In 1999 the Boston Globe printed a guest editorial from a leader of the Massachusetts Historical Society, essentially saying that Boston had no connection to Christopher Columbus, and the statue of Christopher Columbus in the North End must come down.  What followed were years of attacks, gallons of red paint, and sloppy slogans repeatedly daubed onto a beautiful artwork in the dark of the night.

The woke elite of Boston never sleep, they’ve worked tirelessly to highlight every act of vandalism against the statue with more op-eds, and news stories that were little more than faux outrage — a chance to recount a litany of sins that Christopher Columbus supposedly committed.

The statue of Columbus’s days in Boston were numbered. During the George Floyd protests of June 2020, the Carrara marble head of Columbus was cut off. Mayor Marty Walsh announced quickly that Columbus was voyaging into storage.  In October 2020, Walsh stated that the public art was going to a nonprofit housing development being helmed by the Knights of Columbus in the North End. That limbo didn’t seem quite right.  When Mayor Kevin White dedicated the statue in 1979, it was noted by some wags that this “new” statue replaced a Columbus erected by the Knights at the Holy Cross Cathedral in 1892. That statue marked the 400th anniversary of the discovery of America.  Mayor White rightly said that Columbus was for all Americans and all the world.

Enter Father Michael Della Penna, pastor of Saint Leonard’s Church in Boston’s North End and native North Ender.  Father Michael is a gentle soul who, through his works and prayers is always rescuing souls.  So, rescuing a misunderstood and maligned Columbus statue seems fitting.

Boston’s Columbus statue was recently rededicated, blessed, and placed in the parish Peace Garden of Saint Leonard’s on Hanover Street.  I asked Father Michael why should Bostonians rediscover Columbus?  He told me that Columbus was a secular Franciscan who vowed to imitate Christ’s love in his life as a sailor, “As a Franciscan Columbus desired to spread the good news of the Gospel.  He wanted to fulfill his call from God to expand his faith into the New World.”

It’s a real Boston postcard for the thousands of tourists and locals navigating the Freedom Trail. Three Franciscans carved in stone and bronze adorning the garden: Padre Pio, Saint Francis, and Christopher Columbus nestled amidst the evergreens and rose bushes.  Columbus has come home to Saint Leonard’s.

Lou Murray is a citizen of Boston and a frequent contributor to the Boston Herald. He tweets on the platform X @LouisLMurrayJr1.