Religion Foundation. They argued the statues would convey government endorsement of Christianity on a public building that residents must visit for official business. The project had not been publicly disclosed during city council discussions of the new headquarters; most officials and residents learned of it only after a February 2025 newspaper report. A subsequent council meeting drew more than 200 people, an online petition collected over 1,600 signatures, and 19 local faith leaders issued a statement of “grave concerns.”
Writing for the court, Justice Scott Kafker applied the framework from the 1979 case Colo v. Treasurer and Receiver General. The justices found the statues “large and will stand alone,” “brand new rather than long standing,” and “closely affiliated with a particular religion.” They “may convey to observing members of the public implicit government support for that religion and, as a result, subordination of other religions,” the opinion stated. One statue showed an archangel with wings; the other portrayed a miracle venerated in Catholic tradition. The court noted they were not part of a larger collection that included secular or multi-faith monuments. Plaintiffs had standing under the state’s ten-taxpayer statute, the court held.
Claire Fitzmaurice, the lead plaintiff and a Unitarian Universalist, said after the ruling that she was “thrilled” and “relieved that these statues will not be installed while we pursue our case against the city.” She added that Quincy should welcome people of all faiths as the city grows more diverse. City spokesperson Lisa Aimola called the decision “disappointing” but preliminary and said Quincy would continue to fight for the ability to honor its first responders. Koch declined comment when reached after the ruling.
The statues remain in a Randolph storage facility. The case returned to Superior Court for further proceedings on a permanent injunction. The building continues to operate without these statues.
Cover Image: The proposed statues of St. Florian, patron of firefighters (left), and St. Michael the Archangel, patron of police officers (right).
