Representatives for Quincy Mayor Thomas Koch continued to defend a decision to place two statues of Christian patron saints in front of the city’s new public safety building during a city council meeting on Monday.
The 10-foot bronze statues depicting St. Michael the Archangel and St. Florian, the respective patron saints of police officers and firefighters, have been criticized by residents for being overtly religious and violating the separation between church and state.
“He’s [Mayor Koch] made the decision, he understands that some people don’t agree with it,” said Chris Walker, the mayor’s chief of staff, at Monday’s meeting. “I want to be clear that the depictions of Michael and Florian transcend any religious connotation.”
According to pictures provided by the city, the St. Michael statue shows the archangel with a raised spear on top of a demon, while the St. Florian statue pours water on a burning building. The statues alone are expected to cost a total of $850,000, according to city officials.
The $175 million public safety building, which is now under construction, will house the city’s police department and administrative offices for the fire department and other emergency services. The inclusion of the statues only became public earlier this month, according to the Patriot Ledger .
In a letter to Koch and the city council on Monday, the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts said the statues would be unconstitutional since “government actions can neither promote religion nor interfere with its free exercise.”
“This display would violate the constitutions of Massachusetts and the United States and fails to reflect and respect the pluralism of the Quincy community,” read the letter. “Such a failure would be particularly acute at a public safety building, where all Quincy residents should feel safe, welcomed, and equally respected by their government.”
Monday night’s meeting was packed with residents who both opposed and supported the artwork. But councilors and officials who defended the public art were booed.
Councilor James Devine said he understands that church and state are supposed to be separate, but pointed to two statues in front of the Massachusetts State House.
“One is Anne Hutchinson and one is Mary Dyer. But they’re both ministers, Puritan and Quakers,” Devine said. “I do not want to see them taken down because somebody refers to it as religious — because they were forward thinkers of freedom of speech, women’s rights and so on.”
Walker said the statues are historic images and symbolic of first responders as protectors.
“The connections to police and fire services are deep and longstanding. Their import in symbolism cannot be understated,” Walker said. “This is about our police and our firefighters. It’s about the risks that they take every day on behalf of our community.”
Councilor Nina Liang called for more open communication between residents and the mayor’s office.
“Saying that the decision has been made and it’s final and moving forward feels like the door shut for conversation,” Liang said. “I suppose what I’m trying to get around to here is that I would like to stress that there should always be an open door for conversation.”
Walker said that the mayor’s office welcomes discussion and questions from its residents.
A Long Island-based artist has already started work on the sculptures. It’s not clear when they will be installed but construction of the new building is set to be completed this fall.
