On May 28th, 2025, FFRF and a coalition filed a lawsuit on behalf of a group of Quincy, Massachusetts residents to halt the planned installation of two large religious statues of Catholic saints at the entrance of Quincy’s new public safety building.
The lawsuit centers on Mayor Thomas P. Koch’s 2023 plan to construct two 10-foot-tall bronze statues of Catholic saints and place them at the entrance of the building, which will house the headquarters of Quincy’s police and fire departments. The statues would cost taxpayers at least $850,000, yet the public only learned of the plan in February 2025 through local media reports.
FFRF’s lawsuit argues that the planned religious statues violate Article 3 of the Massachusetts Declaration of Rights by subordinating other religions to the Catholic faith.
FFRF attorneys involved in this case are Legal Director Patrick Elliott and Legal Fellow Kyle Steinberg. Plaintiffs are also represented by the ACLU, the ACLU of Massachusetts, and Americans United for the Separation of Church and State. This case is in Norfolk Superior Court within the Commonwealth of Massachusetts with case number 2582CV00576.
