St. Mary's Church, Biddeford, ca. 1909
McArthur Public Library
With the rise of industry in Biddeford during the 1860s, thousands of French Canadian, Irish, and some west European immigrants migrated to Biddeford and Saco to work in textile mills, ice harvesting manufactures, lumber mills, and granite quarries. Immigrants not only served to support the industries of Biddeford and Saco, but many also opened their own small businesses. The influx of immigration created cultural but more specifically, religious changes to the two towns.
Canadians made up for 25 percent of all immigration to Biddeford and Ireland made up an additional 12 percent, both were heavily Catholic demographics. Prior to the influx of immigrants, Biddeford only had one Catholic church; the Church of the Immaculate Conception. There only being one Catholic Church caused conflict between French Canadian Catholics and Irish Catholic. The animosity resulted in the founding of Saint Joseph’s Church in 1870 for French-Canadian Roman Catholics.