A dispute over Quincy, Massachusetts’ plan to place statues of St. Michael the Archangel and St. Florian outside its public safety headquarters may be headed for the U.S. Supreme Court, as lawyers on both sides say the case could have broad implications for religious symbols and civic art on government property.
The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, which is representing the city of Quincy, told Fox News Digital that a ruling from the Massachusetts Supreme Court is expected imminently.
“The ACLU’s position is anti-art and anti-history and we’re confident the justices will reject it,” Joseph Davis, senior counsel at Becket and lead attorney for Quincy, told Fox News Digital in a statement.
“We don’t hide away beautiful civic art just because it might make someone think of religion, and nothing in Massachusetts law says otherwise. Quincy has every right to honor its first responders with symbols that have inspired courage and sacrifice for generations,” Davis added.
The controversy began after The Patriot Ledger reported that Quincy intended to install two 10-foot bronze statues — one depicting St. Michael the Archangel and the other St. Florian — outside the city’s new public safety headquarters.
The statues, created by a sculptor in Italy, were selected by Quincy Mayor Thomas Koch. St. Michael is widely recognized as the patron saint of police officers, while St. Florian is regarded as the patron saint of firefighters.
According to court documents, Koch said the decision was not meant to promote religion. Instead, he said the statues were chosen to “honor, inspire, and encourage our First Responders,” to “boost morale,” and to “ensure [first responders’] lifesaving work would remain maximally effective.”
Opponents argued that the statue plan was not publicly revealed during the building approval process and warned that the installation raised serious constitutional questions.
The legal battle began in May 2025, when various faith groups of Quincy residents and taxpayers sued the City of Quincy and Koch in Norfolk Superior Court, arguing that the planned installation of the statues outside the city’s new public safety headquarters violated the Massachusetts Constitution’s protections on religious neutrality.
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 Cloherty & Steinberg LLP.
In its brief, the ACLU of Massachusetts says, “The statues, whose imagery is drawn directly from Catholic iconography, lack a predominantly secular purpose. The primary effect of permanently installing two new, oversized, overtly religious statues as the sole adornments on the City’s public safety building is to advance religion.”
A brief, however, for the National Fraternal Order of Police and Massachusetts Fraternal Order of Police says that St. Michael is revered by people of various faiths, not just Christians.
“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,” the brief states.
Koch’s office told Fox News Digital that it has no comment at this time as it awaits the court’s decision.
Jessie Rossman, legal director at the ACLU of Massachusetts, told Fox News Digital in a statement, “The Massachusetts Declaration of Rights demands that our government remain neutral in matters of religion. This neutrality is precisely what allows the richly varied beliefs of our clients and others — including deeply held Christian beliefs — to flourish in cities like Quincy and across the Commonwealth.
Rossman added, “The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court established the legal test to analyze Art. 3 claims nearly 50 years ago, and for good reason, that test remains good law. Under that test, installing these statues as the sole adornment on a government building, especially one intended to provide essential services to all residents, violates our state constitution.”
