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The Illuminated Manuscript shown above (right) is the first letter of the first word "Quoniam" of the
Gospel of St. Luke as depicted in the Book of Kells at Trinity Library in Dublin, Ireland.
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When founded in the early part of this century, the Guild voted on a Constitution and By-Laws.
Over the years this has been expanded, changed and amended.
It is currently being studied by a committee which
will be bringing forth a recommendation on how much of the original
should be retained and what new parts should be added.
In 1910, William Cardinal O'Connell gathered several of the most prominent
Catholic doctors of that time in his living room in downtown Boston. The
records of that meeting, and subsequent ones, are hand-written in
leather-bound journals in the Archives of the Archdiocese. The Cardinal
spoke of the value of a Guild of Catholic physicians and appointed three
of those doctors as officers, charging them to initiate and promote such
an organization. He also appointed a Chaplain to offer guidance and
counsel.
This effort kept the Guild alive and running
for the next six decades. The archives are
replete with reports of this thriving organization
over the years. Noted among its accomplishments
were black-tie dinners and dancing at the Statler, large scientific meetings at St.
Elizabeth's and membership figures in the
400's and 500's. In the early 1970's, membership
began to diminish and meeting attendance declined.
By 1975, even the White Masses were discontinued
and the Guild became dormant.
In 1989 and 1990, physicians were inquiring
about what had happened to their Guild.
With
the enthusiastic support of Cardinal
Law,
it was revitalized. Currently, there
are
over 150 members and it is continuing
to
grow. It is our goal to recapture and
surpass
the membership numbers of the earlier
years.
In 2019, our Guild is now a chartered member of the Catholic Medical Association and a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization under the umbrella of the Archdiocese of Boston and the National Conference of Catholic Bishops.
Annual Events
The White Mass: Each October on or near the feast of St. Luke, our patron saint, the Guild of Saint Luke hosts a program featuring Mass celebrated by His Eminence, a reception and dinner, followed by a speaker of national or local prominence. His Eminence, Sean Cardinal O'Malley, O.F.M., and his predecessor, His Eminence Bernard Cardinal Law, have been most supportive of this endeavor. Generally, this event has the greatest attendance of physicians, and their spouses and is very popular with the Medical Students as well. It is a grand opportunity for them to see that Catholicism and Medicine are perfectly compatible entities, and complement each other well.
Past speakers have included:
1990 - Edmund Pelligrino, M.D.
Select past recipients of The St. Martin de Porres Award presented by the Guild of St. Luke:
- Gerald Corcoran, M.D. (presented a statue of the Saint by Cardinal Law)
Select past recipients of The St. Luke Award presented by the Guild of St. Luke:
- John Barravecchio, M.D.
UPCOMING EVENTS Last Updated August 2025 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
