On May 26, 1647, the General Court of the Massachusetts Bay Colony passed a law banning priests - specifically Jesuit priests - from entering or residing in the colony. Penalties included banishment, and for second offenses, possible execution - though no priests were ever executed.
The Puritans of Massachusetts regarded Catholicism as "idolatrous blasphemy." They viewed the Pope as the Antichrist.
It wasn't until 1780 when the Massachusetts constitution was amended that Catholics were free to practice their faith. It took until 1788 for the first public Mass to be celebrated in Boston.
Pax et bonum
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