The ACLU and a coalition of left-wing secularist groups are suing to block two bronze statues of Catholic saints from going up outside a Massachusetts public safety building — and the outcome could determine whether religious art has any place in American public life.
The fight centers on 10-foot statues of St. Michael the Archangel, patron saint of police officers, and St. Florian, patron saint of firefighters, commissioned by Quincy Mayor Thomas Koch for the city's new $175 million public safety headquarters. The building opened in March 2026 — without the statues, which cost roughly $850,000 and were crafted by a sculptor in Italy.
Seventeen Quincy residents sued in May 2025 after news of the statues leaked to the local Patriot Ledger, claiming the displays violate the Massachusetts Constitution's ban on subordinating one sect to another. The plaintiffs are represented by the ACLU of Massachusetts, the national ACLU, Americans United for Separation of Church and State, the Freedom From Religion Foundation, and the law firm Cloherty & Steinberg LLP.
The ACLU of Massachusetts argues the statues "lack a predominantly secular purpose" and that their "primary effect" is "to advance religion." Breitbart noted the ACLU's brief claims the imagery is "drawn directly from Catholic iconography" and that the oversized religious figures as the building's sole adornments cross a constitutional line.
The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, representing Quincy, is having none of it. "The ACLU's position is anti-art and anti-history and we're confident the justices will reject it," said Joseph Davis, Becket's senior counsel and lead attorney for the city. "We don't hide away beautiful civic art just because it might make someone think of religion, and nothing in Massachusetts law says otherwise."
Koch, according to court documents, said he chose the statues not to advertise religion but to "honor, inspire, and encourage our First Responders" and "boost morale." The National Fraternal Order of Police and Massachusetts Fraternal Order of Police backed the city in a brief, arguing that "first responders of all stripes, religious creeds, and political affiliations — and not just Catholics or Christians — cherish both saints for their symbolic importance to the profession."
Both outlets agree the case is headed for the Massachusetts Supreme Court, with a decision imminent, and could land before the U.S. Supreme Court. The New York Post framed the dispute evenhandedly as a constitutional showdown over religious displays on government property. Breitbart framed the ACLU as a left-wing outfit waging a broader war on Christian expression, noting the group's history of targeting Ten Commandments monuments and its past sympathy for a convicted rapist and murderer denied transgender surgery — a detail the Post buried entirely.
The question now: can a city honor its first responders with symbols that have stood for courage and sacrifice for centuries, or will the ACLU's secular purity test scrub every trace of faith from the public square?
