Quincy is divided over plans to install two 10-foot bronze statues of St. Michael and St. Florian on its new $150 million Public Safety Building. Critics, led by the ACLU and two civil-liberties groups, sued in May 2025 arguing the images convey an exclusionary message and violate the Massachusetts Declaration of Rights. Supporters, backed by the Becket Fund, say the statues honor first responders and fit long-standing civic-art traditions; an injunction has paused installation while legal challenges proceed. The sculptures, made in Italy and costing about $850,000, remain in storage as the dispute may reach the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court.
Quincy Divided Over Bronze Saints at New Public Safety Building — Legal Battle Could Reach State’s Highest Court
Quincy is divided over plans to install two 10-foot bronze statues of St. Michael and St. Florian on its new $150 million Public Safety Building. Critics, led by the ACLU and two civil-liberties groups, sued in May 2025 arguing the images convey an exclusionary message and violate the Massachusetts Declaration of Rights. Supporters, backed by the Becket Fund, say the statues honor first responders and fit long-standing civic-art traditions; an injunction has paused installation while legal challenges proceed. The sculptures, made in Italy and costing about $850,000, remain in storage as the dispute may reach the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court.
10:58 PM, 11/16/2025Society
Quincy community split over statues honoring police and firefighters
A heated debate has erupted in Quincy, Massachusetts, after Mayor Thomas P. Koch commissioned two roughly 10-foot bronze statues of Catholic saints — St. Michael the Archangel and St. Florian — for the façade of the city’s new $150 million Public Safety Building. The pair of sculptures, produced in Italy by artist Sergey Eylanbekov, cost about $850,000 in total and were commissioned in 2023.
Supporters say the statues honor the bravery and sacrifice of police officers and firefighters and reflect long-standing civic-art traditions. Joe Davis, senior counsel at the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, told Fox News Digital that the city’s intent is to beautify a public space and inspire first responders, and that many officers and firefighters carry medals or prayer cards depicting the same saints.
Legal challenge and community reaction
In May 2025 the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Massachusetts, joined by the Freedom From Religion Foundation and Americans United for Separation of Church and State, filed a lawsuit on behalf of 15 local residents from a range of faith traditions. Plaintiffs argue the statues convey an "exclusionary message" that could make non-Catholic residents feel like "second-class citizens," and contend the display violates the Massachusetts Declaration of Rights.
The ACLU’s Feb. 24 warning said placing "larger-than-life statues of Catholic saints in front of a public building unequivocally advances one religion to the exclusion of all others," and singled out the image of St. Michael standing on a demon’s neck as especially troubling.
A petition opposing the statues gathered more than 1,600 signatures, and an interfaith coalition of 19 clergy — representing Catholic, Jewish, Unitarian and Protestant congregations — issued a public statement warning the display could signal insiders and outsiders within the community. Critics also say the mayor commissioned the work without adequate public notice or City Council approval; according to the lawsuit, initial payments were made in 2023 but the public first learned of the plans in February 2025 after renderings appeared in a local newspaper.
Where the case stands
A court injunction has temporarily halted installation while litigation proceeds. The Becket Fund plans to appeal the injunction, arguing courts should allow public symbols with religious origins when they serve secular or historical purposes. Davis compared the statues to other public works with religious associations, citing examples such as the U.S. Supreme Court’s retention of a Moses statue and the Bladensburg Peace Cross decision.
The lawsuit asserts the statues fail all parts of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court’s four-part test for religious neutrality, a test still applied under the state constitution even though the U.S. Supreme Court has altered the federal approach. If appealed, the case could reach the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, which would be asked to decide whether religious imagery in civic art violates the state’s strict separation of church and state.
For now the sculptures remain in storage overseas awaiting shipment. City officials say they will "stay quiet on the affixing front" while the legal dispute plays out. Fox News Digital reached out to the ACLU of Massachusetts and the city of Quincy for comment.