A legal dispute over the planned installation of statues of St. Michael the Archangel and St. Florian outside Quincy, Massachusetts' public safety headquarters could escalate to the U.S. Supreme Court. Attorneys for both sides suggest the case may have national implications for religious displays on government property.
The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, representing the city, anticipates a decision from the Massachusetts Supreme Court soon. Joseph Davis, lead attorney for Quincy and senior counsel at Becket, stated that the opposition misrepresents the tradition of honoring public service through art and symbolism. "We don’t hide away beautiful civic art just because it might make someone think of religion, and nothing in Massachusetts law says otherwise. Quincy has every right to honor its first responders with symbols that have inspired courage and sacrifice for generations," Davis said.
The controversy began when Quincy Mayor Thomas Koch selected two 10-foot bronze statues, one of St. Michael and one of St. Florian, to be installed outside the new public safety building. St. Michael is recognized as the patron saint of police officers, and St. Florian is the patron saint of firefighters. Koch's office stated that the statues were intended to "honor, inspire, and encourage our First Responders" and boost morale, rather than to promote religion.
However, a coalition of Quincy residents and taxpayers, represented by the ACLU of Massachusetts, the national ACLU, Americans United for Separation of Church and State, and the Freedom From Religion Foundation, filed a lawsuit in May 2025. They argue that the installation violates the Massachusetts Constitution's requirement for religious neutrality. The ACLU contends that the statues, with their Catholic iconography, lack a predominantly secular purpose and that their placement on a public safety building would advance religion.
Conversely, briefs filed in support of the statues argue that St. Michael is revered across various faiths and professions, not exclusively by Christians. A brief from the National Fraternal Order of Police and the Massachusetts Fraternal Order of Police asserts that "First responders of all stripes, religious creeds, and political affiliations — and not just Catholics or Christians — cherish both saints for their symbolic importance to the profession."
Jessie Rossman, legal director at the ACLU of Massachusetts, emphasized the importance of government neutrality in religious matters as mandated by the Massachusetts Declaration of Rights. She stated, "The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court established the legal test to analyze Art. 3 claims nearly 50 years ago, and for good reason, that test remains good law. Under that test, installing these statues as the sole adornment on a government building, especially one intended to provide essential services to all residents, violates our state constitution."