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A legal battle over whether a Massachusetts city can install statues of St. Michael the Archangel and St. Florian outside its public safety headquarters could ultimately reach the U.S. Supreme Court, with attorneys on both sides arguing the case could shape the future of religious displays on government property.
The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, who is representing the city of Quincy, told Digital that they are imminently expecting a decision by the Massachusetts Supreme Court.
“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 Digital in a statement.
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The Supreme Court of the United States. (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images)
“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 started after The Patriot Ledger reported that Quincy planned to install two 10-foot bronze statues of St. Michael the Archangel and St. Florian outside its new public safety headquarters.
The two 10-foot bronze statues of St. Michael and St. Florian were crafted by a sculptor in Italy and chosen by Quincy Mayor Thomas Koch. St. Michael is the patron saint of police officers and while St. Florian is the patron saint of firefighters.
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Statue of St. Michael the archangel. (Getty Images)
Koch, according to court documents, said he did not choose the statues to advertise religion but to “honor, inspire, and encourage our First Responders” as well as “boost morale,” and “ensure [first responders’] lifesaving work would remain maximally effective.”
Critics said the plan had not been publicly disclosed during the building approval process and raised constitutional concerns.
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.
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Bronze statue depicting Saint Michael the Archangel standing over a defeated figure, holding a shield and spear in a dramatic pose symbolizing protection and triumph over evil. (Norfolk County Superior Court)
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 Digital that it has no comment at this time as it awaits the court’s decision.
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Jessie Rossman, legal director at the ACLU of Massachusetts, told 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.”
