Quincy police and fire unions make proposal for what to do with saints statues that prompted legal battle

Quincy police and fire unions proposed a compromise to maintain two 10-foot bronze statues of Catholic patron saints following a legal battle.

Unions representing Quincy police officers and firefighters have offered to install and maintain the statues of St. Michael and St. Florian, the Catholic patron saints of police and firefighters, respectively, at the Mount Wollaston Cemetery, the city said in a Facebook post.

In May 2025, the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts sued the city on behalf of 15 residents who claim that the statues’ installation outside of the city’s public safety building would violate the Massachusetts Constitution by promoting Catholicism. In August, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court unanimously voted against their installation because they may pose a constitutional issue due to their religious imagery.

“While litigation regarding the statues remains ongoing, the City is considering the proposal and intends to seek clarification from the court that on whether it may accept the unions’ proposal,” the city said Wednesday.

Despite the court’s ruling, city’s mayor has not stopped his efforts to get the statues, which cost $850,000 and were paid for with the public safety building’s construction budget, out of storage and installed in front of the public safety building. The statues are a part of the city’s ongoing effort to beautify public spaces through public art and historical displays, the city said.

“The goal behind these statues has always been to pay tribute to the brave men and women who keep our City safe,” Quincy Mayor Thomas Koch said in a statement Wednesday.

“We’re proud to stand with Quincy in this fight,” Tom Bowes, president of Quincy’s Firefighters Local 792, said in a statement in April regarding the SJC case. “Firefighters have honored Florian for generations because he embodies the values at the heart of our work: courage, sacrifice, and service. The statues honor this tradition.”

The union would assume all upkeep costs, which would join “numerous other works of public art” at the cemetery, the city said.