St. Albert the Great Church (Weymouth, Massachusetts)  St. Albert the Great Church is a Roman Catholic parish located in Weymouth, Massachusetts. Its pastor is Father Charles J. Higgins, VF, and the parochial vicar is Father Peter J. Casey. It rose to recognition in 2004 after parishioners staged a 24-hour vigil at the church in response to announcements by the archdiocese that it would close. The parish shares its priests with nearby St. Francis Xavier Church and Masses are shared between the two parishes. St Albert the Great Church was founded in 1950, as a response by the Archdiocese of Boston to the city's massive population growth. The city's population more than doubled from 1940 to 1960, partially because of a new naval air station that opened in 1941, and partially because of the exodus from cities and into suburbs that began with the proliferation of the automobile. On 29 April 1951, the groundbreaking ceremony was performed. A newspaper article from that time stated that " the spiritual welfare of Weymouth is ensured for the future.," and contained a photo of the site. During the period when the building was being constructed, services were held in a bowling alley. In January 1954, Father Connors, the parish's first pastor, was given permission to perform the dedication ceremony. The parish was dedicated to St. Albert the Great, also known as Albertus Magnus, a 13th-century German Dominican friar, theologian, bishop and one of 36 official Doctors of the Church. A month later, the church was given solemn blessing and benediction. In 1953, Father Eugene P. McNamara came to St. Albert's as his first assignment as parochial vicar. He left a few years later. The parish quickly became established in the community and experienced immense growth, nearly doubling its membership from 465 to 950 from 1951 to 1962. In the late 1960s, the parish began experiencing demographic decline, financial struggles, and political strain. The parish correspondence files in the archdiocesan archives reveal conflicts about the implementation of Vatican II reforms at the parish during 1970 and 1971. One of the parochial reforms urges pastors to increase lay participation in the management of parish finances. Parishes now created lay 'parish boards' or 'councils' which were supposed to meet with pastors regularly. After only one year in existence, the St. Albert the Great parish board wrote a letter to the archdiocesan Moderator of Councils requesting that he use his influence to encourage the church's pastor to involve himself more in board activities.